PREADAPTATION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2605 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
The condition of a system whose already acquired characteristics makes it fit to respond satisfactorily to new future conditions.
In a narrow sense, the concept is nearly tautological, i.e. when future conditions are a normal result of the present ones, as for example in the progress of a biochemical reaction (ROSEN, 1991a, p.544).
In a broader sense, a system endowed with much variety may be preadapted to some variations in its enviroment that are of a completely new type.
The concept remains however fuzzy: Can it be said that the anopheles mosquitoes that became resistant to various insecticides were “preadapted”, or possibly possessed a “potential for adaptation”, whatever this may mean?
M. BUNGE introduces the curious concept of premaladaptation (1979, p.104): In this case the mosquitoes killed by insecticides would have been “premaladapted” (also somehow a tautology!)
See also
Predictor