http://mathematikoi.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/did-von-neumann-not-believe-in-evolution/ A Group Blog on Mathematics, Mathematical Biology, CS, Philosophy, and other Jazz Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:26:01 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://mathematikoi.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/did-von-neumann-not-believe-in-evolution/#comment-138 Josh W Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:04:25 +0000 http://mathematikoi.wordpress.com/?p=97#comment-138 I'm guessing their is a hidden distinction here that is either being knowingly concealed or is due to incomplete communication: Darwin wasn't the be all and end all of evolutionary theory, so it's logically perfectly OK to laugh at him and still be influenced by his successors, even if it is a little mean. So what did he object to? I have no idea, in fact it could all be false. I'm not quite sure what he means by an amorphous milieu though, as surely the background in which an organism exists has it's own structure. Indeed, I thought the whole point of an open system was that it ingests this structure and so rides the entropy spiral, thus not violating thermodynamics except in distribution. But anyway, I still don't feel I have a good grasp of entropy yet, I'm just noticing a common fallacy of assuming an inactive background, something that is a danger in colonisation, engineering and scientific study alike! I’m guessing their is a hidden distinction here that is either being knowingly concealed or is due to incomplete communication:
Darwin wasn’t the be all and end all of evolutionary theory, so it’s logically perfectly OK to laugh at him and still be influenced by his successors, even if it is a little mean.
So what did he object to? I have no idea, in fact it could all be false. I’m not quite sure what he means by an amorphous milieu though, as surely the background in which an organism exists has it’s own structure. Indeed, I thought the whole point of an open system was that it ingests this structure and so rides the entropy spiral, thus not violating thermodynamics except in distribution. But anyway, I still don’t feel I have a good grasp of entropy yet, I’m just noticing a common fallacy of assuming an inactive background, something that is a danger in colonisation, engineering and scientific study alike!

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