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To: those interested in Digital Biological Modeling/Burgess Shale From: Bruce Damer, Co-ordinator, Digital Burgess Conference Reference: http://www.biota.org Re: Digital Burgess listserver discussions have started Quick action: If you are not signed up for this list and want to be, then send an email to joinburgess@digitalspace.com. Dear colleague, I would like to interest you in the Digital Burgess discussions, a listserver created to discuss the themes of the upcoming Digital Burgess event, a groundbreaking conference on the origins and future of life on Earth, to be held at the Banff Centre for the Arts on August 29th through September 1st, 1997. This event will bring together members from diverse communities who are committed to exploring fundamental questions of evolution. Visionary thinkers from Paleontology and the Natural Sciences, Computer Science, and the arts will gather for three and a half days in the spectacular environs of the Canadian Rockies. A guided trek to the Burgess Shale, one of the planet's great records of the Cambrian Explosion of forms in Nature, will set the stage for two days of intense discussion. You can begin the Digital Burgess discussions early through this listserver. Many of your fellow attendees and presenters are on this list. I kindly request that you take a look at the key themes and questions posed for Digital Burgess listed later in this email. If you want to address any of these themes or post your own, simple reply to this email and request to be placed on the list. Remember, you don't have to be attending Digital Burgess to participate in this discussion and we hope this list will go on and inspire the next event! See you on the list! Bruce Damer Contact Consortium, Biota.org THE KEY THEMES AND QUESTIONS 1. Origins of the designs of life 2. Digital tools with biological inspiration (Biologics) 3. The future of Life on and off the Earth GRIST FOR THE MILL.. 1. Origins of the designs of life Origins of life's designs: how did the body plans in the Cambrian seas emerge and why did certain designs survive over others? Digital modeling of living and evolutionary systems: what kinds of insight can software systems give us into the evolution of living systems? 2. Digital tools with biological inspiration (Biologics) Use of biological metaphor in computing and engineering: will living systems inspire powerful new software and engineering solutions for humanity? Biologic software may be stimulating whole new forms of artistic expression: what are the fundamental sources of the aesthetic that can spring from nature or a digital ecosystem? 3. The future of Life on and off the Earth Lessons learned from mass extinctions: what do past mass extinctions tell us about the vast reduction in biodiversity being perpetrated by humanity and how will this affect the future course of life? New niches, new biota: will cloning and gene manipulation produce a radical new direction for biota on an Earth transformed by humanity? Consequences of bona fide digital life: will a Cambrian Explosion of the digital occur in the next century and if so, what might be the impact on the future of humankind and life on and off the Earth? GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT DIGITAL BURGESS Please see our Web-based resources Please visit our conference website at htpp://www.biota.org for complete information on the Digital Burgess conference. We encourage you to join our on-line discussions by enrolling in our listserver. Pick 'discussions' on the Digital Burgess homepage and follow the instructions to join. If you have some commentary or web links you would like included on the conference site, please email them to commentary@digitalspace.com. The complete detailed program guide is featured at: http://www.biota.org/conf97/shedule.html A guide to the requirements and scheduling of the Burgess Shale treks is at: http://www.biota.org/conf97/attend.html#trek Note that if you are not signed up on one of the available trek times, you should contact us right away. The August 30th trek is now full but other options are available. Written proof of medical coverage in Canada is required for you to be able to come on a trek. end. DigitalSpace Corporation 343 Soquel Avenue Suite 70 Santa Cruz CA 95062 USA (408) 338-9400 damer@digitalspace.com http://www.digitalspace.com
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