Ilya Prigogine, a Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate, has devised a theory of "dissipative structures" to explain how cybernetic principles can incorporate the notion of evolution as well as homeostasis. According to Prigogine, all living things and many nonliving things are dissipative structures. That is, they maintain their structure by the continual flow of energy through their system. That flow of energy keeps the system in a constant state of flux. For the most part, the fluctuations are small and can be easily adjusted to by way of negative feedback. However, occasionally the fluctuations may become so great that the system is unable to adjust and positive feedback takes over. The fluctuations feed off themselves, and the amplification can easily overwhelm the entire system. When that happens, the system either collapses or reorganizes itself. If it is able to reorganize itself, the new dissipative structure will always exhibit a higher order of complexity and integration, and a greater flow-through, than its predecessor. Each successive reordering, because it is more complex than the one preceeding it, is even more vulnerable to fluctuations and reordering. Thus, increased complexity creates the condition for evolutionary development. -- Jeremy Rifkin, p.209, Biotech Century, 1998