Rodrick Wallace Livres

This book explores mental disorders from a uniquely evolutionary perspective. Although there have been many attempts to mathematically model neural processes and, to some extent, their dysfunction, there is very little literature that models mental function within a sociocultural, socioeconomic, and environmental context. Addressing this gap in the extant literature, this book explores essential aspects of mental disorders, recognizing the ubiquitous role played by the exaptation of crosstalk between cognitive modules at many different scales and levels of organization, the missing heritability of complex diseases, and cultural epigenetics. Further, it introduces readers to valuable control theory tools that permit the exploration of the environmental induction of neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as the study of the synergism between culture, psychopathology and sleep disorders, offering a distinctively unique resource.

Focusing on the dynamics of conflict among hierarchical cognitive entities, this book employs cognitive and evolutionary theories to address challenges posed by imprecision and stress in real-time situations. It highlights the detrimental effects of friction and uncertainty on institutional cognition, particularly within organizations like the US military. Through formal essays and a mathematical appendix, it examines how learning from conflict influences strategic procedures, proposing models and policy solutions to enhance strategic competence.

Utilizing advanced cognitive science and evolutionary theory, this book introduces a novel statistics-like toolbox for analyzing empirical data within economic contexts. It aims to develop new economic theories and analytical methods to create more resilient economic institutions. By doing so, it seeks to reduce the occurrence and impact of disruptive Black Swans and facilitate the design of culturally-specific systems that are better equipped to handle such events.

Exploring the limitations of traditional gene-centered evolutionary theories, this work advocates for a broader understanding of evolution that incorporates cognitive processes. By drawing on the insights of Maturana and Varela, it proposes a series of probability models rooted in information and control theories. These models aim to provide statistical tools for analyzing various evolutionary phenomena across biological, social, and cultural contexts. The essays present a cohesive argument for expanding evolutionary theory beyond its 1950s foundations.

Focusing on the intersection of topology and biology, this monograph employs advanced symmetry tools and the Black-Scholes model to connect information and control theories. It delves into statistical mechanics to investigate pathological phase transitions influenced by mitochondrial free energy changes, particularly in the context of chronic diseases. Alzheimer's disease serves as a primary example, highlighting its relevance in understanding complex physiological functions and the implications for health science research.

Exploring the dynamics of arousal and distraction, the book introduces a modified Kadanoff picture of phase transitions in consciousness, linked to the breaking of groupoid symmetries and fundamental equivalence class algebras. It presents probability models aimed at developing new statistical tools for analyzing cognitive and consciousness-related observational data, bridging the gap between abstract theory and empirical research. This innovative approach promises to enhance our understanding of complex cognitive processes.

The book employs communication theory to analyze the Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW) model of consciousness, originally proposed by Bernard Baars. It utilizes a formal mathematical approach to explore the interactions between cognitive, biological, and social modules, drawing parallels with statistical physics. The analysis leads to a dynamic threshold for consciousness, akin to a phase transition, while introducing a Rate Distortion manifold that reflects the hierarchical constraints influencing conscious experience. This perspective deepens the understanding of the contextual factors affecting consciousness.

Exploring the intersection of business and warfare, this book delves into the complexities of real-time critical systems influenced by algorithmic control. It draws parallels between the challenges faced in modern warfare and the ambitious dreams of tech giants like Alphabet and Amazon in developing driverless cars and intelligent infrastructure. By applying information and control theories, it examines the inherent failure modes of these systems under the pressures of fog-of-war and friction, highlighting the inevitable difficulties encountered in navigating such turbulent landscapes.

The asymptotic limit theorems of control and information theories make it possible to explore the dynamics of collapse likely to afflict large-scale systems of autonomous ground vehicles that communicate with each other and with an embedding intelligent roadway. Any vehicle/road system is inherently unstable in the control theory sense as a consequence of the basic irregularities of the traffic stream, the road network, and their interactions, placing it in the realm of the Data Rate Theorem that mandates a minimum necessary rate of control information for stability. It appears that large-scale V2V/V2I systems will experience correspondingly large-scale failures analogous to the vast, propagating fronts of power network blackouts, and possibly less benign but more subtle patterns of individual vehicle, platoon, and mesoscale dysfunction. The central matter is the synergism between poorly-understood traffic flow dynamics and similarly cryptic multisource information network dynamics, leading to highly punctuated phase transition analogs.

This book explores how epigenetic context influences gene expression and organism development, utilizing information theory's asymptotic limit theorems to create statistical models for data analysis. This framework enhances understanding of how contextual factors shape development. It reveals that epigenetic information sources serve as tunable catalysts, guiding ontogeny along specific pathways, which is crucial for epigenetic epidemiology. Environmental stressors can lead to a wide range of developmental dysfunctions, and the text examines various chronic diseases through U.S. data across different scales and organizational levels. Notably, it highlights how the legacy of slavery has been exacerbated by rapid industrial decline and urban decay. Individual chapters focus on conditions such as obesity, coronary heart disease, cancer, mental disorders, autoimmune dysfunction, and Alzheimer’s disease. Developmental disorders are influenced by environmental factors shaped by historical contexts, making them resistant to population-level medical interventions amid ongoing individual and community stress. Powerful drugs that could alter harmful epigenetic programming may also have adverse side effects, potentially reducing lifespan. To effectively tackle chronic conditions and developmental disorders, substantial large-scale changes in public policy and resource allocation are necessary.