a Science of Creativity

Stuart Kauffman     ... theoretical biologist. One of the world’s leading thinkers in the field of complex systems, Dr. Kauffman received a MacArthur “genius” award and is an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute, which he helped found. Winner of awards including the first annual Herbert Simon award and author of the widely admired books, At Home in the Universe, and Investigations, Dr. Kauffman is also Chair of Investigations Group, Inc. He is the founding Director of the Institute for Biocomplexity and Informatics at the University of Calgary.

Audio Preview of Stuart Kauffman:      1:20

[This Program was recorded January 31, 2000, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.]

Conversation 1

Stuart Kauffman tells us how dramatically the stories we tell ourselves are changing as the biological metaphor makes its way into the mainstream of business life. He illustrates today’s odd mix of science and narrative. Admitting to “physics envy,” Dr. Kauffman explains dramatically different results when one’s premises are based in physics and/or in biology. He describes his life-work.

 6:15

Conversation 2

Explaining what a theoretical biologist is, Dr. Kauffman uses examples to compare biology’s problems to those of physics. He poses problems and questions facing theoretical biologists. He proposes that a spontaneous source of order in the biosphere may be as central to cell development as natural selection is. He narrates how differently his contemporary work is critiqued than was the case with the theories of earlier scientists. Dr. Kauffman speculates on why theory in biology has a particularly tough row to hoe when it seeks to establish general laws. He describes the origin of his book, Investigations, articulating the most puzzling conclusion he reached in the work.

  11:01

Conversation 3

Assuring us that science is our most reliable way for finding out how the world works, Dr. Kauffman elaborates on what he thinks may be a fundamental limitation to how we do science. He leads us into the heart of the puzzle he puts forth in Investigations. He maintains “inalienable wholism” is native to biology, assuring us that to know the function of an organism’s part, one needs to know the role that part plays in the organism’s environment. Explaining Darwin’s pre-adaptations/Gould’s exaptation, Dr. Kauffman illustrates. He wonders: Can one finitely pre-state all context-dependent, causal consequences of parts of organisms that might become an adaptation in the environment? Declaring the answer is “No!” Dr. Kauffman describes the radical kind of ignorance which results. He suggests monumental consequences for how we do science, flowing from of our (unproven) inability to predict.

  12:47

Conversation 4

Dr. Kauffman explains why he thinks we’re on or near the threshold of a new way to think about life, a general biology which is not terrestrially-bound. He elaborates, suggesting fundamental conceptual and experimental questions -- investigations -- that he thinks could dominate and shape science for the next 20 or 30 years. Giving a quick review of the generally understood laws of thermodynamics, Dr. Kauffman proposes a Fourth Law for self-constructing systems like biospheres. He shows how his idea of the “adjacent possible” supports a Fourth Law, describing an experiment with which to demonstrate his idea.

  9:43

Conversation 5

Dr. Kauffman’s candidate Fourth Law: "The diversity of ways of making a living that organisms can achieve tends to increase over time." He suggests the mechanism, then turns to ask, “What lies behind making something an organism?” Dr. Kauffman describes how diversity builds on itself. He gives a nod to Per Bak and self-organized criticality. Dr. Kauffman summarizes his second Investigations puzzle: What must a physical system be, such that it can act on its own behalf in an environment? and leaps to his own answer. He defines “autonomous agents” (nowhere to be found in today’s physical sciences,) and gives examples. He describes finding his way to his definition of life. He describes work cycles, gives an example and elaborates. He describes a new class of chemical reaction networks; generalizes; explains why he’s confident we’ll make such a system in the foreseeable future; and describes the technological revolution he is confident they foreshadow. He suggests that constructing a general biology will lift physics and chemistry to an entirely new level.

  16:37

Conversation 6

Articulating what he wants in a theory encompassing a general biology, Dr. Kauffman examines the concept of “work.” He translates his ideas into a biological example. He describes what he believes is a new physical concept -- closure that propagates -- wonders what it is, and proposes the answer -- “organization.” He explains. He presently has only inadequate ways to mathematize his idea, he says and explains why. Dr. Kauffman assures us innovation is real in the universe and expands. Utilizing Maxwell’s demon, Dr. Kauffman defines life. He relates Darwin’s pre-adaptations (exaptations) to the biosphere and beyond. He explains profound implications to the fact that we do not deduce our lives, we live them. He extends this idea to business.

  26:11

Conversation 7

Mindful of the dangers of a scientist evaluating his own work, Dr. Kauffman summarizes what has bemused him in Investigations. He shares his gut feeling that there is the hint here of something fundamentally revolutionary.

  2:07