I have spoken about only three aspects of the nervous system of animals. Other aspects of biological systems, especially at the molecular and cellular levels of organization, may well have as far reaching importance for military sciences. But we can only sample the field of biology in this short time. The In discussing living systems as prototypes for engineering application I have intended to stress the positive aspects of the matter. But I would be less than fair if I did not warn you of a conservative attitude which you may encounter among some biologists. The biologist is greatly impressed by the scope of his ignorance, and rightly so. He realizes that he does not have in hand the fundamental laws that govern the phenomena with which he deals. He may feel that the strategies appropriate to the physical sciences, which have dealt mostly with unorganized complexity, will not be adequate to deal with the organized complexity of living systems. Above all he fears that the engineering scientist may be misled into thinking that ready-made solutions to his problems may be hidden in the biologist's notebooks. biologist may point out that nature has been limited to building upon and modifying pre-existing structures to produce new systems. As a result she often takes a round-about way to solve her problems. Therefore imitation of nature's solutions may not be economical or practical. We have moved ahead in our technology by getting our hands on underlying principles and applying them in ways that may not exist in nature. Compare bird flight to airplanes, for example. Imitation here did not get us very far. A basic research program 60 years ago on the structure of feathers would have led us into a blind alley. It was the understanding of the physics of air flow that spurred on our development. In the same way we must look for the fundamental principles at work in the nervous system, and not be tempted to imitate what may turn out to be the "feathers." I am optimistic about the applications of biology to engineering. My optimism is based on the solid progress now being made by analytical approaches to biology, and in the attraction of physical scientists and mathematicians to its problems-an attraction exemplified by the response to this symposium. I am not overly concerned by the pitfalls that may come from approaches that may be too naive, for I believe they will be largely self-correcting. And who is wise enough to specify all the strategies that it may be profitable to follow. I draw some private satisfaction from the thought that when the physical scientist tackles a biological problem he will wind up like Br'er Rabbit in his encounter with the Tar Baby. The more he attacks the more he will get tangled up in the problem. The more he comes to appreciate the intellectual challenge of living processes, the less likely he will be able to back away from them. And this can only work to the advantages that we all seek. Some of the leading biologists have predicted that this will be the century noted for advances in biology. With the rate of progress we now see, the next 40 years may well be enough time to make this prediction come true. It may sound like a heresy to say so, in this age of preoccupation with nuclear forces and space exploration, but I believe I would speak for a majority of biologists, and certainly many physicists, in saying that the solution to some of the fundamental problems of life, about which we have been speaking, represents our greatest intellectual challenge, and will have the greatest practical significance for mankind. REFERENCES Bulloch, T. H., "Initiation of Nerve Impulses," in Biophysical Science, A Study Program - Editor J. L. Oncley. John Wiley & Sons, 1959 pp. 504-14 (This is an outstanding collection of papers on modern biophysics, which can serve as an introduction to the areas of biology having potential military applications.) Lettvin, J. Y.; Maturana, H. R.; McCulloch, W. S.; Pitts, W. H., "What the Frog's Eye Tells the Frog's Brain," Proc. IRE, Vol. 47, No. 11, pp. 1940-59, November 1959. Reichardt, W., "Autocorrelation, An Evaluation of Principles of the Central Nervous System," in Sensory Communication, Ed. W. A. Rosenblith - to be published by Technology Press Wiley, Winter 1960. (Report of a twoweek symposium held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Summer 1959) Hassenstein, B., "Analysis of the Visual Perception in Movement of Insects," Presented before 4th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, Philadelphia, February 1960. Weaver, Warren, "Science and Complexity," American Scientist, October 1948. Young, J. L.; Moody, M. F.; Parriss; Sutherland, N. S., "The Visual System of Octopus. Nature: Vol. 186, pp. 836-44, June 11, 1960. Lissman, H. W. and Machin, K. E., "The Mechanism of Object Location in Lissman, H. W., "On the Function and Evolution of Electric Organs in Fish," J. of Experimental Biology, Vol. 35, No. 1, p. 156, 1958. WADD TR 60-600 TECHNICAL SESSION I THE LIFE SCIENCES IN BIONICS Moderator: Dr. Warren S. McCulloch Massachusetts Institute of Technology |