Lewis Works

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Lewis Works Newsletter

The E-zine of Applied General Systems Science

By Hugh M. Lewis, PhD, MA, general editor

Vol. II:  No. 4

10/29/04 Copyright 2004 ©, Hugh M. Lewis.  Facsimiles of this page or parts of this page may be printed and distributed for non-profit research, consulting and educational purposes only, as governed by fair use policy.

On Top

We are moving forward steadily on all fronts. We have begun the development phase of a central application interface on Microsoft platforms and this development is going well.

It is true that development of the framework usually does not move forward fast enough either for my own needs or in relation to the rapidity of change on the Internet or in the larger world. Attempting to articulate the framework as a whole is somewhat like trying to swallow a T-bone steak in its entirety, all in one gulp. I've learned therefore to cut everything up into tiny-little pieces, organize them upon my plate, and take one piece on at a time.

On the other hand, it is also the quite the case that as a consequence of organization of efforts and energies, and integration achieved at multiple levels and across multiple domains, a great deal can be accomplished in very short order.

This issue remains a central dilemma in the development of the framework, and this is construed as largely irrelevant to the relative availability of resources. A gob of resources can be thrown at the general problem of applied systems without a well developed framework, and this would be mostly squandered away.

Criticisms/Comments, then Provide Feedback

Main Article

The basis of all change processes of all natural systems are the dynamics of developmental differentiation of systems. We find this developmental differentiation at all levels of analysis of biological systems, and I have hypothesized it to occur for physical systems as well, if we look at a large enough and fundamental enough frame of reference. It is apparent as well that upon a human cultural level there has occurred developmental differentiation of human populations especially in the last 50,000 years of human prehistory. 

We find for instance developmental differentiation of a multi-cellular organism from a single cell into a coordinated system of different kinds of cellular tissues serving different functions. In such organisms, the integration of the organism as a whole takes clear precedence in a functional sense over the functioning of the cells themselves. Upon a population level, it is apparent that groupings of all kinds of species are involved in long-term processes of continuous evolutionary differentiation. We expect in human languages the continuous divergence of dialects in areas and the fragmentation of these areas into numerous speech groups differentiated by many isoclinal patterns of variation. Similarly, we can hypothesize the continuous historical differentiation of cultural traditions in a region, the effects of extraneous variables and outside acculturative forces notwithstanding. 

Contrary to received big bang theory, I have hypothesized a similar "cold fusion" developmental dynamics of physical reality over a very large compass of space and time, a process that has led to an increasing formation of matter and mass-based subsystems, primarily in the form of star formations.

This pattern of developmental differentiation hypothetically universal to all natural and real systems runs against a basic notion prevalent in general systems theory, that of equifinality of the steady-state pattern of systems of a given kind, such that no matter what the initial differences in starting points of such systems, the outcomes would tend toward a normal pattern of dynamic equilibrium of a common type of system that would include dynamic buffers against perturbation of change.

Clearly both patterns are evident in natural systems, and it is my contention that such patterns are in fact entirely complementary to one another in their occurrence in natural systems. In general what distinguishes a common kind or type of a system is primarily the sense of equifinal convergence of such systems to a common configuration, regardless of the initial starting conditions. This does not contradict or obviate the second patterning of the developmental differentiation of any particular system, or of any particular type of system, along some continuum or range of pattern variation. We can see the relationship between the principle of equifinality of systems and developmental differentiation as the relationship of the bell-shaped curve to the graph coordinates on which it is drawn. Systems of all kinds tend toward certain expected norms of patterning that may be said to be complex and heterogeneous in structure, and yet all systems simultaneously vary systematically along a complex range of variables that are composite dimensions or parameters of a kind of system.

The dynamic equilibrium characteristic of a stable or steady-state system concerns a stadial perspective of processes which seen from the standpoint of developmental differentiation may appear otherwise as relatively continuous. All biological organisms pass through a series of states or stages of their developmental cycle, or life cycle from birth to death. From a biological standpoint, an organism is successful ultimately if it in turn produces viable and reproductively successful organisms upon reaching a steady-state stage of physical maturity.

The concept of equifinality appears to address the central part of most systems that involve the stable state-path trajectory of a fully developed system during which prolonged period (relative to the total life-cycle) internal structural differentiation or growth is minimized. In mature biological organisms, cells reach a level of division and growth in which they are primarily replacing dead or lost tissue, rather than growing new tissue structures.

It is systems that achieve such stable state-path trajectories that we tend to ascribe as systems--we are less inclined to look at event phenomena that follow rapid or destructive trajectories as "systems" as such as they appear to lack one of the central qualities of a "system," that being a sense of long lasting dynamic equilibrium and self-maintaining organization of structure. At the same time, we also understand as well that all systems have a demise and come to an end eventually, and this is also expected from any form of event we may seek to understand. Indeed, the only truly equifinal state that all systems must eventually meet is the fate of final demise as a system.

I do not write this essay to quibble over the finer points of the problem of developmental differentiation and how it might relate to the concept of equifinality. Rather the main point is to address why developmental differentiation is important to an understanding of reality, and how it may apply to a systems based adaptive framework in reality.

If from a theory of a dynamic state universe, we hypothesize that all systems originally emerged from a common background framework, in a sense sprang from a single fundamental, primary, original "system" then we can conclude that the differentiation of systems eventually became the consequence of systems primarily differentiated interacting with one another, in selective ways, that resulted in the increasing differentiation of old systems and the emergence of new systems. Reality, or all that encompassed by our total universe, would in such a model have become thereby an increasingly dynamic and turbulent place, as different systems, originally springing from a common source, began interacting with one another leading to the formation and emergence of entirely new patterns of phenomena that could in turn be described as systems themselves.

I hypothesize that there has probably never been a time, except for some "beginning" time, which may not have been "time" at all, has there ever been a sense of a system or set of systems that have occurred in total isolation or as single systems, and that cannot be said to have arisen as the consequence of interactions and a developmental history of interactions, between different and differentiating systems at all levels.

Reality, and the universe at large, can be hypothesized to be a state or condition in general that is tending towards increasing differentiation, just as a tree that springs from the ground from a single seed branches and spreads itself more and more, above and below ground, until what was originally a single germ becomes eventually an entity of millions of leaves and roots. 

But this analogy of the tree as a differentiating system is somewhat misleading, as it will be observed that our tendency to speak of systems as if singular and in isolation does not answer the issue of the interaction of multiple systems in relation to one another, and the developmental consequences that are the product of this. If we realize that a tree is nothing without soil, air, water, and that certain kinds of trees can only grow in certain kinds of climates and biomes, then we see that a tree itself is an interacting, and not an isolated, kind of system, and its developmental possibilities and outcomes are largely dependent upon the systems based context in which it arises and takes shape.

The interaction of systems may be referred to as either destructive, innocuous or constructive in terms of the consequences of the interaction. We may borrow furthermore from evolutionary theory and refer to convergent, divergent or parallel forms of interaction that lead to consequences of one kind or another. Furthermore, the interaction of two complex systems, must in itself be inherent complex, and hence the addition of the interaction of more than two systems becomes exponentially more complicated with the addition of every new interacting system.

We understand the paradigm of developmental possibilities of two or more interacting systems may follow a range of alternatives, from destructive, to constructive, to some form of intermediary indeterminancy or complementariness. In effect, we observe within such a paradigm of possibilities the same kind of developmental paradigm we ascribe to the non-linear control dynamics of systems themselves, as if they were isolated and not interacting systems. In fact, I would probably argue, at least from an intuitive point, that the occasion of a paradigm of non-linear control is primarily the result of the complex interactions between systems, and not the intrinsic developmental constraints of a system in and of itself, which would tend, on average, towards a sense of equifinal convergence to a single complex but stable state equilibrium.

In a sense this idea vindicates the notion that a giant meteorite or a super-volcano caused a phase of sudden mass-extinction which resulted in a major shift in evolutionary change on the earth, as in such events we can see a grand scale of systems interactions between living and non-living things. But we would not even need to invoke such spectacular cosmic or geological events in order to use this principle of systems interactions to explain how extinctions and mass extinctions may have arisen merely and primarily as a consequence of the shifting interactions of different species and kinds of species across multiple biomes and trophic levels, triggered as this may have been by gradual changes of the geophysical substrate, the climate, and so forth.

Developmental differentiation then, like structural organization, cannot be completely or sufficiently accounted for on the basis of the intrinsic developmental possibilities of a single system construed analytically as if in isolation from its natural environment in interactive relationship with other systems. We cannot have completely intrinsic developmental differentiation of individual, relatively isolated systems, just as we cannot have completely self-organizing systems that are not subject to some larger meta-systems context. Even in cases, as with the developmental growth of individual organisms, and the process of cell differentiation, more attention should be paid perhaps to the interaction of emergent systems in the body that affect these developmental outcomes.

The sense of equifinality achieved by an particular system or class of systems is an indirect consequence of the differentiation of systems based upon mutual interactions and the stratification of such systems across space and time. We may hypothesize for instance that systems achieve stable, steady-state configurations in their relational patterns that represent in a relative way optimal solutions to the problem of integrative organization within a larger context of open interactions. Such a solution would be equivalent to a local "rest" state at which level entropy producing interactions and order producing interactions are effectively balanced. Natural tendencies toward greater entropy are indefinitely arrested and do not take over such a system, as these are effectively counterbalanced by processes, drawn from the larger environment, in which energy of sufficient levels can be transported back into the system. A car, for instance, in motion represents a steady state system, just so long as there is gasoline in the tank. To keep a car running, of course, one must keep putting more petroleum into the tank. Similarly, biological organisms must regularly take a meal in order to keep functioning in a stable manner. Borrowing again from ecology, we might state that systems naturally tend toward and reach their intrinsic/extrinsic carrying-capacities in their developmental growth and in their levels of integrative complexity

To summarize and conclude this exploratory essay, I would like to hypothesize that under certain prevailing natural conditions, which in fact and principle seem to be omnipresent in the universe, developmental differentiation of natural systems, leading to compartmentalization and stratification of reality, are expectable outcomes of complex variable interactions occurring in environments that can be considered open and underdetermined. I would state a principle, less obvious perhaps, that equifinality of stable, steady state systems is also an expectable outcome of the developmental differentiation and stratification of multiple systems.

Announcements & Updates

Announcements of recent updates in our framework

*We have added a new "gold" related search engine at www.goldbrick.info.

*Lewis Works is declaring a private war against Internet fraud and abuse that results in the victimization of innocent people and in the undermining of the foundations for freedom of information via the Internet. We have published our first public file on e-mail fraud attempts at: 

http://www.xyztems.com/Public/Fraud/ 

This file is by no means complete, and will be gradually developed as we go along. We feel that people need to be informed about fraud, what it looks like, what it means, how to deal with it. The amount of abuse of the Internet seems to be vast and to be growing rapidly, and the agencies and efforts to police and protect the Internet seems largely token and inadequate. Preservation of the freedom of the Internet depends therefore on people policing themselves and upon self-organizational efforts to protect the Internet against obvious abuse. This is not digital vigilantism. It is merely self-protection and defensive action through relevant information. So go buy yourself an Internet shotgun as well as a useful spam filter and fire-wall.

*Our web-system is becoming increasingly streamlined, integrated and coordinated as loose ends are being ferreted out and tied up. Some of the relevant domains will be reassigned and developed over the next few weeks. We have updated the e-mail system and we are making new contacts with interesting people almost daily.

*Spam has been considerable on our system--we are probably averaging more than a thousand e-mails per day, and we have in one day downloaded backlogged e-mail files consisting of more than 15,000 e-mails, the vast majority of which was pure, unsolicited, uncensored, unadulterated spam. A great deal of this spam in fact is coming from only a handful of sources.

Mission Statement

Lewis Works is dedicated to realizing new human adaptive possibilities in order to create alternative long-term frameworks for human & biological systems development on earth and beyond.

The primary mission of Lewis Works is to fundamentally empower all human beings, without regard or reference to their individual or cultural differences, so that they may function in a more constructive and non-violent manner by means of their integration within an applied systems framework that enables them to contextualize and focus their independent developmental efforts toward comprehensive solutions to common problems in resource distribution, environmental adaptation, and social-structural interaction.

Lewis Works Ten Point Mission Statement

• 1. Lewis Works seeks alternative meta-systems based development through applied general systems with the main goals of:

• a. Achieving a mutually stable and harmonic balance between future human systems and earthbound biological systems.

• b. Providing all human beings in unbiased structural or cultural contexts the alternative systems-based frameworks for their individual & social development by means of increased opportunities, productivity, security and resource availability that they would not otherwise have in conventional frameworks.

• c. Developing the infra-structural context and means for the regular extension of human and biological systems beyond the boundaries of the earth.

• 2. Lewis Works is dedicated to achieving a better world for all people and for all life-forms through the implementation and articulation of an applied general systems framework to general and specific problem sets that occur in the adaptive organization of human behavior in a shared natural environment.

• 3. Lewis Works is non-exclusive, open, non-authoritarian, philanthropic and pacifist in orientation.

• 4. Lewis Works pursues a combination of both profit and non-profit programs and projects to the achievement of its main goals.

• 5. Lewis Works protects and promotes universal human rights and human responsibilities throughout its various programs and projects by the systematic pursuit of human development strategies.

• 6. Lewis Works is law abiding and honest in all its dealings and transactions in all contexts, and respects and honors the customs and manners of all peoples and all ethnocultural groupings.

• 7. Lewis Works protects and promotes the confidentiality and legitimate interests of its clients and customers under all circumstances and in all cases.

• 8. Lewis Works seeks to efficiently provide a comprehensive range of profit-based services and related product lines within an open, web-based forum of exchange that is global in scope, regional in character, and local in focus, and that serves as the basis for the development of a structurally open meta-systems based context in the world transcending local, regional and national identities and affiliations.

• 9. Lewis Works seeks to promote non-profit programs in alternative human development for the sake of alleviating human suffering, educating people openly and in an unbiased manner, and promoting pro-social human development.

• 10. Lewis Works seeks to create trans-national meta-cultural orientations in the world through various organizational frameworks that promote open, democratic principles of government, fair-play and the rule of just law, and through the development of anti-structural multi-media based systems that provide humanity a common symbolic context for their meta-cultural integration.

Products & Services

Lewis Works strives to offer a genuinely comprehensive range of services and products for the global e-consumer in an informed, non-aggressive manner. It has taken us time to develop our resources into an integrated framework that will provide largely automated self-service to our members and other customers, bolstered by one-on-one account management and attention to personal details. But persistence & a great deal of patience is finally beginning to pay-off in terms of the emergence of a real web-system with an active presence on the Internet.

We act both as a reseller for other providers, and we also are increasing the product range that we actually own or buy ourselves wholesale and then resell. We also provide a range of peripheral options through associate/affiliate accounts. 

We seek to be as honest and transparent in our dealings and relations with the world as possible, putting as a premium in our transactions building the values of trust and reliability.

We also recommend our current Link Palette for related links & portals, though most of these are as yet unfinished.

For external topic-organized links, we recommend Hugh's Hot Links

For popular, top-search links, we recommend Haut Lynx

Query us for advertising on our Advertising Pages that are shown throughout our web-system on more than a eleven hundred distinct URLs.

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