Themes and Variations in Evolving Systems
Monday, November 10, 2008 at 7 pm
Robert Hazen
Clarence Robinson Professor of Sciences
George Mason University, Center for the Arts Concert Hall

Evolution, the natural process by which systems under selective pressure become more complex, has long been a lightning rod for anti-science rhetoric. Such attacks are usually reserved for discussions of biological (Darwinian) evolution, but complex evolving systems also operate in many other natural and human contexts: the formation of chemical elements in stars, diversification of minerals, development of languages, and progress in material culture. In each of these systems, the "species" evolves through selective mechanisms. Dr. Hazen will explore these disparate evolving systems, which point to general principles of emergent complexity, and underscore the power and plausibility of biological evolution.

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