Theoretical biology doesn't assume you come up with an equilibrium. Stu Kaufmann was more puzzled by the standard economic approach than he was by what I'd say. Biology is about systems of many interacting elements, they could be genetic elements or neurons in your brain. Whatever was happening in biology was always the process. It necessarily settled down. And when John gave his talk I thought yeah this is mild the interesting teaching computers how to play chess. If John Holland is the answer all we need to do is find the question.
In our last episode, we heard from W. Brian Arthur, who shared his journey in economics as he studied increasing returns. Now, Brian's going to take us to 1987, to a small meeting in the Rockies in Santa Fe. At this time, he was struggling to gain recognition for his work within the economics community, but it was when Brian went to what would become the Santa Fe Institute that things really kicked off.
In this episode, you're going to hear again from W. Brain Arthur, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and Researcher at Palo Alto Research Center, as he remembers the early days of the Santa Fe Institute. From the early meetings of economists, physicists, and a biologist that started it all, to an early model Brian built of a stock market that was unique to any models before it — because this model included booms and busts.
Connect:
This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.