This book constitutes the proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Computing Anticipatory Systems, CASYS'05. The volume includes all invited papers as well as those papers that received a best paper award. Also included is a lecture on "General Principles for Brain Design," presented by Brian D. Josephson, Nobel Laureate in Physics. The papers discuss recent research and development in the modeling and computing of anticipatory systems in fields of natural and artificial systems.

These AIP Conference Proceedings contain the papers of the two invited speakers: "Systems with Emergent Dynamics" by Ian Stewart (UK), who received the CHAOS AWARD, and "The Role of Anticipation in Intelligent Systems" by George J. Klir (USA), who received the CASYS'01 AWARD. Second, all the papers of the authors who received a Best Paper Award, and, third, a selection of invited papers. The scope is the study, research, and development in the new frontier of science dealing with the paradigm of computing anticipatory systems. A computing anticipatory system is a system which computes its current states in taking into account its anticipatory states. Strong anticipation refers to an anticipation of events built by or embedded in a system. Weak anticipation refers to an anticipation of events predicted or forecast from a model of a system. Topics include Anticipatory Systems, Cybernetics and Epistemology; Mathematical System, Chaos, Anticipation and Incursion; Relativity, Quantum Physics and Quantum Computing; Intelligent Agents, Learning and Cognitive Systems; Organisation, Regulation, Management and Planning; Control Systems, Robots, Neural Nets and Agents; and Information Science Models and Anticipatory Programs.

This volume, recording the 10th international symposium honoring noted French mathematical physicist Jean-Pierre Vigier surveys and continues to develop Unified Field Mechanics (UFM) from the perspective of Multiverse cosmology and Topological Field Theory. UFM represents a developing paradigm shift with many new parameters extending the Standard Model to a 3rd regime of Natural Science beyond Quantum Mechanics. UFM is now experimentally testable, thus putatively able to demonstrate the existence of large-scale additional dimensionality (LSXD), test for QED violating phenomena and surmount the quantum uncertainty principle leading to a new 'Age of Discovery' paling all prior ages in the historical progression: Classical Mechanics (3D) to Quantum Mechanics (4D) and now to the birth of the 3rd regime of UFM in additional dimensionality correlating with M-Theory. Many still consider the Planck-scale as the 'basement of reality'. This could only be considered true under the limitations of the Standard Model. As we methodically enter the new regime a profound understanding of the multiverse and additional dimensionality beckons.

These proceedings deal with a selection of papers presented at the 8th International Conference CASYS’07, on COMPUTING ANTICIPATORY SYSTEMS, 6-11 August 2007, held at HEC Management School - University of Liege, Liège, Belgium. The content of these proceedings deals with the most recent Research & Development in the area of theoretical developments and applications in the modelling and computing of anticipation in any fields of natural and artificial systems. A computing anticipatory system is a system that computes its current states in taking into account its past and present states but also its potential future states. Strong anticipation refers to an anticipation of events built by or embedded in a system. Weak anticipation refers to an anticipation of events predicted or forecasted from a model of a system. This volume contains the first invited lecture “Neural Approach to Machine Consciousness”, by Prof. Dr Igor Aleksander, FREng (UK) who received the CHAOS AWARD, and the second invited lecture “Quantum Mechanics, Pattern Recognition, and the Mammalian Brain”, by Dr George Chapline (USA) who received the CASYS AWARD. The peer reviewed papers that received a BEST PAPER AWARD at CASYS’07, and some invited papers are included in these proceedings. Adel F. Antippa (Canada) and Daniel M. Dubois (Belgium) presented the continuation of their original research project on discrete physics with their third fundamental paper “Synchronous Discrete Harmonic Oscillator” that also appears in these proceedings. The interdisciplinary outstanding topics of these proceedings are readable by researchers and scientists with a university background.

The scope of these proceedings is the study, research, and development in the new frontier of science dealing with the paradigm of computing anticipatory systems. A computing anticipatory system is a system which computes its current states in taking into account its anticipatory states. Strong anticipation refers to an anticipation of events built by or embedded in a system. Weak anticipation refers to an anticipation of events predicted or forecast from a model of a system. These proceedings include all the papers by invited speakers who received awards at CASYS'03 as well as a selection of invited papers. Topics include: relativity, quantum mechanics and biophysical systems; anticipatory systems, adaptation and hyperincursion; mathematical models, chaos and soft computing; logic, algorithms and computing systems; living systems, evolution and cognitive models; decision support, enterprise and management models and control systems, simulation and chaos.

Collision-Based Computing presents a unique overview of computation with mobile self-localized patterns in non-linear media, including computation in optical media, mathematical models of massively parallel computers, and molecular systems. It covers such diverse subjects as conservative computation in billiard ball models and its cellular-automaton analogues, implementation of computing devices in lattice gases, Conway's Game of Life and discrete excitable media, theory of particle machines, computation with solitons, logic of ballistic computing, phenomenology of computation, and self-replicating universal computers. Collision-Based Computing will be of interest to researchers working on relevant topics in Computing Science, Mathematical Physics and Engineering. It will also be useful background reading for postgraduate courses such as Optical Computing, Nature-Inspired Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Engineering Systems, Complex and Adaptive Systems, Parallel Computation, Applied Mathematics and Computational Physics.

This is the only book which deals with the correlatory comparison between hierarchical living systems and inorganic physical ones. The culmination of the book is the proposition of research to discover and understand the natural underlying level of organization which produces the descriptive commonality of life and physics. Traditional science eliminates life from its purview by its rejection of interrelationships as a primary content of systems. The conventional procedure of science is that of reductionism, whereby complex systems are dismantled to characterize lower level components, but virtually no attention is given to how to rebuild those systems—the underlying assumption is that analysis and synthesis are symmetrical. This book fulfills two main coupled functions. Firstly, it details hierarchy as the major formulation of natural complex systems and investigates the fundamental character of natural hierarchy as a widely transferable ‘container’ of structure and/or function – and this in the case of the new development of a representational or model hierarchy. Secondly, it couples this hierarchical description to that of the electronic properties of semiconductors, as a well-modeled canonical example of physical properties. The central thesis is that these two descriptions are comparable, if care is taken to treat logical and epistemological aspects with prudence: a large part of the book is composed of just this aspect of care for grounding consistency. As such great attention is given to correct assessment of argumentative features which are otherwise presumed ‘known’ but which are usually left uncertain. Development of the ideas is always based on a relationship between entity or phenomenon and their associated ecosystems, and this applies equally well to the consequent derivations of consciousness and information.

Unified Field Mechanics, the topic of the 9th international symposium honoring noted French mathematical physicist Jean-Pierre Vigier cannot be considered highly speculative as a myopic critic might surmise. The 8th Vigier Symposium proceedings 'The Physics of Reality' should in fact be touted as a companion volume because of its dramatic theoretical Field Mechanics in additional dimensionality. Many still consider the Planck-scale zero-point field stochastic quantum foam as the 'basement of reality'. This could only be considered true under the limitations of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory. As we enter the next regime of Unified Field Mechanics we now know that the energy-dependent Einstein-Minkowski manifold called spacetime has a finite radius beyond which a large-scale multiverse beckons. So far a battery of 14 experiments has been designed to falsify the model. When the 1st is successfully performed, a revolution in Natural Science will occur! This volume strengthens and expands the theoretical and experimental basis for that immanent new age.

Provides a greater understanding of issues, challenges, trends, and technologies effecting the overall utilization and management of information in modern organizations around the world.