Dennis P Waters

Author, *Behavior and Culture in One Dimension*; Founder, Lichenologist, Rutgers CHRB & DEENR

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

Thanks to Madhur Mangalam for the great conversation on his BeyondPhrenology podcast, discussing my book and the work of Howard Pattee.
https://t.co/UeAcmZUyCW

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@langofmind Well, filter my confounders, dagnabit

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@parmita Welcome to the extended phenotype.

[Extended Brain @Extended_Brain]

Most of molecular biology treats the cell as a computer: a program stored in DNA, executed by proteins.
Pattee saw something else: an architecture of symbols and readers that cannot be collapsed into physics without losing the meaning. (1/2)

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

unexpected little line moving across Mercer. #NJWx @WxmanFranz

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@MatthewCappucci Destroyed my uncle's house in Holden, just north of Worcester.

[Conference on Complex Systems @ConfCompSys]

@PSUScience @amsterdamumc @UMH_UvA @clbockting @noshir @NorthwesternU @blamlab @JohnsHopkins @sfiscience 5/Prof. @drmichaellevin (@TuftsUniversity) studies how cognition scales from cells to tissues, organisms and synthetic living forms (e.g., his famous xenobots), using bioelectricity to understand pattern regulation, regeneration and diverse intelligence.
https://t.co/k0hQoPdYY7

[Conference on Complex Systems @ConfCompSys]

Do you love nature? Then you'll love Binghamton! Check out these outdoor spots in upstate New York, all less than a 30-minute drive from #CCS2026!

They're all perfect for hiking 🥾, biking 🚵, camping 🏕️… you name it! Trust us, the fall scenery will take your breath away. 😉🍁

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@bensbiz Let the monkeys ride!

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@DickBel

[Boston Radio Watch®️ @bostonradio]

Happy “Headless Body In Topless Bar” Day, if you're observing it...

43 years ago today, April 15, 1983, the legendary NY Post managing editor, the late Vincent A. Musetto wrote the greatest headline of all time…

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

Sometimes wishes do come true....

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@IvyHoopsOnline @gwynnitas @PrincetonWBB Time for Gosselin to fly solo. She can't be #2 forever.

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@langofmind What a set of sentences!!

[The Transmitter @_TheTransmitter]

In his new book, Romain Brette pushes back against theories that describe the brain as a “biological computer.” In this excerpt, he challenges equating brain evolution with programming, and the universality of neural network models.
https://t.co/uzwcJcqBHA

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@IvyHoopsOnline Wonder if the threat of her leaving gave Lehigh an extra incentive....

[Complexity Cat 🐱 @amahury0]

@dpwaters "Behavior and Culture in One Dimension" (2021) is underrated. It helps show how behavior, normativity, and culture cannot be flattened to state transitions without losing the organism-environment unity that makes them intelligible. An excellent intro to biosemiotics!/9

[Quanta Magazine @QuantaMagazine]

Journey with writer @laxmevy and a team of researchers through the Arctic tundra as they sample some of Earth’s rarest and most restricted fungal species — underground wisps that govern life aboveground. This story was supported by @PulitzerCenter. https://t.co/Gbro2R2d32

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

Another crucial distinction is that computation has what Vygotsky called "deliberate semantics," i.e., meaning is assigned from the outside. "X" is whatever we say it is. In living systems meaning emerges through evolution, development, and behavior.

[Complexity Cat 🐱 @amahury0]

At minimum, computation is a reliable transformation of symbols according to a finite set of rules. That already makes it narrower than "whatever happens in the universe." A rock falls, a cell metabolizes, a storm forms. Not all causation is computation./2
https://t.co/TdhakW9dVC

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@langofmind Having trouble imagining how, without sensation, one would know how to recognize food and water, or decide what to mate with.

[Dennis P Waters @dpwaters]

@IvyHoopsOnline @gwynnitas @PrincetonWBB Time for Gosselin to fly solo. She can't be #2 forever.