Time, Entropy and Structuredness in Biological Systems and Their Dynamics in the Process of Development and Evolution | Chapter 2 | New Visions in Biological Science Vol. 3

One of the most obvious expressions of time's one-pointedness and direction in modern science is evolution. Algorithmic complexity, like Shannon's information and Boltzmann's entropy, tends to increase according to the general law of complication, as we saw earlier. This propensity influences the time and evolution's trajectory. However, because of many laws of nature that form varied structures, the algorithmic complexity of most material systems does not reach its maximum, i.e., a chaotic state. Such structures have a different difficulty than algorithms, and I offer a method for calculating structural complexity, which I call structuredness. Stable, dissipative, and post-dissipative structures all play a role in the structure of any material system. Dissipative structures, either directly or indirectly, are defined as stable structures. The emergence of such structures can trigger "ratchet" processes that control structuregenesis in both inanimate and living systems. The entropy capacity of a system determines the system's structuregenesis (maximal structuredness). For simple systems, the size of the system determines this capacity, which is equal to the maximum entropy (the number of its elements). The number of types of elements, the number of levels of the structural hierarchy, and the thickness of the temporal structure of the system may all affect the entropy capacity in more complex scenarios. The temporal structure of biological systems, particularly highly organised ones like eukaryotes and multicellular organisms, is complicated and even 2-dimensional. Entropy capacity gains another dimension as biological time becomes two-dimensional. The use of complex numbers to represent biological time allows us to use the same dynamic equation to model both organisms' exponential development and their periodic physiological activities. Finally, at a complex time, I consider the dynamics of internal entropy in living organisms.

Author (S) Details

George Mikhailovsky

Global Mind Share, 878 W Ocean View Ave., Norfolk, VA, 23503, USA

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