Bios, a process approach to living system theory. In honour of James and Jessie Miller

AbstractLiving systems provide a model for nature because the continuity of evolution requires that the same fundamental forms must be expressed at all levels of organization. Studying heartbeat patterns, we found a new type of process—bios. Bios has now been found in a wide variety of processes including biological, meteorological, economic time series and the evolution of galactic distribution, the paradigmatic case of creation. Bios is defined by three measurable properties—diversification, novelty and nonrandom complexity—that characterize it as creative, and differentiate it from random, periodic and chaotic series. Bios seemingly resembles noise but it is generated causally rather than stochastically. Bios can be generated mathematically by bipolar feedback, a newly described process that we conjecture is a generator of creative phenomena at all levels of organization. Varying the degree of diversity and symmetry generates different types of biotic series, including homeobios that models homeostatic cardiac series and parabios that resembles nonstationary economic processes. Computer experiments also show the role of energy, symmetry and diversity in the generation of bios. This suggests ways to foster creativity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.