front part (no page) After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned: What works. What is
appropriate. What lasts.
p.195 Life doesn't number-crunch; life computes by feeling its way to a solution
p.200-201 Life experiments like a child at play, says German biophysicist Helmut Tributsch.
It dabbles in all the possible computing domains and learns to solve its problems creatively, harnessing
every single force in the library of physical forces... to physically tune up neurons and their ways of communicating with
one another. When small changes are permitted without a fuss, helpful effects gradually accumulate, and evolution pounces
to a new level.
p.201 Unlike biology, which was able to transform the swim bladder in primitive fish into a lung, structurally
programmable computers can't transform their function, hitch up additional horses, or get any better at computing. In essence,
they can't evolve or adapt. When the really large problems crop up, they choke
p.202 when Michael Conrad... went looking for a new computing platform, he had one big item on his wish
list... "I just wanted it to be a good evolver."
p.210 What a powerful method this artificial evolution is for finding an optimum solution!
p.211 And computers, not yet able to feel embarrassment or peer pressure, are not
afraid to try off-the-wall ideas. Ideas are just ideas; the more the merrier.
p.237 nature is the ultimate inventor... by... letting evolution work its magic... we're bound to
come out ahead of where we would be with our own linear, digital, rigidly controlled logic.
p.248 The natural world is full of models for a more sustainable economic system... These... ecosystems
do everything we want to do. They self-organize into a diverse and integrated community of organisms with a common purpose
- to maintain their presence in one place, make the most of what is available, and endure over the long haul.
p.253 Complex systems... are not "run" by anyone in particular, but are instead
controlled by countless individual interactions that occur inside the system.
p.263 As [fish biologist William] Cooper says, "One of the reasons ecosystems are so resilient is that they
aren't doing anything in a hurry. The slower the flow rates, the more you can modulate the controls without wild fluctuations."
Being able to control the system is important; it means the whole community is able to change and adapt as the environment
demands.
p.265 Organisms build for durability, but they don't overbuild... Organisms have also evolved to
make the most of every design decision, by having one structure serve not just one but two or three functions. This
constant adapting and reassessing of material use means that fewer devices have to be built for survival. Being good
at this game gives organisms an edge
p.273 The problem is that the biosphere and our industrial worldwide ecosystem are both complex
systems, meaning that small changes can amplify to become very large changes... All we can do is watch for
warning signs.
