Comment
In order to move beyond the limits of Reductionism discussed in the article the Life Sciences have increasingly adopted Model Free Methods - a term coined by pioneering geneticist Lionel S. Penrose in 1935. More about this topic, a zoo of Model Free Methods and a worked through example are available in the talk "Science Beyond Reductionism" at http://videos.syntience.com . It starts slowly; if in a hurry, skip the first few minutes.
The failure of Artificial Intelligence to date can be attributed to the fact that AI was born as a subdiscipline of computer science which is totally dominated by Reductionist approaches. It should, from the beginning, have been a life science and used a different strategy; this is discussed in the video "A New Direction in AI Research" at the same site.
posted by Monica Anderson
September 8, 2011
About once a month at Sigma Xi headquarters, we liven up the lunch hour with an American Scientist Pizza Lunch talk. In these informal lectures, scientists describe new research to nonscientists. The series is light on jargon but heavy on solid science. Each Pizza Lunch offers an in-depth look at its subject, whether it's bedbugs or the smart grid. Click below to read about and download these talks -- and to subscribe!
JSTOR, the online academic archive, now contains complete back issues of American Scientist from its inception in 1913 (as Sigma Xi Quarterly) through 2005.
The table of contents for each issue is freely available to all users; those with institutional access can read each complete issue.
View the full collection here.