Short Book Review: ScienceBites (Jagers 2019)

Short Book Review: ScienceBites (Jagers 2019)

Review by JT Velikovsky

April 2021

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So I just read this great book:

Science Bites (Jagers 2019)

And it's a terrific read. It's a short book, and divided into short, easy-to-read chapters, for a general (and, scientific!) audience. I very highly recommend it! 
Here's the Abstract from the book's webpage:

`In science, concepts such as organism, evolution and life, are used almost every day. Every scientist knows the general meaning of such concepts. At the same time, nature is complex, and for this reason, it is difficult to draw stringent lines around classes of things. Scientists therefore accept the use of so called 'working definitions' for many concepts. It is frequently advocated that working on definitions has little use for practical research.
This book explores a different viewpoint, in which definitions are compared with tools. If your toolbox contains too few tools, tools that are worn down, or tools that don't fit, it becomes difficult to carry out even the most easy maintenance or repair job. Experts know: suitable tools make the work easier.
The aim of this book is to examine much-used concepts in science as if these are tools in a scientific toolbox. Do the current definitions represent quality tools? To explore this question, this book uses a recently developed hierarchy theory, the operator theory, as a reference. This theory is explained in the first chapter. Whenever the analyses suggest to do so, the ScienceBites offer directions for improvement of current definitions.
Keywords: life sciences, scientific concepts, operator theory, philosophy, innovation, Darwin' 

Source: Science Bites book webpage
Definitions of key concepts do change over time; this book (rightly!) takes the view that definitions are just some of the tools we use in science. (And of course, in everyday life; as all of life is doing science !) And sometimes the tools need sharpening!
Just a few key outstanding points of this great work (in my view):
Jager's Operator Theory! A great controbution to systems science, in my view. [And over 20 years of work/research by Jagers] (...in short, dual closure:  a process systems loop, and a containing layer [a structural loop])An improvement in scala naturaeDifferentiation between: gene, replicator, vehicle, interactor, and operator (noting: Dawkins' `meme' theory, 1976)The organism (eg cell) as the unit of organism; DNA is not useful outside the system of a cellAn extremely useful extension/expansion of Waddington's `operator' concept!Operator theory defines unity! A useful tool for examining unitsDual closure, which applies to not just cells and organisms (multicellular and pluricellular, endosymbiont cells, and neural network organisms) but also - atoms and molecules!A super-useful definition: `Every unit that is defined by dual closure is called an operator.’ (Jagers 2019, p 24)

So `genes and a body' taken together are: an operator! There is dual closure (of structure, and function/process).. genes are not the only `unit' of inheritance! (see also: cell membrane and cell plasma!... see also protozloan mitochondria, and chloroplasts!) - all these insights by Jagers are crucial tools for understanding systems/units/evolution, in my view. (And are helpful with my own understanding of both hierarchies, and HOLARCHY/partarchies, in both biology and culture. (For more detail on cultural evolution, if of interest, see my forthcoming book,  P3 of EC ) Host cells as units of selectionThere are over 100 definitions of `life'! (Jagers 2019, p. 27)A helpful clarifcation on the utility of definitions (What are they, what problems do they solve, and how)A definition of organism: `every operator of a kind that is at least as complex as the cell' (p. 40)A terrific examination of the concept of evolution from Darwin's Origin (1859); Jagers rightly notes, the commonly understood Darwinian concept of evolution is `descent with modification through variation and selection' (Jagers 2019, p. 44)... Jagers rightly notes neither an organism nor a species can `evolve' in those terms (please read the book for the detail, I am summarizing here, and I know it may sound illogical in such a compressed/condensed format!)In fact as a huge fan of Darwin (as is Jagers!) here's a quote from the Origin (6th ed, Darwin 1876), from the brilliant Darwin Online site:

CHAPTER IV.

NATURAL SELECTION; OR THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.

Natural Selection—its power compared with man's selection—its power on characters of trifling importance—its power at all ages and on both sexes—Sexual Selection—On the generality of intercrosses between individuals of the same species—Circumstances favourable and unfavourable to the results of Natural Selection, namely, intercrossing, isolation, number of individuals—Slow action—Extinction caused by Natural Selection—Divergence of Character, related to the diversity of inhabitants of any small area, and to naturalisation—Action of Natural Selection, through Divergence of Character, and Extinction, on the descendants from a common parent—Explains the grouping of all organic beings—Advance in organisation—Low forms preserved—Convergence of character—Indefinite multiplication of species—Summary.

How will the struggle for existence, briefly discussed in the last chapter, act in regard to variation? Can the principle of selection, which we have seen is so potent in the hands of man, apply under nature? I think we shall see that it can act most efficiently. Let the endless number of slight variations and individual differences occurring in our domestic productions, and, in a lesser degree, in those under nature, be borne in mind; as well as the strength of the hereditary tendency. Under domestication, it may be truly said that the whole organisation becomes in some degree plastic. But the variability, which we almost universally meet with in our domestic productions, is not directly produced, as Hooker and Asa Gray have well remarked, by man; he can neither originate varieties, nor prevent their occurrence; he can only preserve and accumulate such as do occur. Unintentionally he exposes organic beings to new and changing conditions of life, and variability ensues; but similar changes of conditions of life, and variability ensues; but similar changes of conditions might and do occur under nature. Let it also be borne in mind how infinitely complex and close-fitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings to each other and to their physical conditions of life; and consequently what infinitely varied diversities of structure might be of use to each being under changing conditions of life. Can it, then, be thought improbable, seeing that variations useful to man have

[page] 63

undoubtedly occurred, that other variations useful in some way to each being in the great and complex battle of life, should occur in the course of many successive generations? If such do occur, can we doubt (remembering that many more individuals are born than can possibly survive) that individuals having any advantage, however slight, over others, would have the best chance of surviving and of procreating their kind? On the other hand, we may feel sure that any variation in the least degree injurious would be rigidly destroyed. This preservation of favourable individual differences and variations, and the destruction of those which are injurious, I have called Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest.Variations neither useful nor injurious would not be affected by natural selection, and would be left either a fluctuating element, as perhaps we see in certain polymorphic species, or would ultimately become fixed, owing to the nature of the organism and the nature of the conditions.

Origin, 6th Ed, Darwin 1876, pp. 62-63

Jagers (2019) raises some absolutely crucial points regarding the common understanding of evolution, which (in a nutshell) summarizes down to this great point (bold emphasis mine, below)

“…only offspring production classifies as a process, while variation and selection classify as assessments… Darwinian evolution can be defined as the combination of one process and two assessments.” (Jagers 2019, p. 48) 

and

“Darwinian evolution, classifies as a pattern” (p. 48) 

i.e. A process is in fact different to a pattern... These great insights (including Jagers' operator theory) are the sort of thing to be found in Science Bites, and I highly recommend reading it. 

Back to a summary of key concepts in the book (Jagers 2019):

A new view of evolutionary transitions (examining Maynard Smith & Szathmary 1995), i.e. replicating molecules to populations of moleculesunlinked replicators to chromosomesRNA as gene & enzyme to DNA & protein (genetic code) Prokaryotes to EukaryotesAsexual clones to sexual populationsSolitary individuals to colonies (non reproductive)Primate societies to human societies (language)(See: Jagers 2019, p. 64)

Big History, and eras vs. epochs; Systems vs. regimes (Jagers brings a new clarity and consistency to these terms)Operators and Interaction systems... Species as man-made categories(!)... examining the very concept of species: Does it exist?Levels in hierarchies - first, examining Ernst Mayr's statement:

`The complexity of living systems exists at every hierarchical level, from the nucleus, to the cell, to any organ system (kidney, liver, brain), to the individual, to the species, to the ecosystem, the society' (Mayr cited in Jagers 2019, p. 84)

Dual closure: functional and structural closure as defining a unit (Jagers 2019, p. 86)Self, information and unity - dual closure causes a self (p. 88)“The term `meaning’ generally refers to a change in uncertainty in a decision process.” (p. 88)Four dimensions as DICE (Dispersal, Information, Construction, Energy) for checking completeness of a scientific model of interaction systems (p. 93)Popper on black swans (falsifiability)Jagers also presents a very useful list of some internal and external criteria for doing science:Internal: personal attitude, generality, efficiency of reasoning, logical consistency, terminology, data (and for experimental/observational sciences) - mental groupings and classifications, repeatability and verification, falsifiability and improvement, causal explanations, & existence.External: the exchange of ideas, grant applications, citation numbers, ability to present a theory, the profitability of a theory, the fit of the new idea/theory with the zeitgeist, patenting, and societal/technological implications (see Jagers 2019, pp. 104-7)      Jagers also discusses extensions of evolution (e.g. the extended evolutionary synthesis)Also fruitfully discussed are:Organisms vs holobionts (and, hologenomes!), andOrganisms vs Superorganisms (ant colonies, beehives, etc) - (and neural network organisms, aka `memons')... and extending the issue (or problem) to cities, companies, etcSelf-organization & the principle of least action, and Adrian Bejan's `constructal law' in self-organizationLimitations of ScienceBeyond postmodernismThe virtues of: Simplicity, scalability and generality

In short, a terrific book. Very helpful with my own thinking on hierarchies - and even the exciting enterprise of Science in general! Highly recommended.

See also Gerard's papers and books on operator theory, at The Operator Theory website: 

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Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.
You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by: Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D (aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle) Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast  & Evolutionary Culturologist
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& Forthcoming book P3 of EC (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

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