eco-socioinfo

(received from Morris Villarroel--please, check your addresses, these days
there are lots of errors!! --P.)

Dear colleagues,

Having recently read Diamond's book (guns, germs and steel), I cannot help
but having some disagreements with Bob's and Gottfried's views. Well, Bob4s
texts are really valuable because they go to the heart of the socioinfo
problem (in my opinion), but perhaps the explanatory road he advances
should start a little bit earlier -- I mean he considers socioinformation
in connection with "roles" (and then VEMS) of rather complex, specialized
societies, and there is almost no consideration of the previous social
stages: bands and tribes. His argument about the origins of agriculture is
a two-edged sword: there have been plenty of cases in which food production
has not involved specialization; and viceversa, whole tribes living close
to exceptionally rich ecosystems advanced significantly in the development
of roles, etc. (eg, salmon fisheries in the Canadian West coast).
Agriculture and husbandry were really BIG INVENTIONS forced by the BIG
EXTINCTIONS of that very period... It is not just that social "constraints"
are the prime socioinfo factor, but perhaps the "discoveries" of natural
world info... And my own thesis is that when these discoveries go
beyond the memory limitations of oral cultures, then societies (some of
them) cross the socioinfo threshold into VEMS (and hierarchies, and
burocracies...)

After the healthy pause (I believe it was OK for us to digest all the good
stuff produced these days) I have arrived to a similar point I made on the
debate about consciousness: the need to relate it to animal consciousness.
The same may be the case here.

cheers

Morris

PS. Ted, your point on (info motivated) organizational principles is very
suggestive. I believe it applies to my above thesis.

---------------
Morris Villaroel
Morris@santandersupernet.com
Received on Fri Oct 2 14:25:42 1998