gacp: Gustavo Alcides Concheiro Pérez

Research interests:

My PhD research project involves using molecular techniques (DNA sequence data) to estimate the first full phylogeny of the Heroini, a tribe of Neotropical cichlids that include well-known aquarium fishes such as the angelfish, the discus, the firemouth, and the convict cichlid. My general research interests involve, first, the phylogeny and evolution of cichlids (and other fishes), and second, the development of `biological' (or cybernetic; or `post-Darwinian') evolutionary theory, based on the concept of autopoiesis, on complexity theory, cybernetics (not computers!) and disipative systems, buiding on the work of Maturana, Varela, G. Bateson, Prygogine, and others.

Another area of interest is how to maximize the use of the web and other e-media for its intended, original purpose: scientific commnication.

Struggling to learn (besides grad school!)

1. The Python programming language (a very runny one, sir).
2. The XML data mark-up metalanguage
3. Russian (a human, non-programming language ;)

Other interests:

1. Aquariculture (again with cichlids! ;)
2. Science fiction (hard, `nuts and bolts' school)
3. Public software for home and science—specially LINUX

Other other:

1. Acrobatic egosurfing with we-ja board
2. Time travel to the future at 1 sec/sec
3. Constant personal autopoiesis (or auto-eco-ego-re-organization, or keeping my operational coupling [ORG<-/->ENV], or just plain staying alive ;)

Reading

Yes; sometimes I can find (read "steal" ;) some time do some reading.

Eternal: these are the books that I read continuosly

• I Ching
• Tao Te Ching, by Lao Ts
• Sun Wu Ts's Art of War

Recently read

• Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon: a must-read! (fiction)
• Heinlein's Stranger in a strange land (still grokking this one! :) (fiction)
• The difference engine: steam-powered computers in Victorian England (fiction).
• G. Bateson and M. Bateson's Angels fear
• G. Bateson's Mind and nature
• Gibson's Schixmatrix—human evolution goes on (fiction).

Processing

• Origen the las especies por medio de la deriva natural; o la diversificación de los linajes a través de la conservación y cambio de los fenotipos ontogénicos; H. Maturana Romesín and J. Mpodozis Marín. [Executive Summary: we should junk Darwin :) ]

In queue

• Learning Python
• W. Ross Ashby's An introduction to cybernetics

Waiting list

• Structure and interpretation of computer programs, by Abelson, Susmann and Susmann
• Futuyma's Evolutionary biology
• Reread G. Bateson's Mind and matter
• Reread Maturana's and Varela's El árbol del conocimeinto [The tree of knowledge]
• Out of control
• C. Darwin's On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life
• G. Bateson's Steps to an ecology of mind

Sometime in the Distant Future^TM

• Ivan Efremov's Svezdnyi korabli (fiction)
• Valentin Turchin's The phenomenon of science: a cybernetic approach to human evolution

More coming Any Day Soon(TM) :)