CONTENTS:
BIOTHEORY
An E-Journal of General Science
in the Rosennean Complexity Paradigm
SECTION 1
Robert Rosen (1),
(2), (3),
(4),
(5),
(6)
SECTION 2
Judith Rosen
SECTION 3
Aloisius Louie
SECTION 4
Jed Jones
SECTION 5
Ayten Aydin
SECTION 6
Hong Li
SECTION 7
John Kineman
SECTION 8
Tarynn Witten
SECTION 9
Atamalek Ghorbanzadeh
The Analemma
The sun's annual sky-design; an infinite pattern...
Leonardo Da Vinci's
"Circle/Square Man"
The hand of "God", via
Michelangelo
Robert Rosen's city; painted by
Georgia O'Keefe
Ansel Adams... in New Zealand...
Welcome to the
inaugural edition of BioTheory.
The launch of
this Science Journal is
dedicated to the memory of
Dr.
Robert Rosen. 1934-1998
Whose unique combination of
talents in many different
areas of science
led to the development of an
expanded scientific paradigm
based on principles of
organization as well as
matter, and who
pioneered the development of
scientific modes of approach
for investigating the
relational causality of
systems in a
Complex universe.
January/2005
MESSAGE FROM THE
EDITOR/PUBLISHER:
Why a Science Journal? (Believe
me, I have asked myself that
very same question many times
over the last few months!)
The answer is easy: Because
humanity as a whole needs
somebody to do it... and nobody
else
is doing it.
There's an old adage that
applies here: If you want
something done right, do it
yourself. I inherited
Robert Rosen's work when he
passed away in 1998. Not just
because he was my father-- he
was a father to more than one--
but because he was my best
friend and kindred spirit. I
knew him, in totality as a
complete human being,
better than almost anybody. I'm
beginning to realize that I
also knew his work, in
totality, better than almost
anybody... all the traveling we
did together, all that time
spent talking about different
aspects of the universe... I'm
beginning to realize that kind
of proximity over time
gave me a far greater education
than I had ever suspected. I
find it somewhat ironic that it
has only been since he's left
this world that these realities
have made themselves manifest
to me. I've been talking to
people all over the world who
are trying to learn about
Robert Rosen's work, for myriad
applications in diverse fields
such as Medicine; Environmental
Sciences; Economics; Industry;
Psychology; Social Sciences;
Artificial Intelligence;
Computer/Information
Technologies; and Political
Science,... to name a few. So
it's easy for me to recognize
how important the work my
father created is.
But, alas, that doesn't mean
creating and launching a
science journal is easy, even
one that is "only" on the
internet. Ah, but it IS
necessary. As a species we are
entering/have entered a new and
critical phase of our
evolution: we are now directing
it. Not only that, but we are
also influencing the potential
evolution, and even the
potential for survival, of all
other species of life on our
planet. Therefore, it seems to
me that to hoard this knowledge
I inherited to myself would be
the ethical/spiritual
equivalent of "a crime against
humanity" in many respects.
However, I have to admit that I
am motivated by a far more
personal line of reasoning: I
have children. They will
inherit this Earth, along with
the children of YOUR family.
For their sakes, as a species,
we have to do a better job of
thinking ahead. Robert
Rosen's work, which I
collectively refer to as
"Rosennean Complexity Theory,"
offers a solid scientific
paradigm on which to base such
efforts, while maximizing the
benefits of the current
scientific paradigm (which it
subsumes).
" BioTheory" is intended to be
a free, internet-based journal
of general science, published
annually and available for
download here at the Rosen
Enterprises website. The name,
BioTheory, comes directly from
Robert Rosen as his intended
name for his own scientific
journal (of a sort);
a private subscription service
for his own work. He had
hoped to use that idea to free
himself from the growing
frustrations with Academia, as
a means for earning a living
while pursuing the work full
time. It is a tragedy that his
health did not hold out to see
this plan realized. However,
the work lives on and I intend
to see to it that I create
modes of access to the ideas
Robert Rosen developed, such
that others can develop them
further to the collective
benefit of us all.
One of the greatest impediments
in this effort has been
financing. Money is a constant,
gnawing problem that forces me
to make the most of my
creativity even while it sets
up road blocks to prevent such
creativity from achieving
fruition. This website and the
limited republishing effort I
have been able to undertake
thus far are mainly due to the
generosity of one man: Mr. John
Deming; truly a citizen of the
world, although originally an
American and currently living
in New Zealand. It was his
early efforts to find copies of
long-out-of-print books of my
father's, and his astonishing
generosity in helping me to
arrange things so that many
others besides himself will have
access to them, which have made
so many things possible over
the past year. I
would like to publicly express
my deep gratitude and undying
admiration for Mr.
Deming's willingness to give of
himself, for no other reason
than simply because he could.
It is in that spirit that I
chose to create and launch this
internet-based Science Journal.
What it "costs" me (in time,
energy, thought, creativity,
and access to Robert Rosen's
vast archive of work), I
already have or can generate
from within. I have invited
several of the scientists,
professionals, and thinkers
I've been discussing my
father's work with, as well as
former PhD students and
colleagues of my father's, to
contribute to the inaugural
edition of BioTheory in order
to demonstrate something of the
range of
application/applicability of
Rosennean ideas. Anyone who is
doing work in a similar vein,
regardless of discipline, is
invited to submit papers for
future issues of BioTheory.
Please contact me via email (judithrosen@earthlink.net)
with queries or questions, or
general comments or
suggestions, which are always
welcome. It is my hope and
intention that the time you
spend reading BioTheory will be
time well spent, generating
future dividends in your own
life and work in terms of
knowledge, applications, and
inspiration.
Warm Regards from Chilly New
York State,
Judith Rosen
Founder and CEO, Rosen
Enterprises; Publisher and
Editor in Chief of
BioTheory: An E-Journal of
General Science in the
Rosennean Complexity Paradigm
An amazing photo of Scotland...
What Is Time?
How much of time
do we perceive?
Are there different kinds of "time"?
How can we measure time?
How does time work?
How shall we observe time?
How does "time" interact with "life"?
Kirlian photography
Kirlian "crackle" (human
finger touching photo-electric
surface)
What are "closed loops of entailment"? (Art by M.C. Escher)
What's the difference between ontology and epistemology?
Parenthood can be tough. (Fossilized remains of a Mommy trying to protect her eggs in the nest...)
Georgia O'Keefe, playing "God"?
Me, at 14, and my Dad; mid 1970's