Modular stability tools for distributed computation and control (Q4452388)

The author presents a survey of the arguments used in one ``school of thought'' on the transfer of some `natural architecture' to the design of technological devices. Dismissing prudently the truism that an assembly of stable structures is not necessarily stable (cf.: castle of moist sand, house of cards, ``Wasa'' warship, London Centenial Bridge,\dots), four `sound' design principles are advocated: parallel and series links, feedback, and `multiresolution' (caution: terms with peculiar meanings). Mathematically they are described as a `contraction' (i.e.: a speeding up of ``natural evolution processes''). The article is more promotional than instructive. No comparisons with other `schools of thought' are presented. Design principles, like for instance, creativity, sudden inspiration (``Heureka!''), Serendipidy, and mutation (in, say, the local environment or ``culture'') are not even obliquely mentioned.