Optima and Simplicity in Nature

Kamaludin Dingle

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arXiv · 2210.02564

Optima and Simplicity in Nature

Kamaludin Dingle

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Abstract

Why are simple, regular, and symmetric shapes common in nature? Many natural shapes arise as solutions to energy minimisation or other optimisation problems, but is there a general relation between optima and simple, regular shapes and geometries? Here we argue from algorithmic information theory that for objective functions common in nature -- based on physics and engineering laws -- optimal geometries will be simple, regular, and symmetric. Further, we derive a null model prediction that if a given geometry is an optimal solution for one natural objective function, then it is a priori more likely to be optimal or close to optimal for another objective function.

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Kamaludin Dingle. 2022-08-16. Optima and Simplicity in Nature. https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.02564

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