Homeokinetics.org

 

PAPERS
  "At a first rudimentary level, one takes a breath. Then one takes another breath, and so on and on. As long as breath follows breath, and heart beat follows heart beat, some of the fundamental internal machinery is working. Note that the process starts out of the momentum and the movements of the heart, the lungs, and the other organs. At the bottom of this, there still remains only momentum, energy, matter, and electric charge."  - Arthur Iberall  
     
Homeokinetics-Complex Systems Origins and Interactions/Non-linearity/Boundaries and Energy Transfer
 
Normal physics deals with processes at single levels -- cosmological physics, stellar physics, and the like -- and also with the relation between systems and their lower levels, but only when the lower level atomisms are simple enough. All complex, self-organizing systems are traced back to physical law, and out of physical law, a hierarchy emerges. Units are internally complex and exhibit elaborate internal time-delayed processes such as memory. Statistical mechanic propositions help provide linkages from fundamental particles through organized levels to cosmology.

Regulation/Command Control
 
Regulation developed from the Industrial Revolution in such inventions as the steam engine speed governor. Control theory is clearer if the physical dynamics of a system is understood. The human body is a physical-chemical system with complex communications and power net characteristics. Regulation and control in this human system began with Bernard and Cannon with the notion of homeostatis. Other physical ideas for understanding this system include static regulator performance, dynamic system performance, control performance, linear control performance, and non-linear mechanics. A thermodynamic dissipative systems perspective can be used as well to study motor activity and locomotion.

Physiological Physics

 
Systems must exhibit periodic oscillations in their fundamental process chains in order to maintain their viability. A biophysical model of the biosystem must be organized around levels ranging from the biochemistry at the molecular level, through the cells, organs, internal processes, "factory" operations, and genetic and epigenetic coding. Dynamic systems analysis provides tools for studying this biospectroscopy. The biosystem is not an idiot thermodynamic system that sits or moves in a routine path doing the same thing over and over, but instead, is essentially marginally unstable. There is a hierarchical nature to the total system's behavioral regulation.
Mind/Brain/Psychology Physics
 
There is an overall basic instability governing the brain state- its two disjoint states can be referred to as the "euphoric" and "dysphoric" states. This dual represents the overall 'outlook' of the system as it reacts to the vicissitudes of the day. In addition, the brain handles data through four logic systems: the naming logic, the numbering logic, the field logic, and reverie. It is suggested that free will is exercised at the temporal scale of about 6 seconds. Homeokinetic theory of complex systems analyzes activity into component sets of oscillators, action modes, each with a characteristic time scale.

Language as Catalytic Signal
  A theory of language is derived for complex systems by contrasting the difference between 'hard' systems and 'soft' systems. Complexity in a field system made up of atomistic entities is defined by the capability of the atomistic entities in a soft system to absorb energy internally into fluid-like, gel-like, dissipative processes rather than to equipartition energy rapidly among all degrees of freedom. From this, language emerges. Language switches or evokes changes in the internal states of a system.

Civilization/Social/Society/Politics Physics
 
Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics can be applied to civilizations. Society is viewed as a collection of interacting individuals; their interactions are tracked by identifying those basic conservations which are involved in the interactions. Conservation of mass, energy, momentum (or in complex systems, action modes), and a demographic variable of complex systems - the population number. Culture represents the social solvent, with the main process of economics and politics being driven by a social pressure. The transition to civilization occurred in two steps, first, matter condensation to agricultural settlement, and then a hydrodynamic instability transition to the convection of trade.

Origin of Life/Evolution/Earth Processes
 
Homeokinetics can be applied to the constructive process of the origin of life. The homeokinetic approach is to seek out cycles at all time scales and then show how interacting cyclic processes account for historical emergence of new entities. For example, using a physical theory for the hydrologic cycle, runoff can be estimated.

Application - High-altitude/Space Issues  
 
A design for a space-suit, taking into account the human needs of high-altitude space, using a design approach of 'lines of extension' to enhance joint mobility and ease of movement.