Bullock Theodore Holmes
Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine and Neurobiology Unit, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2006 May;60(2):106-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2005.12.005. Epub 2006 Mar 3.
A case can be made for the proposition that the most neglected aspect of biology is the evolution of complexity and for the assertion that the evolution of complex nervous systems--in short, of the brain--is an outstanding fact, manifesting a span of difference in grade of complexity from the simplest exemplars to the most advanced far greater than any other systems known except systems made up of many brains. The aim of this essay is not to make this case, which I take to be self-evident but to point out how little studied are the specifics defining the grades of complexity, in other words, the consequences of neural evolution. A major step in opening this field of study would be to recognize some way of measuring complexity, relevant to animal biology.
有一种观点认为，生物学中最被忽视的方面是复杂性的进化，还有一种观点认为，复杂神经系统（简而言之，即大脑）的进化是一个突出的事实，它体现了从最简单的范例到最先进的范例在复杂性等级上的差异跨度，比除由多个大脑组成的系统之外的任何已知系统都要大得多。本文的目的不是阐述这一观点（我认为这是不言而喻的），而是指出对于界定复杂性等级的具体特征，也就是神经进化的结果，人们的研究是多么匮乏。开展这一研究领域的一个主要步骤将是认识某种与动物生物学相关的测量复杂性的方法。
