The Organic Codes

The Organic Codes
Author: Marcello Barbieri
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2003
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780521531009

The genetic code appeared on Earth with the first cells. The codes of cultural evolution arrived almost four billion years later. These are the only codes that are recognized by modern biology. In this book, however, Marcello Barbieri explains that there are many more organic codes in nature, and their appearance not only took place throughout the history of life but marked the major steps of that history. A code establishes a correspondence between two independent 'worlds', and the codemaker is a third party between those 'worlds'. Therefore the cell can be thought of as a trinity of genotype, phenotype and ribotype. The ancestral ribotypes were the agents which gave rise to the first cells. The book goes on to explain how organic codes and organic memories can be used to shed new light on the problems encountered in cell signalling, epigenesis, embryonic development, and the evolution of language.

The Codes of Life

The Codes of Life
Author: Marcello Barbieri
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2007-10-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402063407

Building on a range of disciplines – from biology and anthropology to philosophy and linguistics – this book draws on the expertise of leading names in the study of organic, mental and cultural codes brought together by the emerging discipline of biosemiotics. The volume represents the first multi-authored attempt to deal with the range of codes relevant to life, and to reveal the ubiquitous role of coding mechanisms in both organic and mental evolution.

Code Biology

Code Biology
Author: Marcello Barbieri
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2015-02-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319145355

This book is the study of all codes of life with the standard methods of science. The genetic code and the codes of culture have been known for a long time and represent the historical foundation of this book. What is really new in this field is the study of all codes that came after the genetic code and before the codes of culture. The existence of these organic codes, however, is not only a major experimental fact. It is one of those facts that have extraordinary theoretical implications. The first is that most events of macroevolution were associated with the origin of new organic codes, and this gives us a completely new reconstruction of the history of life. The second implication is that codes involve meaning and we need therefore to introduce in biology not only the concept of information but also the concept of biological meaning. The third theoretical implication comes from the fact that the organic codes have been highly conserved in evolution, which means that they are the greatest invariants of life. The study of the organic codes, in short, is bringing to light new mechanisms that have operated in the history of life and new fundamental concepts in biology.

The Nature of Code

The Nature of Code
Author: Daniel Shiffman
Publisher: No Starch Press
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2024-09-03
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1718503717

All aboard The Coding Train! This beginner-friendly creative coding tutorial is designed to grow your skills in a fun, hands-on way as you build simulations of real-world phenomena with “The Coding Train” YouTube star Daniel Shiffman. What if you could re-create the awe-inspiring flocking patterns of birds or the hypnotic dance of fireflies—with code? For over a decade, The Nature of Code has empowered countless readers to do just that, bridging the gap between creative expression and programming. This innovative guide by Daniel Shiffman, creator of the beloved Coding Train, welcomes budding and seasoned programmers alike into a world where code meets playful creativity. This JavaScript-based edition of Shiffman’s groundbreaking work gently unfolds the mysteries of the natural world, turning complex topics like genetic algorithms, physics-based simulations, and neural networks into accessible and visually stunning creations. Embark on this extraordinary adventure with projects involving: A physics engine: Simulate the push and pull of gravitational attraction. Flocking birds: Choreograph the mesmerizing dance of a flock. Branching trees: Grow lifelike and organic tree structures. Neural networks: Craft intelligent systems that learn and adapt. Cellular automata: Uncover the magic of self-organizing patterns. Evolutionary algorithms: Play witness to natural selection in your code. Shiffman’s work has transformed thousands of curious minds into creators, breaking down barriers between science, art, and technology, and inviting readers to see code not just as a tool for tasks but as a canvas for boundless creativity. Whether you’re deciphering the elegant patterns of natural phenomena or crafting your own digital ecosystems, Shiffman’s guidance is sure to inform and inspire. The Nature of Code is not just about coding; it’s about looking at the natural world in a new way and letting its wonders inspire your next creation. Dive in and discover the joy of turning code into art—all while mastering coding fundamentals along the way. NOTE: All examples are written with p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding, and are available on the book's website.

Biosemiotics

Biosemiotics
Author: Marcello Barbieri
Publisher: Nova Publishers
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9781600216121

This book presents contexts and associations of the semiotic view in biology, by making a short review of the history of the trends and ideas of biosemiotics, or semiotic biology, in parallel with theoretical biology. Biosemiotics can be defined as the science of signs in living systems. A principal and distinctive characteristic of semiotic biology lies in the understanding that in living, entities do not interact like mechanical bodies, but rather as messages, the pieces of text. This means that the whole determinism is of another type.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Omnivore's Dilemma
Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2007-08-28
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0143038583

"Outstanding . . . a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our eating habits." —The New Yorker One of the New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of the Year and Winner of the James Beard Award Author of This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind and the #1 New York Times Bestseller In Defense of Food and Food Rules What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and, with The Omnivore’s Dilemma, his brilliant and eye-opening exploration of our food choices, demonstrated that how we answer it today may determine not only our health but our survival as a species. In the years since, Pollan’s revolutionary examination has changed the way Americans think about food. Bringing wide attention to the little-known but vitally important dimensions of food and agriculture in America, Pollan launched a national conversation about what we eat and the profound consequences that even the simplest everyday food choices have on both ourselves and the natural world. Ten years later, The Omnivore’s Dilemma continues to transform the way Americans think about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.

Cultural Implications of Biosemiotics

Cultural Implications of Biosemiotics
Author: Paul Cobley
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2016-08-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9402408584

This is the first book to consider the major implications for culture of the new science of biosemiotics. The volume is mainly aimed at an audience outside biosemiotics and semiotics, in the humanities and social sciences principally, who will welcome elucidation of the possible benefits to their subject area from a relatively new field. The book is therefore devoted to illuminating the extent to which biosemiotics constitutes an ‘epistemological break’ with ‘modern’ modes of conceptualizing culture. It shows biosemiotics to be a significant departure from those modes of thought that neglect to acknowledge continuity across nature, modes which install culture and the vicissitudes of the polis at the centre of their deliberations. The volume exposes the untenability of the ‘culture/nature’ division, presenting a challenge to the many approaches that can only produce an understanding of culture as a realm autonomous and divorced from nature.

Origin(s) of Design in Nature

Origin(s) of Design in Nature
Author: Liz Swan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 820
Release: 2012-08-27
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9400741561

Origin(s) of Design in Nature is a collection of over 40 articles from prominent researchers in the life, physical, and social sciences, medicine, and the philosophy of science that all address the philosophical and scientific question of how design emerged in the natural world. The volume offers a large variety of perspectives on the design debate including progressive accounts from artificial life, embryology, complexity, cosmology, theology and the philosophy of biology. This book is volume 23 of the series, Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology. www.springer.com/series/5775