Interview with John H. Holland (1929–2015)
Conducted on May 27, 1999
PH: What inspired you to found the field of genetic algorithms?
JHH: It all started when I was browsing in the Math. Lib. at University of Michigan (while working on my Ph.D.) and encountered Fisher’s book THE GENETICAL THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION. That one could do serious mathematics about the mechanics of natural selection (a topic that had always interested me) was a revelation.
PH. How has your work bridged so many different fields?
JHH: I’ve always read almost every serious book in the sciences I could get my hands on (as well as a great deal in the humanities). It’s a never-ending, and joyful, task to try to link it all together. In that respect, Hesse’s (Nobel-winning) novel has been an inspiration. I think many of my students (there are 44 of them so far) have a similar attitude about linking things.
PH. What are the field of complexity’s greatest achievements?
JHH: We’re still working on theory, and, as for most deep theories, that will be an effort lasting a couple of decades. Theories tell us “where to look” and a successful theory will tell us more about the crucial “lever points” (which see in HIDDEN ORDER) that let us change directions and habits at small cost (like a vaccine).
PH: How has the Santa Fe institute triggered new achievements in science?
JHH: Much of this can be assigned to the initial taste of George Cowan and Murray Gell-Mann. They set up a “walk-in” institute (unlike most think tanks), where the participants were chosen not only for their ideas and stature, but also for their ability to listen to others in other fields. It has worked remarkably well. Mitch Waldrop as a lot about this.
Author’s note: Sadly, Prof. Holland passed away on August 9, 2015.
Paul Halpern is a University of the Sciences physics professor and the author of fifteen popular science books, including The Quantum Labyrinth: How Richard Feynman and John Wheeler Revolutionized Time and Reality.
