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Objects That Make Objects: The Population Dynamics of Structural Complexity

James P. Crutchfield·Olof Gornerup
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Abstract

To analyze the evolutionary emergence of structural complexity in physical processes we introduce a general, but tractable, model of objects that interact to produce new objects. Since the objects--\emph{$epsilon$-machines}--have well defined structural properties, we demonstrate that complexity in the resulting population dynamical system emerges on several distinct organizational scales during evolution--from individuals to nested levels of mutually self-sustaining interaction. The evolution to increased organization is dominated by the spontaneous creation of structural hierarchies and this, in turn, is facilitated by the innovation and maintenance of relatively low-complexity, but general individuals.

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James P. Crutchfield, Olof Gornerup. 2004-06-24. Objects That Make Objects: The Population Dynamics of Structural Complexity. https://arxiv.org/abs/nlin/0406058

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