01.01 Introduction — Beyond Networks: The Evolution of Living Systems
Channel: Johannes Jaeger
Date: 2020-04-17

This is a 45-min introduction to my "Beyond Networks" lecture series, given between April and June 2020 in the context of the masters programme on Evolutionary Systems Biology at the University of Vienna. 

This lecture series is an exploration of organisms and their evolution, which goes beyond our machine-based metaphors of genetic programmes, evolutionary optimisation, and networks in systems biology. It attempts to provide a fresh perspective on the complex intertwined processes that constitute life in its full diversity. 

The introduction sets the scene with an introduction of the lecturer, and some preliminary observations on the fragility of our modern world view, which is based on the paradigms of manipulation and control. During the lecture, we will aim to move towards a more participatory model of understanding our interconnected and unpredictable world.

Please do acknowledge me and my work if you feel inspired by it. Other than that, feel free to re-use and spread the message! 

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please post them below. I will try to engage. Be patient, for I am slow and not to be hurried.

Links mentioned in the presentation: 

John Vervaeke's "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh3f0P5qjrSdb5eC1ZfZwWJ.

Read Harry Frankfurt's bestseller "On Bullshit" (and its sequel "On Truth") or watch "Bullshit! Featuring Harry Frankfurt": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D9Y-1Jcov4.
 
Carl Bergstrom's website is http://www.callingbullshit.org. Watch out for his upcoming book (with Jevin D. West) "Calling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World". 

Adam Curtis' ingenious meta-propaganda movie "HyperNormalisation" is available at: https://vimeo.com/191817381. The term was coined by anthropologist Alexei Yurchak during the demise and fall of the Soviet Union.

The Matrix is heavily inspired by Jean Beaudrillard's "Simulacra and Simulation." Highly recommended if you would like to understand the highly fragmented society and the loss of reality we are experiencing today.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Incerto Series includes the books "Fooled by Randomness", "The Black Swan", "The Bed of Procrustes", "Antifragility", and "Skin in the Game". They are all worth reading. I recommend starting with "The Black Swan" or "Antifragility". "Bed of Procrustes" is a Nietzschean book of aphorisms. 

Talking about Nietzsche: "The History of an Error" from "Twilight of the Idols" is available online in English: 
http://www.handprint.com/SC/NIE/GotDamer.html#sect4
and in German:
http://www.zeno.org/Philosophie/M/Nietzsche,+Friedrich/G%C3%B6tzen-D%C3%A4mmerung/Wie+die+%C2%BBwahre+Welt%C2%AB+endlich+zur+Fabel+wurde.
As pithy and concise as it gets...