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Francis Heylighen
Francis Paul Heylighen (born 27 September 1960) is a Belgian cyberneticist investigating the emergence and evolution of intelligent organization. He presently works as a research professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels), where he directs the transdisciplinary " Center Leo Apostel" and the research group on "Evolution, Complexity and Cognition". He is best known for his work on the Principia Cybernetica Project, his model of the Internet as a global brain, and his contributions to the theories of memetics and self-organization. He is also known, albeit to a lesser extent, for his work on gifted people and their problems. Biography Heylighen was born on September 27, 1960, in Vilvoorde, Belgium. He received his high school education from the "Koninklijk Atheneum Pitzemburg" in Mechelen, in the section Latin-Mathematics. He received his MSc in mathematical physics in 1982 from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vilvoorde, Belgium
Vilvoorde (; ; ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a municipality and city in the Halle-Vilvoorde district (''arrondissement'') of the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo and Houtem and the small town of Peutie. The official language of Vilvoorde is Dutch, as in the rest of Flanders. There is a French-speaking minority of about 33.7%, concentrated especially in the Koningslo and Beauval quarters, bordering the Neder-Over-Heembeek neighbourhood of Brussels. The French-speaking minority is represented by 3 members on the 33-seat local council. From 2000 until August 1, 2007, the mayor of Vilvoorde was former Belgian prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene. The mayor since 2013 is Hans Bonte, also a member of the Federal House of Representatives. History Origins The Nervii, and later the Romans, probably already settled in this strategic place near the river Zenne. The na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechelen
Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. The city's French name, ', had also been used in English in the past (in the 19th and 20th centuries); however, this has largely been abandoned. Meanwhile, the Dutch-derived ' began to be used in English increasingly from the late 20th century onwards, even while ''Mechlin'' remained still in use (for example, a ''Mechlinian'' is an inhabitant of this city or someone seen as born-and-raised there; the term is also the name of the city dialect; as an adjective ''Mechlinian'' may refer to the city or to its dialect.) is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adaptive System
An adaptive system is a set of interacting or interdependent entities, real or abstract, forming an integrated whole that together are able to respond to environmental changes or changes in the interacting parts, in a way analogous to either continuous physiological homeostasis or evolutionary adaptation in biology. Feedback loops represent a key feature of adaptive systems, such as ecosystems and individual organisms; or in the human world, communities, organizations, and families. Adaptive systems can be organized into a hierarchy. Artificial adaptive systems include robots with control systems that utilize negative feedback to maintain desired states. The law of adaptation The law of adaptation may be stated informally as: Formally, the law can be defined as follows: Given a system S, we say that a physical event E is a stimulus for the system S if and only if the probability P(S \rightarrow S', E) that the system suffers a change or be perturbed (in its elements or i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charles Darwin popularised the term "natural selection", contrasting it with selective breeding, artificial selection, which is intentional, whereas natural selection is not. Genetic diversity, Variation of traits, both Genotype, genotypic and phenotypic, exists within all populations of organisms. However, some traits are more likely to facilitate survival and reproductive success. Thus, these traits are passed the next generation. These traits can also become more Allele frequency, common within a population if the environment that favours these traits remains fixed. If new traits become more favoured due to changes in a specific Ecological niche, niche, microevolution occurs. If new traits become more favoured due to changes in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Origin Of Life
Abiogenesis is the natural process by which life arises from abiotic component, non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothesis is that the transition from non-living to organism, living entities on Earth was not a single event, but a process of increasing complexity involving the formation of a planetary habitability, habitable planet, the prebiotic synthesis of organic molecules, molecular self-replication, self-assembly, autocatalysis, and the emergence of cell membranes. The transition from non-life to life has never been observed experimentally, but many proposals have been made for different stages of the process. The study of abiogenesis aims to determine how pre-life chemical reactions gave rise to life under conditions strikingly different from those on Earth today. It primarily uses tools from biology and chemistry, with more recent approaches attempting a synthesis of many sciences. Life functions through the specialized ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complexity
Complexity characterizes the behavior of a system or model whose components interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to non-linearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence. The term is generally used to characterize something with many parts where those parts interact with each other in multiple ways, culminating in a higher order of emergence greater than the sum of its parts. The study of these complex linkages at various scales is the main goal of complex systems theory. The intuitive criterion of complexity can be formulated as follows: a system would be more complex if more parts could be distinguished, and if more connections between them existed. , a number of approaches to characterizing complexity have been used in science; Zayed ''et al.'' reflect many of these. Neil Johnson states that "even among scientists, there is no unique definition of complexity – and the scientific notion has traditionally been conveyed using partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. The process of evolution has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation. The scientific theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by two British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, in the mid-19th century as an explanation for why organisms are adapted to their physical and biological environments. The theory was first set out in detail in Darwin's book ''On the Origin of Species''. Evolution by natural selection is established by observable facts about living organisms: (1) more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive; (2) phenotypic variatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Women'', ''Who's Who in Asia'', ''Who's Who in the World'', ''Who's Who in Science and Engineering'', ''Who's Who in American Politics'', etc. Often, ''Marquis Who's Who'' books are found in the reference section of local libraries, at corporate libraries, and are also used for research by universities. In 2005, while Marquis was owned by News Communications, Inc., publishers of '' The Hill''; ''The New York Times'' referred to the sixtieth edition of ''Who's Who in America'' as . Marquis states in its preface that ''Who's Who in America'' . Entries in ''Marquis Who's Who'' books list career and personal data for each biography, including birth date and place, names of parents and family members, educatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer Klaus Schwab. The foundation's stated mission is "improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas". The foundation is mostly funded by its 1,000 member Multinational corporation, multi-national companies. The WEF is mostly known for its annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland. The meeting brings together some 3,000 paying members and selected participants – among whom are investors, business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists – for up to five days to discuss list of global issues, global issu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Academy Of Art And Science
The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for scientists, artists, thinkers, political and social leaders to address global challenges from a transnational, transdisciplinary perspective independent of political boundaries and prevailing orthodoxies. Fellows are elected for their accomplishments in the sciences, arts and the humanities. It has been granted special consultative status by the UN Economic and Social Council and consultative status by UNESCO. Originally established in Geneva, Switzerland in 1960, the academy was founded with the aim of creating an informal world association of the highest scientific and ethical norms and standards. In 2011 WAAS was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) public benefit charitable organization in the State of California. The Academy maintains offices ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cliff Joslyn
Cliff Joslyn (born 1963) is an American mathematician, cognitive scientist, and cybernetician. He is the Chief Knowledge Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Seattle, and visiting professor of systems science at Binghamton University. Biography Cliff Joslyn studied at Oberlin College and received a BA in Cognitive Science and Mathematics, with High Honors in Cybernetics, in 1985. In 1987, he continued at the State University of New York at Binghamton studying under George Klir. In 1989, he received an MS, and in 1994, received a Ph.D, both in systems science, including the thesis "Possibilistic Processes for Complex Systems Modeling". In 1991, Joslyn was awarded the Sir Geoffrey Vickers' Award for Best Student Paper from the International Society for the Systems Sciences. In 1997 he received the Distinguished Performance Award: A Large Team Award for IRS Fraud Detection Projects, Los Alamos National Laboratory. From 1994 to 1996, he was an NRC Rese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
