Institute for Advanced Science & Engineering : Explaining Experience in Nature
By Steven Ericsson-Zenith
document type: cover. not yet published revised: May 24th, 2010. editor: sez reviewed by editor: sez. proof read by: pah. proofread: September 16th, 2009 status: work-in-progress. version: draft. audience: general-public | Goals and ScopeOur institutional objectives and the scope of our work.
The scope of our scientific mission rests at the Foundations of Logic and Apprehension, with the creation of theoretical models, the challenge of their rigorous and systematic formalization, and the verification of these models by observation in biophysics and practice. Pragmatically, the goal of our research is to explain the presence of experience in nature, and to do this with such fidelity that it becomes possible to provide a detailed account of the evolution and mechanics of sense and motility. A product of our mission is a necessary new mechanics, a calculus for biophysics. This is a broad mandate with three natural levels of complementary research. Its scope spans the development of physical theory, the principles of biophysical engineering, and the study of associated behavior. Success in these areas will provide contributions to the foundations of logic and mathematics, and inform the natural sciences and medicine. The three levels of our research are:
Our objectives do not fit within the mandate of any single discipline today, covering the ground in science from Logic to Biophysics. We focus upon scientific epistemology, existential theory, and the mathematization of biophysical models. Our work has a clear empirical direction and it is our goal to construct verifiable and provable models. Our work is driven by new discoveries in biophysics, and a requirement to fill a theoretical gap in biophysics to enable an explanatory engineering of sense and motility. Our success will enable a new generation of technology, one able to construct machines that experience. Our success will necessarily identify fundamental limits in current approaches. A successful effort will solve long standing problems related to recognition, problems that have proven intractable by current technologies. As a result our success has broad strategic implications for the future. IASE is committed to ensuring that these new advances are made openly and that their benefits are available to all. Current ResearchCurrent research is focused upon building the foundations of our long term effort. The following projects have our attention. Foundations of Logic and ApprehensionFoundational issues in logic and mathematics. It is a common misconception that work in logic complete and that there is little more to be said. In fact there remains fundamental questions to be answered. In particular, the implementation of logic in biology appears to be a logic of differentiation unavailable to the integrative logic of computing science. Physical TheoryExplaining how sentient motile entities come to be in the world. Physical theory is in crisis[1]. The language of contemporary physics does not permit an explanation of our experience of the world4 [2][3]. We are investigating some of the fundamental assumptions in mathematical physics. This includes our mathematical notions of orthogonality, dimensionality, and probability. Apprehending Difficult IdeasHow we can refine our ideas and enable you to understand them. We face a not uncommon challenge for scholars and researchers. How do we effectively develop and enable the apprehension of difficult ideas? How do we transition from intuition to formal statements? To solve this problem, at least for our own needs, we research and develop XML based technologies that may assist us. Reasoning About Behavior in Social NetworksWhat happens in groups. Given a natural explanation of individual sentient entities, we explore effective methods for reasoning about their behavior in groups. This work may ultimately have application in the social sciences such as economics. Recent UpdatesHere are a few links to some of the things we are working on. ↵ Explaining Experience In Nature: The Foundations Of Logic And ApprehensionIntroductory remarks that informally outline the work, provide a discussion of the current approach being taken and the implications. ↵ A New Kind Of PositivismAn introductory presentation given at Stanford University CSLI CogLunch in March 2008. ↵ Reasoning About Behavior In Social NetworksA preliminary paper, the basis of a presentation given at Purdue University in May 2009, on applying our foundational theories to behavior on the social network Facebook. ↵ Apprehending Difficult And Complex IdeasAn inquiry into document based human understanding. We explore concept analysis and the new kinds of document that digital environments may enable for developing and expressing difficult ideas. Board of Directors
Bob Krysiak is Corporate Vice President of STMicroelectronics, President and General Manager of STMicroelectronics in the Americas. Suresh Jagannathan is Professor of Computer Science and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. Steven Ericsson-Zenith is a scholar with extensive research and development experience in pure and applied semeiotic, mathematical logic, computer architecture, parallel computing, programming language design and implementation, and human factors. Working with the InstituteHow Researchers, Scholars and Industry can work with us. IASE collaborates with other research groups and industry in cases that promise to validate our models or provide empirical results not accessible otherwise. Research CollaborationOur research collaboration interests are limited to behavioral and biophysical studies of organisms and machine architecture. Industry PartnersRelationships with industry partners must either enable validation of our work or promise empirical results not accessible otherwise. Associate ScholarsWe are not a teaching institution but we will consider associate relationships with scholars writing in the field. Giving to the InstituteWe plan a significant effort. We seek funds to enable an endowment to meet our long term goals. These goals include the establishment of a faculty run research establishment, a program of international research collaboration, and a continuing public education program. IASE is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered in California. Donations are tax-deductible in the USA to the full extent provided by the law. Your support is appreciated: Send a check, payable to Institute for Advanced Science & Engineering, to: Institute for Advanced Science & Engineering Stanford, CA 94309 USA +1-650-646-2544 You can also give online through Paypal via: ↵ We appreciate your review and encourage you to contact us for more information. Sincerely and with respect,.  Dr. Steven Ericsson-Zenith. Founder and Chairman Sunnyvale, California. USA. May 29th, 2010 | |||||||||||||||
♦ End Notes1 : ... the Foundations of Logic and Apprehension ...Our work in the Foundations of Logic and Apprehension includes the areas of traditional interest to Logicians, the nature and method of necessary conclusions, as well as a detailed examination of the biophysics upon which this operation is founded. A broad inquiry of this kind into the Foundations of Logic and Apprehension is called “Semeiotic Theory” after Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914). We are informed by the work of Charles Peirce and this is greatly complemented by the work of the later Logical Positivists, notably Rudolf Carnap (1891-1970). 2 : ... how such individuals come to be in the world ...Our work in physics and evolutionary theory focuses upon the theoretical and mathematical challenges necessary to enable an explanation of sentient individuals and a mathematical description of their mechanics . 3 : ... reasoning about these individuals in groups ...The next logical step is to build upon these foundations to ask the same basic questions concerning the behavior of individuals in groups. To this end we develop methods for reasoning about the behavior of individuals in social networks. We are especially interested in identifying natural laws and principles that determine social outcomes and these should be general solutions that apply equally well to all organisms. 4 : ... an explanation of our experience of the world ...That the language of contemporary mathematical physics does not permit an explanation of our experience of the world is the central premise in a series of publications since 1989 by the English physicist Roger Penrose. Concepts
ReferencesLee Smolin. The Trouble with Physics. Houghton-Mifflin (2006). [1] Penrose, Roger. The Emperor's New Mind. Oxford University Press (1989). ISBN:0140145346. [2] Penrose, Roger. The Road to Reality. Vintage - Random House (2004). ISBN:0679776311. [3] |
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