Self-replication and non-linearity

If the structure carries information, then we have REPRODUCTION INFORMATION at the same time 

If during self reproduction also structural (- function) changes occur, we also have EVOLUTION 

Shreion Lifson (1997) utilized a nice arithmetic to illustrate the power of the autocatalytic self-replication. He took the example of a normal hetero-catalytic process that makes one molecule of B from A at the rate of one per second. Then, it would require 6 x 10 s to make one mole of B. If instead there is an autocatalytic process by which B gives rises to 2B, and 2B give rise to 4B, and 4B to 8B, and so on, it requires only 79 s to make one mole of B. 

The dramatic power of non-hnear growth was already known in ancient times. You may have come across the story of the Chinese Emperor who - according to one particular version - played chess with a concubine. The smart lady had 

The names of von Neumann and Turing lead into the held of artihcial life, a subject that falls outside the scope at this book. Freitas and Merkle (2004) discuss the subject beginning from von Neumann s cellular automahon model, and usefully describe a large series of self-replicahon models presented in the artihcial life literature. 

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