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Copied over from the original site
This page was written for the original site in 2003. It explains the site as it existed then.
Although still mostly applicable today, there is reference to projects which are now no longer in existence and to articles and pages that are on the original site at http://www.stigmergicsystems.com.
About this site
The purpose of the site is to serve as a working example of an ongoing project to develop self-organizing Web sites and knowledge management systems based upon stigmergy and other strategies found in biological systems.
The site contains many notes and references relating to this project and are put online as a common source of information for participators and to encourage others to take an interest in this field.
Site features
Summaries
On this page you'll find brief summaries of the various components, theory and use of a stigmergic system
History
The 'History' link in the menubar will give you some background information to stigmergic systems, as it evolved from its origins in 1995 to the present day.
Technical notes
During the development of stigmergic systems, the main features were written up in the form of tutorials and technical notes. These notes are intended primarily for partners and collaborators in the projects, but might also be useful to students who are interested in the thinking behind the application of biological strategies to information technology.
The Example project
The single most difficult problem with applying biological system thinking to information technology is explaining how it works.
It can only properly be understood in terms of arcane mathematical concepts that involve theories of dynamic complex systems. But, very few people will want to take this route to understanding.
The idea behind the Example project is to create a simple example of a stigmergic system that will trigger a "Eurika!" moment, where people make the sudden paradigm shift to appreciate the true essence of biological system theory - which might prompt them into learning more.
An arbitary subject area was chosen - the search engine optimization of a Web site - and a demo arranged to look as much like a conventional computer application as possible.
Future projects
Stigmergic systems and the application of biological strategies have possible applications in many commercial areas. This section of the site provides a brief description of the kind of applications we shall be exploring in future projects.
References
The references section of the site contains a wide ranging selection of links and articles. These have been specifically chosen because they have direct relevance to the development and application of stigmergic systems. Also included are descriptions of the books that have been written during the course of this work together with the notes from three seminars.
The New Book and research project
Based upon the content of five previous books and three years work on creating stigmergic systems, the concepts are now being carried forward to include the findings that are eminating from current neurological research. This will involve the writing of a new book to provide a theoretical foundation, the creation of a collaborative information source on current brain research and an "Alter Ego" agent system to enhance the way people meet and exchange information.
Second Life
The opportunities for using the results of this work were extremely limited because of the huge costs involved in producing a commercial product. Then along came into existence the artificial world known as Second Life. Here a complete environment was available to put the ideas behind this site into practical application without prohibitive development costs.
Enjoy
Peter Small - July 2007
Current Project
Various experimental projects in the Second Life environment greatly increased our understanding of the way in which the new "Information Age" is heading. This view was greatly tempered by the economic changes that came about after the financial crash of 2007.
We are now viewing the Internet and the Information Age as something akin to the way the movie "The Matrix" portrayed the human population as a world of people living in bottles with an artificial reality provided for them electronically.
Of course, people are not living in bottles and they do have a real environment, but the Internet is playing a greater and greater role in people's lives and increasingly becoming a greater part of the reality they experience.
Looking at today's world with a detachment similar to those of Neo and Morpheus in The Matrix, we are considering ways in which we can make changes to the informational environment of this world - to improve its efficiency. This is the purpose of our current project (See the side panel on the home page).
Peter Small - July 2017