## Metadata - Author: [[John H. Holland]] - Full Title: Signals and Boundaries - Category: #books ## Highlights - it is helpful to group rainforest interactions into four categories that are relevant to all signal/boundary systems: diversity, recirculation, niche, and coevolution. ([Location 190](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F3P789I&location=190)) - Tags: [[orange]] - Common usage often treats “theory” as synonymous with “speculation,” but scientific theory has a different role. When a question is approached scientifically, the assumptions (premises) must be made explicit. Moreover, the assumptions must be formalized so that standard rules of deduction can be used to derive answers. These rules constrain the argument to simple obvious manipulations, much like moving pieces according to the rules of a game. ([Location 488](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F3P789I&location=488)) - Note that different questions can lead to different theories, even when the same data are involved. Phrasing the questions and the premises is a matter of insight and taste, with close attention to parsimony. ([Location 501](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F3P789I&location=501)) - How do agents arise? How do agents specialize? How do agents aggregate into hierarchical organizations? Beneath these questions is a basic question set by the fundamental cas agent activity of continually exchanging signals and resources: How do agents form and redirect flows of signals and resources? ([Location 503](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F3P789I&location=503)) - most cas agents turn out to be persistent patterns imposed on flows. ([Location 506](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F3P789I&location=506)) - it is often true that persistent, agent-like patterns in the data suggest building blocks. The patterns persist because they repair themselves when disturbed. ([Location 516](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F3P789I&location=516))