How many people are aware that a New Age of Science is upon us? What is the relationship between this emerging scientific perspective and Traditional Science? Is Traditional Science prepared to make room for this fresh perspective by embracing new approaches to science?
We recognize that Science, with its focus upon method and cause-effect reasoning, has shaped the modern world in amazing ways – energy systems, industrialization, medical science and the global communication network, just to name a few. We do claim, however, that the extreme momentum of the current Scientific Age cries out for some kind of complementary balance. The momentum of the Scientific Revolution has, unfortunately, led to extreme consequences such as the problems of: over-population, resource over-consumption, environmental pollution and war-fighting technology, to name just a few.
We suggest that intriguing new approaches can potentially strike a balance with the accelerating intensity of the material focus of traditional science. The perspective of this New Age of Science instead focuses upon the quality of personal experience. We believe that this new approach provides tools that effectively address a wide range of significant human behaviors. These tools provide techniques to make informed choices that can enable us to maximize personal potentials. Although standing firmly on the shoulders of Traditional Science, the New Age of Science has an entirely different focus. While Traditional Science aims at the improvement of external circumstances (wealth, pleasure and convenience), the aim of this new scientific perspective is to improve internal circumstances (happiness, motivation and vitality).
One of the powerful implications of traditional science is the philosophy of scientific determinism. This is the prevalent belief that human behavior is exclusively dictated by the laws of the material world. This mechanical notion erodes the confidence we have in free will and therefore undermines the importance of the concept of choice. In contrast, the conscious intent of the new scientific perspective is to utilize the laws of nature to provide guidance that will enable us to make informed choices. This empowerment leads to a proactive vitality. Our mathematical studies belong to the complex of attitudes associated with this New Age of Science.
Now that the context of exploration is set, let's explore the Ages of Traditional Science to see how they set the stage for this new perspective.
In his book Science and Human Values, Jacob Bronowski argues that the interests and values of science and society are intertwined. As part of his argument he breaks the interaction between science and culture into three distinct historical periods. We find this division instructive for the purposes of identifying the context of this particular study. Our studies belong to a fourth period that didn't exist when he wrote his book. We are not claiming that our studies are alone, or even spearheading this new connection between science and culture. We are part of a growing wave of scientists with a new focus of attention. And this shift of scientific attention reflects a similar shift in cultural values. In general, this cultural-scientific shift balances the traditional external approach with a new focus on internal pursuits.
Bronowski claims that the first age of science began with Copernicus and is often called the Scientific Revolution. Trade was the primary source of new wealth during this initial age. Navigation of the seas was of crucial importance to this endeavor. Hence, the profit-driven focus of the culture motivated scientists to study the underlying mechanisms that governed the regular patterns of the stars. The telescope epitomized their endeavors.
In the second age of science, often called the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing was the primary source of new wealth. Accordingly, society and scientists were obsessed with the physical energy it took to run machines. A variety of scientific disciplines, including thermodynamics, revealed the most efficient techniques for energy transference. These disciplines deal with the transformation of heat and electrical energy into the mechanical energy required to run these machines (the steam engine or internal combustion engine, for instance). Machines that replaced the 'routine work of the human muscle' epitomized the inventions of this era.
Writing in 1960, Jacob Bronowski captures an early sense of this third age of science through his identification of key inventions that characterize each age.
“A characteristic invention of the Scientific Revolution was the telescope. … The characteristic invention of the Industrial Revolution was the power machine which does the routine work of the human muscle. The characteristic invention of the second Industrial Revolution through which we are passing is the control mechanism which does the routine work of the human brain.” (Science and Human Values, Jacob Bronowski, p. 84)
What machine does this 'routine work of the human brain', but computers? What is the science of computers, but information theory? In this age, the current period in which we live, control of information has become a particularly important source of new wealth. As such, society and science shifted their attention to replacing human mental capabilities with machines. Electronic information theory epitomizes the science and computers epitomize the key invention of this era.
In summary, the culture’s pursuit of profits drove scientists to first center their collective attentions upon the problems of trade, then upon machines, and finally computers. As our scientific culture mastered the worlds of navigation, matter, and electronic information, they provided us with wonderful technologies that make our lives easier and more entertaining – in ways unimaginable just a few decades ago. It seems safe to say that the improvement of external circumstances (the accumulation of wealth, labor saving devices or material pleasures) have driven this science/culture complex during these first three eras.
The growing intensity of this collective attention upon external circumstances has attracted an immense popular following. Unfortunately, the momentum of this accelerating and exclusive focus upon the external is out-of-balance. There are dire consequences - environmental, political, and psychological – to this perspective. A casual survey of the inherent problems with the external approach includes: rampant pollution, resource-driven warfare, and resource depletion. The psychological component is even more insidious, as the harm is implicit rather than explicit. Reactive scientific determinism erodes the notion of exerting a proactive free will. (More elaboration later on.) This cultural-scientific momentum is crying out for balance. What has science not seen? What are they missing? What does science have to say about our individual selves?
There is no need to be depressed by these looming consequences of the traditional science/culture complex. We are arriving at an age we’ve never seen before. A New Age of Science is here! Rejoice! The collective gaze is turning inward. It has taken time for science to reach this stage of understanding. But now, a group of scientists in a diversity of disciplines – disciplines including cellular biology, bio-chemistry, cognitive science, and behavioral psychology – have dared to stand outside the traditional mechanistic box. Some have even risked their professional standing. For the first time in history, scientific insights provide techniques that allow us to better harness living energies to enhance a range of personal activities (sleep, creative expression, motivation, vitality, productivity, etc.). They provide experimental evidence that is relevant day-to-day, week-to-week human behaviors. In effect, this new approach has provided a scientific rationale for the inward gaze. Employing the insights derived from these new areas of research enables us to make informed choices that can lead to a better life and a better world.
The inward quest has, of course, been the topic of spiritual disciplines for millennia. Now at last science has joined the search. A series of recent books written by Scientific Insiders is evidence of this trend. These include flow by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, Drive by Daniel Pink, Biology of Belief by Dr. Bruce Lipton, brain rules by Dr. John Medina, and Molecules of Emotion by Dr. Candice Pert. These books share certain features in common: 1) They are addressed to the educated public, 2) Scientific Insiders summarize the cutting edge findings and emerging consensus in their respective disciplines, and finally 3) the authors are driven to share this information so that we can make better choices to optimize our lives. The topics include: the nature of optimal experiences, the importance of internal motivation, taking control of our emotions and beliefs, and what brain research says about our behavioral limits.
Science and technology has consistently followed an upward trajectory – building upon successful theories, while weeding out those that cannot survive sustained rational/empirical scrutiny. This notion of an upward trajectory, however, cannot be applied to social and cultural institutions, which inevitably experience rises and falls. Science, as a transcultural phenomenon, has experienced far more stable progress. As such, the insights of Traditional Science are foundational to the insights of the New Science. This New Science is not a Revolution. It is not replacing Traditional Science. Although standing on its shoulders, it is introducing a brand new perspective. The inward gaze of this New Science provides a healthy balance to the outward gaze of Traditional Science.
Below is a table that attempts to summarize some of the significant differences between the ages. Note that each of the ages employs the same scientific method for generating and verifying hypotheses.
Age |
Focus |
Purpose |
Science |
Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Revolution | Astronomy/Physics |
Replace Superstition |
Universal Laws |
√ |
| Industrial Revolution | Machines |
Replace Muscle Power |
Analog Energy |
√ |
| Digital Revolution | Computers |
Replace Brain Power |
Electronic Information |
√ |
| Personal Revolution | Humans |
Personal Growth |
Investigation of Consciousness |
√ |
Another way of viewing these ages is through their relationship to the notion of free will. In general, we can say that a gradual erosion of the belief in free will characterizes the progress of the first three ages of science.
The scientists of the first age of Newton, astronomy, and navigation were amazed to find that the laws of heaven and earth corresponded via gravity. Human beings by virtue of their physicality are subject to these same laws. The implication of this first age was that perhaps these physical laws were the only laws that governed human behavior. The emerging techno-scientific enthusiasm embraced the concept that a set of physical laws would eventually describe all phenomena. The erosion of the educated public's belief in free will takes form during this era.
The second age of Energy, Machines and Manufacturing, affirmed the implications of this first age. An increasing number of phenomena came under the sway of Science during this era. A school of thought begins to gain momentum with philosophers and scientists due to the growing explanatory power of the Scientific Industrial Revolution. It is at this time that the concept of scientific determinism begins to be seriously considered. Scientific determinism holds that the entire universe is composed of matter; matter automatically obeys universal laws; therefore humans automatically obey these same laws. As the claims of religious dogma fell increasingly under rational/empirical scrutiny, scientific determinism began to gain popularity with the educated public. The assumption that gains momentum during this second age is that the only set of laws needed to explain human behavior are the same set of laws that explain the behavior of all other forms of matter.
The only apparent remaining refuge to this deterministic philosophy was the assumption that the mind operated independently of the universal laws of matter. The third age, the Age of Information and Computers, began to address this last refuge of those who resisted this emerging scientific determinism. In this new digital age, the machine, which previously exclusively performed manual labor, now begins to perform increasingly complicated mental functions as well. It is at this point that the scientific determinists begin to claim that the laws governing the behavior of the computerized machines of this age also govern the workings of the human mind. In other words determinists believe that the only laws needed to explain the human mind are those used to explain the behavior of thinking machines (computers). The Artificial Intelligence people argue that computers will be able to replace humans in the near future because there is nothing that we can do that computers can’t do better. In this view, the human is a poor replica of the machine – both physically and mentally.
The notion of scientific determinism inherently impinges on the belief in free will. Therefore those who embrace the notion of free will are torn between the desire to believe in an independence of mind and the desire to maintain respect for the scientific tradition. Those who are advocates for proactive choice are concerned about the negative psychological consequences associated with a mind-set that is metaphorically suggestive of Calvinistic predestination. This fatalistic, deterministic gaze on the automatic behavior of analog matter and digital electronic information processing leads to victimization and fatalism. "I'm a slave to my genes, to the automatic cause and effect of the laws of Physics, to my neurology, to my psychology or even to some master programmer somewhere. If everything is automatic, what is the point in trying to do anything? I am a victim of my circumstances. Free will must be an illusion." The sense that free will is not an illusion is what drives this author’s work and this new age of science.
One might be surprised, at the beginning of the 21st century, that there continues to be such strong support for the philosophy of scientific determinism. However there are in fact a multitude of books written by Insiders that affirm this depressing and, from our perspective, unrealistic view of existence. Each author somehow believes that findings in their respective fields will eventually explain everything. For example consider the words of Steven Hawking:
"…scientific determinism: Given the state of the universe at one time, a complete set of laws fully determines both the future and the past. This would exclude the possibility of miracles or an active role for God. … Scientific determinism is, in fact, the basis of all modern science, and a principle that is important throughout this book. … Since people live in the universe and interact with the other objects in it, scientific determinism must hold for people as well. … our understanding of the molecular basis of biology shows that biological processes are governed by the laws of physics and chemistry and therefore are as determined as the orbits of the planets. Recent experiments in neuroscience support the view that it is our physical brain, following the known laws of science, that determines our actions, and not some agency that exists outside those laws." (Grand Design, 2010, pp. 30-32)
This quotation is representative of a series of similar claims that are all based on the same logic. They argue that Science has explained so many phenomena that it will eventually explain all phenomena using the same model. They further argue that Science has identified so many mechanistic processes that all processes must be mechanistic. Here is a significant yet incomplete list of the genre. It includes author, book and the discipline that will “explain everything”. Steven Hawking – The Grand Design – Physics. Dawkins – The Smart Gene - DNA. Kurtweil – The Singularity - Artificial Intelligence. Wolfram - The New Science - Cellular Automata. Edward Fredkin – Digital Mechanics – Physics/Computers.
Each of these books is firmly rooted in a genre that can be characterized by its techno-scientific optimism. Each author attempts to 'wow' his audience with recent advances in science that focus upon the increasing predictability of events in his particular field. It's interesting to note that each makes the same exclusive claim about their respective disciplines. For one group, it's the 'wow' of traditional analog science. For others, it's the 'wow' of digital computers, DNA genetics, cellular automata, or even the 'wow' of fractal geometry. The implicit assumption that these authors share is that all phenomena are subject to a material explanation. This line of faulty reasoning is founded on a leap of blind faith in the universal explanatory power of traditional science. We choose to call this science-based religion Scientism. (See our complex of articles on Scientism for more elaboration.)
Since we have enormous respect for the powerful intelligence of this illustrious group of authors, we wonder about their certainty. Could they be a tad bit arrogant about the explanatory power of their models? Does the ability to mechanistically predict particular events mean that all events can be mechanistically predicted? Do they really believe that their models are going to be able to accurately predict all future events? Could these models, which parenthetically speaking still have holes, really successfully describe all phenomena? We find the model of scientific determinism to be of insufficient explanatory power to address some of the most important features of human experience. Characterizing human beings as obedient servants of the law of gravity (and other mechanistic forces) tells us much less about people, for instance, than characterizing human beings as artistic creatures.
This new perspective of Science branches off in a new direction – suggesting that consciousness is not entirely subject to a material explanation. The authors of the aforementioned books of the Inward Age provide evidence of this new perspective. Professor Lipton provides scientific evidence that our mental attitudes influence cellular activity; through her rigorous investigations Professor Pert provides empirical links between attitude and the biochemistry of emotions; Professor Csikszentmihalyi (Dr. Flow) employs psychological studies to provide insight into how to direct consciousness in a constructive manner; similarly Professor Medina transmits the results of brain research in a multitude of fields to enable us to make better conscious choices. All of these authors, in their respective scientific disciplines, emphasize both the possibility and the importance of taking charge of our lives. The primary theme these books share is the transmission of scientific knowledge to that end.
The new perspective of science embraces the belief in freedom of choice. This perspective does not imply an absolute freedom of choice; for choice is still constrained by the specified limits of what is scientifically and mathematically possible. Our choices are going to be shaped by the language that nature chooses. Knowledge of this language is what allows us to consider the range of choices that are actually available to us. These constraints provide access to constructive avenues for expressing our freedom.
Note that the notion of limited will falls in the continuum between unlimited free will and scientific determinism. Under this belief humans, as biochemical, psychophysical matter, must obey the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, neurology, genetics, psychology, and we suggest mathematics, as well. However despite these multiple limitations, there remains ample wiggle room – plenty of latitude to foul a life up or find secret passageways to self-actualization. As such, the point of this new scientific perspective is to warn us of dangerous or destructive choices and encourage us to make safer or more constructive choices.
Although the idea of limits suggests restrictions, in actuality these limits provide the structure essential for the development of complexity. According to Dr. Flow, this growth in personal complexity is at the heart of a happy, vital and productive life. The structure of this complexity is the focus of the mathematical study of Information Dynamics (our contribution to this new perspective in science). The express purpose of our contribution is to reveal the innate mathematical structures that enable us to most effectively actualize our personal potentials.
As we've seen, Insider scientists provide hardcore evidence suggesting that we can exercise choice to improve our lives within the constraints of biology, chemistry, neurology, and psychology. Information Dynamics, a behavioral study based in the mathematics of information processing, suggests ways of improving our lives by taking into account the constraints of the language of mathematics. The language of mathematics provides an underlying structure that maximizes our potentials within limits prescribed by science. Further, Information Dynamics provides a mathematical umbrella that links many of the findings in these diverse disciplines. As such, these mathematical structures apply to each of the above disciplines. The freedom within these structures provides ample wiggle room to exercise choice. Accordingly, Information Dynamics is firmly rooted in the new perspective of science. Consciousness is not merely a servant of material considerations, but can exert control, albeit limited, over external circumstances. And science can provide direction for this quest.
In summary, the focus of Traditional Science has been upon the generation of laws that will describe the physical universe. Sustained attention upon the automatic behavior of the physical universe (both micro and macro) led to the belief in scientific determinism. This techno-optimistic belief confidently predicts that on some future day we will be able to use physical laws to describe the entire range of human behavior. We’re not claiming that all scientists are techno-optimists, but this powerful current, which originated within a significant segment of the scientific community, has also spread to the culture at large.
This deterministic philosophy has unfortunate implications for those of us who retain some sense that we do in fact make choices and that our choices matter. Determinism can be associated with a sense that we are victims of – take your pick: our gene pool, the automatic behavior of subatomic particles, neurology, etc. In contrast, the new perspective of Science focuses upon the notion that we can enhance our lives through the application of informed choice. Determinism has no room in the universe for the exercise of choice; while the new scientific perspective prescribes this exertion of will as an antidote to this fatalistic notion. The new science articulates a fresh approach to describing the laws of human behavior. These laws create a framework within which a wide range of choices is possible. And science provides informed guidance that enables us to maximize the quality of these choices. The study of Information Dynamics, our contribution, belongs to this new perspective. Join us in the transition into the New Age of Science.
Enough of this New Age talk. We just wanted to establish the historical context and perspective of our study. We feel it is important to have a sense of the evolution of the scientific enterprise in order to properly understand how this new perspective differs from the traditional focus of science.
From this point forward we will be examining Information Dynamics, our contribution to this new science. This comprehensive study places mathematics face-to-face with behavioral reality. Specifically, Information Dynamics links human behavior with the mathematics of information digestion. While traditional information theory has focused upon electrical systems, our focus on information theory relates to the unique nature of living systems. Living systems provide the ultimate challenge for scientific articulation.
Don't worry. This can be a loving and caring relationship. The mathematics is approachable – even for those who are typically confused by the language of mathematics. In fact, our approach typically evokes visual understanding through the use of graphs, which are known for their elegant simplicity. In addition to this aesthetic element, the immediacy of the visual approach is an excellent medium for communicating an understanding of Information Dynamics.
In line with the visual nature of the project, the next article in this series of articles is an introduction to the Pulse of Attention. The Pulse of Attention is the graceful curve that results when the Living Algorithm digests a series of uninterrupted 1s. The Living Algorithm generates the entire mathematical system behind Information Dynamics. In addition to being attractive, the Living Algorithm’s Pulse of Attention seems to have widespread correspondences with behavioral reality. Accordingly, this study belongs firmly to the New Age Perspective of Science.
The preceding words were deliberately crafted to appeal to our 'reasonable' Left Brain capabilities via an expository style. We will also employ two other styles that are offered as supplements to the main body of the work. Links will be provided for these unique perspectives.
One set of articles (coded as a light blue 'personal' section) presents biographical information regarding the Author's life and the personal historical context for his individual insights. In this regard, check out Disenchantment with Traditional Perspective.
Another set of articles (coded as a pink 'narrative' section) is designed to appeal to our 'metaphorical' Right Brain. These sections symbolize the emotional content that motivated the Author's endeavor. As such, this perspective presents a parallel universe that operates side by side with the expository style. To achieve this aim, we anthropomorphize certain key concepts, including Life, as the urge for self-actualization. To understand Life's frustrations at being objectified by traditional mathematics, read Can Life really find a Mathematical Partner?
To skip these supplementary styles and remain in the Left Brain's analytical world, check out the next article in the stream – Introduction: The Pulse of Attention.