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Author: Onar Aam (onar@hsr.no)
Date: Feb 1, 1995
REPLY: Evolution is meta-stable
As far as I can see the fact that evolution is unstable does not in any way
contradict the statement that evolution must produce stability. In fact, one
depends on the other. Here is a quote from my introduction
article on system theory and complexity called Back to Basics:
"...Although various emergent phenomena are very different from each other they
do have some thingsin common. A very important concept that connect all emergent
phenomena is meta-balance. It is a very strange concept and perhaps *the* key to
understanding emergence. A system that is in meta-balance may be viewed from two
different perspectives. On the level of detail the system is completely
*out*of*balance*. However, from a global perspective the system seems to be
stable and ordered. The strange thing is that the system MUST be out of balance
in order to produce global order. This is perhaps the most counterintuitive
aspect of systems theory...."