An Interview with John Holland
Phil Husbands, Owen E. Holland, Michael Wheeler · The MIT Press eBooks · 2008
John Holland studied physics at MIT and then worked for IBM, where he was involved in some of the first research on adaptive artificial neural networks. He went on to the University of Michigan for graduate studies in mathematics and communication sciences and has remained there ever since; he is professor of psychology and professor of electrical engineering and computer science there. Among many important contributions to a number of different fields, mostly related to complex adaptive systems, he developed genetic algorithms and learning classifier systems, foundation stones of the field of evolutionary computing. This chapter presents an edited transcript of an interview conducted on 17 May 2006. Holland recounts how his theories of adaptive systems were influenced by biology, then reflects on recent developments and considers why, in the late 1980s, there was a great resurgence of interest in complex adaptive systems.