What do you think?
Rate this book
The Touchstone of Life: Molecular Information, Cell Communication, and the Foundations of Life
"If there were something like a guidebook for living creatures, I think the first line would read like a biblical Make thy information larger. And next would come the guidelines for colonizing, in good imperialist fashion, the biggest chunk of negative entropy around."
Werner Loewenstein, a cell biologist at Woods Hole Biological Laboratories, has written a remarkably engaging book tying together information theory, thermodynamics, molecular biology, and the structure of cells. The subject is not one to which the human brain is well suited, but with Loewenstein's guidance you may get a better grasp on concepts like entropy than you've ever had before.
Loewenstein describes life as a "Flowing in from the cosmos, information loops back onto itself to produce the circular information complex we call Life.... To those who are inside the Circus, it will always seem the greatest show on Earth, though I can't speak for the One who is outside it."
The Touchstone of Life covers some of the ground surveyed in Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach and Kauffman's At Home in the Universe, but with an even stronger sense of the physical realities constraining the "Circus." It should prove fascinating for anyone interested in biology, consciousness, physics, or the future of computing. --Mary Ellen Curtin
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 1998
7 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Werner R. Loewenstein
4 books6 followersDr. Loewenstein was born in 1926 in Spangenberg, Germany. His family escaped Hitler’s Germany in 1939, emigrating to Chile. He had a keen interest in science and became a world-renowned biophysicist after immigrating into the United States.
Dr. Loewenstein received a B.Sc. (physics), B.Sc. (biology) in 1945, and Ph.D. (physiology) in 1950 from the University of Chile. From 1951 to 1957 he worked at the University of Chile, first as an instructor, and then as an associate professor of physiology. In 1954 he joined the University of California in Los Angeles as a resident zoologist. In 1957 Dr. Loewenstein was a professor of physiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University and from 1967 to 1971 he served as the Director of the Laboratory of Cell Physics. He moved to Florida in 1971 to take a position as professor of physiology and biophysics and department chairman at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
In 1994 Dr. Loewenstein and his wife, Dr. Birgit Rose Loewenstein, established the Laboratory of Cell Communication at the MBL, devoted to the study of intercellular communication. Their research focused on the cell-to-cell channel, a membrane channel built into the junctions between cells. Dr. Loewenstein became a member of the MBL Corporation in 1961 and served on the MBL Investment Committee in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was named a MBL Society Emeritus member in 2011.
His recent book, Physics in Mind, was chosen by Physics World Magazine as the 2013 Best Book of Physics. Dr. Loewenstein traveled the world as an invited speaker at international scientific conferences, and loved to take sailing trips on his cutter Pequod. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Birgit Rose Loewenstein of Sedona, son Stewart of Denver, daughter Claudia of Dallas, and four grandchildren.
Dr. Loewenstein received a B.Sc. (physics), B.Sc. (biology) in 1945, and Ph.D. (physiology) in 1950 from the University of Chile. From 1951 to 1957 he worked at the University of Chile, first as an instructor, and then as an associate professor of physiology. In 1954 he joined the University of California in Los Angeles as a resident zoologist. In 1957 Dr. Loewenstein was a professor of physiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University and from 1967 to 1971 he served as the Director of the Laboratory of Cell Physics. He moved to Florida in 1971 to take a position as professor of physiology and biophysics and department chairman at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
In 1994 Dr. Loewenstein and his wife, Dr. Birgit Rose Loewenstein, established the Laboratory of Cell Communication at the MBL, devoted to the study of intercellular communication. Their research focused on the cell-to-cell channel, a membrane channel built into the junctions between cells. Dr. Loewenstein became a member of the MBL Corporation in 1961 and served on the MBL Investment Committee in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was named a MBL Society Emeritus member in 2011.
His recent book, Physics in Mind, was chosen by Physics World Magazine as the 2013 Best Book of Physics. Dr. Loewenstein traveled the world as an invited speaker at international scientific conferences, and loved to take sailing trips on his cutter Pequod. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Birgit Rose Loewenstein of Sedona, son Stewart of Denver, daughter Claudia of Dallas, and four grandchildren.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 4, 2012
Though there is a paucity of equations, particularly on the information theoretic side, Loewenstein does a fantastic job of discussing the theory and philosophy of what is going on in the overlapping fields of information theory and microbiology. (I will note that it is commonly held wisdom within publishing, particularly for books for the broader public, that the number of equations in a text is inversely proportional to the number of sales and I'm sure this is the reason for the lack of mathematical substantiation which he could easily have supplied.)
This is a much more specific and therefore much better - in my mind - book than John Avery's "Information Theory and Evolution" which covers some similar ground. Loewenstein has a much better and more specific grasp of the material in my opinion. Those who feel overwhelmed by Loewenstein may prefer to take a step back to Avery's more facile presentation.
Loewenstein has a deft ability to describe what is going on and give both an up-close view with many examples as well as a spectacular view of the broader picture - something which is often missing in general science books of this sort. Readers with no mathematical or microbiology background can benefit from it as much as those with more experience.
One thing which sets it apart from much of its competition, even in the broader general science area of non-fiction, is that the author has a quirky - but adept - ability to add some flowery language and analogy to clarify his points. Though many will find this off-putting, it really does add some additional flavor to what might be dry and dull explication to many. His range of background knowledge, philosophy and vocabulary are second only (and possibly even on par or exceeding in some cases) that of Simon Winchester.
I'd highly recommend this book to people prior to their academic studies of biochemistry or molecular cell biology or to budding biomedical engineers prior to their junior year of study. I truly wish I had read this in 1994 myself, but alas it didn't exist until a few years after. I lament that I hadn't picked it up and been able to read it thoroughly until now.
For my part, his drastically differing viewpoint of the way in which biology should be viewed moving forward, is spot on. I am firmly a member of this new "school". His final chapter on this concept is truly illuminating from a philosophical and theoretical view and I encourage people to read it first instead of last.
I'll also note briefly that I've seen some reviews of this book which make mention of creationism or intelligent design and whether or not proponents of those philosophies feel that Loewenstein's work here supports them or not, particularly since Loewenstein appeared on a panel with Dembski once. I will state for those who take a purely scientific viewpoint of things, that this book is written in full support of evolution and microbiology and doesn't use the concept of "information" to muddy the waters the way many ID arguments are typically made.
This is a much more specific and therefore much better - in my mind - book than John Avery's "Information Theory and Evolution" which covers some similar ground. Loewenstein has a much better and more specific grasp of the material in my opinion. Those who feel overwhelmed by Loewenstein may prefer to take a step back to Avery's more facile presentation.
Loewenstein has a deft ability to describe what is going on and give both an up-close view with many examples as well as a spectacular view of the broader picture - something which is often missing in general science books of this sort. Readers with no mathematical or microbiology background can benefit from it as much as those with more experience.
One thing which sets it apart from much of its competition, even in the broader general science area of non-fiction, is that the author has a quirky - but adept - ability to add some flowery language and analogy to clarify his points. Though many will find this off-putting, it really does add some additional flavor to what might be dry and dull explication to many. His range of background knowledge, philosophy and vocabulary are second only (and possibly even on par or exceeding in some cases) that of Simon Winchester.
I'd highly recommend this book to people prior to their academic studies of biochemistry or molecular cell biology or to budding biomedical engineers prior to their junior year of study. I truly wish I had read this in 1994 myself, but alas it didn't exist until a few years after. I lament that I hadn't picked it up and been able to read it thoroughly until now.
For my part, his drastically differing viewpoint of the way in which biology should be viewed moving forward, is spot on. I am firmly a member of this new "school". His final chapter on this concept is truly illuminating from a philosophical and theoretical view and I encourage people to read it first instead of last.
I'll also note briefly that I've seen some reviews of this book which make mention of creationism or intelligent design and whether or not proponents of those philosophies feel that Loewenstein's work here supports them or not, particularly since Loewenstein appeared on a panel with Dembski once. I will state for those who take a purely scientific viewpoint of things, that this book is written in full support of evolution and microbiology and doesn't use the concept of "information" to muddy the waters the way many ID arguments are typically made.
abandoned
August 10, 2010A gift from my grandfather-in-law.
It's not that it's written too densely; it's that the concepts make my brain hurt. I'll come back to this sometime when I have more energy to devote to studying information theory.
Perhaps information theory would benefit from an Alice in Quantum Land-style approach.
It's not that it's written too densely; it's that the concepts make my brain hurt. I'll come back to this sometime when I have more energy to devote to studying information theory.
Perhaps information theory would benefit from an Alice in Quantum Land-style approach.
April 22, 2011
Biophysicist writing about cell communication. Author mentioned that the DNA script of our bodies would fill a whole library with more volumes than any library now in existence, and all of that fits into the nucleus of a cell.
May 9, 2011
I feel like this book was written for me. I now feel that it is possible for me to grok biology.
March 21, 2012
a must read for any intelligent person..
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews