Complex Systems, Misc

We propose a unified relational dynamical framework for the emergence of structure across physical, biological, cognitive, and technological systems. The starting point is the notion of minimal difference as the simplest deviation from a trivial regime in which relations are globally reducible and generate no structural effects. The key mechanism is the transition from minimal difference to returning difference, understood as an effect that does not vanish along closed trajectories. We show that a returning difference constitutes the minimal form of (...) feedback, enabling the accumulation of effects and the onset of nontrivial dynamics. A central role in the proposed framework is played by recursion, understood not as mere iteration of a rule, but as a structural property of dynamics in which transformations act on the results of previous transformations. Recursion is one of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the generation of structure: it enables the formation of feedback loops, hierarchical organization, and multi-level regulatory systems. In this sense, returning difference can be viewed as the elementary form of recursion grounded in relational dynamics. We formalize relational dynamics in terms of local relations and their non-closure (curvature), which, in the presence of appropriate operators, generate iterated feedback. The introduction of selection and projection mechanisms leads to invariant sets and concentration of trajectories, interpreted as the formation of stable structures. Extending the model to the statistical level allows for the description of probabilistic dynamics, metastability, and the role of fluctuations. In the continuous limit, the framework leads to effective field descriptions, and when coupled with geometry, to the co-evolution of fields and spatial structure. At a global level, entropy, information, and elements of geometric structure can be understood as emergent properties arising from relational feedback dynamics. The proposed approach is structural and effective: it does not replace existing physical theories, but identifies common mechanisms of organization across domains. In particular, we argue that the transition from minimal difference to returning difference—as the elementary form of recursion and feedback—defines a universal threshold at which the emergence of complex structures becomes possible. (shrink)

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for analyzing the order of observed dynamical systems in terms of the escalation of feedback architectures. Rather than organizing physical, chemical, biological, and technological systems according to ontological levels or evolutionary narratives, the framework treats them as successive classes of stable regulatory architectures, distinguished by the geometry of their attractors and basins of attraction. Random variations and reorganizations of feedback architectures may enable increases in control power, understood as the capacity to constrain and sustain (...) system trajectories over time. However, only those configurations whose attractors remain dynamically stable are preserved, implying a form of stability-based selection rather than adaptation or optimization. The framework is functional and non-normative: it does not presuppose goals, intentionality, or teleology at any level of analysis. Escalation is shown to proceed through qualitative reorganizations of regulatory architecture, from dynamically closed systems, through energetic and informational regulation, to metaregulatory technological systems capable of simulating and selecting architectures prior to physical realization. While later architectures achieve unprecedented control power, they do so at the cost of increasingly narrow basins of attraction, leading to heightened global fragility and sharp stability cliffs. The paper situates this account in relation to dynamical systems theory and clarifies its relation to the free-energy principle, which is interpreted as a condition of trajectory stability rather than a theory of architectural structure. Overall, the framework offers a unifying, non-teleological perspective on order, stability, and control across domains, emphasizing architecture rather than substrate as the primary axis of analysis. (shrink)

SRVD proposes a new ontological subject: the persistent structure—any negentropic configuration capable of maintaining continuity under energetic constraints. The framework shows how such a structure’s viability is governed by V = I_net·T / E_eff, where I_net is effective causal information, T viability time, and E_eff thermodynamic cost. Collapse of the endogenous time horizon T_pred triggers a Myopic Runaway Regime (e.g., AI reward hacking). SRVD yields testable predictions, including that T_pred collapse precedes physical runaway.

Quantum mechanics describes reality as a distribution of possibilities, while classical physics describes it as a single actual state. These frameworks resist unification because they presuppose incompatible ontologies: quantum theory assumes modal openness, classical theory assumes modal closure. This paper proposes a universal structural invariant—Jestin’s Constant (J)—that governs the allowable divergence between what can be and what is. J is not a numerical parameter but a metaphysical constraint that regulates the transition from modal spread to actualisation. It explains why measurement (...) occurs, why actualisation is irreversible, and why the universe cannot collapse into pure determinism or pure indeterminism. By revealing quantum and classical descriptions as complementary regimes governed by the same structural principle, J provides an ontological unification of two domains long thought incompatible. (shrink)

The functioning of complex natural structures, such as living systems, still lacks a generally accepted theoretical basis with respective empirical experimental verification for decades. We propose a class of experiments to test whether such systems could be subject to an unknown ordering principle that cannot be captured by known physical laws. We hypothesise that the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle enables ordering phenomena in nearly chaotic systems in the sense of a strong emergence principle, which would not be expected when they (...) are modelled conventionally, as several authors have already formulated in various forms. To account for the harsh conditions prevailing in living systems that may preclude fragile macroscopic quantum coherence, our hypothesis does not require such coherence at all, contrary to earlier related proposals. To test this hypothesis, two virtually identical and sufficiently complex experimental setups should be compared. One setup will operate with deterministic pseudo-random number generators at key sensitive points, while the other one will use quantum-based physical random-number generators, the two setups being otherwise identical. Existing artificial neural networks are proposed as possible test objects, and their performance under identical training conditions can be used as a quantitative benchmark. As this working hypothesis extends far beyond artificial networks, a successful outcome of such an experiment could have significant implications for many other branches of science. (shrink)

Physical theories are complex and necessary tools for gaining new knowledge about their areas of application. A distinction is made between abstract and practical theories. The last are constantly being improved in the cognitive activity of professional physicists and studied by future physicists. A variant of the philosophy of physics based on a modified structural-nominative reconstruction of practical theories is proposed. Readers should decide whether this option is useful for their understanding of the philosophy of physics, as well as other (...) philosophies of particular sciences. (shrink)

This preprint presents the ontological–physical core of the Unified Field Theory (TCU), proposing a granular spacetime framework grounded on Racron and Raion primitives and a scalar lattice formalism. The work introduces a unified operator-based treatment of fundamental interactions, including Gravity Δ and holographic–geometric components, under explicit falsifiability criteria, case-limits, and epistemic guardrails. -/- The document is conceptual and test-driven in nature. It does not claim empirical confirmation, does not propose a theory of mind or consciousness, and does not advance normative (...) social or political prescriptions. All cross-domain references are strictly constrained to operator-level modeling within a physical–ontological framework. (shrink)

Quantum geometry is conventionally understood as a descriptive structure characterizing the space of quantum states. In this work, we examine an alternative but fully compatible interpretation in which geometric quantities—such as Berry curvature and the quantum metric—function effectively as constraint layers shaping the set of admissible dynamical trajectories. -/- Without introducing new degrees of freedom or modifying established theoretical frameworks, we analyze how geometric terms enter semiclassical equations of motion and transport responses in quantum systems. In particular, anomalous velocity contributions (...) and geometry-dependent transport coefficients indicate that geometry operates not merely as a passive descriptor, but as an active structural condition on system evolution. -/- This shift from geometry as description to geometry as constraint does not alter the formalism, but reorganizes its interpretation, reducing conceptual fragmentation by unifying diverse geometry-dependent effects under a common structural principle. It highlights that the evolution of quantum systems is not only governed by dynamical variables, but also by the geometric structure that restricts the space of accessible trajectories. -/- From a philosophical perspective, this reinterpretation can be understood as a shift from state-based descriptions toward constraint-based formulations of physical theory, emphasizing the structural role of geometry in delimiting physical possibility. -/- We clarify the scope and limits of this reinterpretation, emphasizing that it does not necessarily require the introduction of new physical interactions or ontological commitments. Instead, it provides a conceptually sharper and operationally informative framework for understanding the role of geometry in quantum dynamics and transport. (shrink)

This study develops and applies criteria for identifying the leading structural elements of Earth's next macroevolutionary stage-through analysing previous evolutionary transitions from unicellular life to modern social structures: spatial restrictions for previous leading elements, emergence of 'incomprehensible-for-them' phenomena, and novel forms of systemic constraints. The application of these criteria to contemporary global developments suggests that clusters of states coordinated by ideologically-unified movements might represent emerging carriers of next-level complexity. The paper examines historical precedents of such structures and discusses potential paths (...) for their development, including the possibility of multiple competing clusters. This approach offers a novel perspective on both the identification of evolutionary transitions and the analysis of current global transformations. (shrink)

Recent literature has raised what I'll call the 'multiscale argument' against reduction (see e.g. Batterman (2013), Wilson (2017), Bursten (2018)). These authors observe that numerous successful scientific models appeal to features and properties from a wide range of spatial/temporal scales. This is taken to undermine views that the world is sharply divided into distinct levels, roughly corresponding to different scales, and that each higher level is reducible to the next lowest level. -/- While the multiscale argument does undermine a naive (...) conception of levels and reduction, in this paper I argue that alternative views of reduction and levels can withstand this argument. After articulating the multiscale argument in more detail, I show that this does not undermine a version of reduction that accepts methodological pluralism in science, yet maintains that the adequacy of any model can be explained by appeal to details at smaller scales. I go on to discuss a case study – dislocations in steel –e used by Batterman and Wilson in defence of the multiscale argument. I argue that the version of reduction advocated above is available in this context. I conclude by arguing that, in the face of the multiscale argument, levels are either everywhere or nowhere. (shrink)

Intellectual property (IP) can internalize positive externalities associated with the creation and discovery of ideas, thereby increasing investment in efforts to create and discover ideas. However, IP law also causes negative externalities. Strict IP rights raise the transaction costs associated with consuming and building on existing ideas. This causes a tragedy of the anticommons, in which valuable resources are underused and underdeveloped. By disincentivizing creative projects that build on existing ideas, IP protection, even if it increases original innovation, can inadvertently (...) reduce the rate of iterative innovation. The net effect of IP law on innovation and welfare depends on the relative magnitude of these positive and negative externalities. We argue that the current regime probably suffers from excessive, and excessively rigid, IP protection. This motivates the search for institutional alternatives and complements. We suggest that a monocentric IP rights regime may not be the only, or the most efficient, way to internalize the positive externalities of innovation. The knowledge economy supports the emergence of diverse, polycentric forms of bottom-up self-governance, both market and community led, that entail the citizen coproduction of the norms and practices of intellectual creation and discovery. (shrink)

This essay explores the concept of emergence within the framework of noncommutative systems, challenging traditional views that tie emergent behaviour to commutative rule sets. Emergence typically refers to the phenomena where higher-level complexity arises from the interactions of simpler components, often under deterministic and commutative systems. However, noncommutative systems, where the order of operations affects the outcome, introduce a unique layer of complexity that complicates this understanding. By examining the properties of noncommutative systems through formal mathematical analysis and exploring case (...) studies from quantum mechanics, this essay investigates whether emergence can genuinely arise under noncommutative conditions. The findings suggest that noncommutative rule sets lead to a richer and more intricate form of emergent behaviour, characterised by path dependence and sequence sensitivity. This challenges our existing models of complexity and opens up new pathways for understanding emergent phenomena in both physical and cognitive systems. The implications of this analysis extend beyond theoretical curiosity, suggesting that emergent properties may exist in unexpected and non-linear domains, reshaping our perception of order, chaos, and complexity. (shrink)

After two centuries, the Diltheyan idea of the incommensurability of the natural and social sciences remains hegemonic. Alternative visions have since been overlooked; in this regard, the Baden neo-Kantian school showed that any divergence concerns implied method and not the phenomenal object of studies. W. Windelband coined the terms “nomological” and “idiographic” to underline how each discipline can be explained as a science of both law and events. To begin, I will show how complex thinking can expand and institute a (...) general integrative frame that overcomes the assumed incommensurability. By “complex,” I mean an anti-reductionist approach to understanding and a consequent ability to reveal the phenomenal world in terms of nested self-organized systems. Social and natural systems are persistent coalescences of individual entities showing series of interduality such as unicity and multiplicity, top-down conservation and bottom-up inno- vation, constraint of law and freedom of agencies. The two instances are maintained together by the rejection of abstracted and isolated concepts and the embrace of a general principle of indeterminacy resolving the apparent contradiction within the parallelization of the extremes as two different moments of analyses rooted in the social and natural classical methods. This paper considers both a) the Positivist attempt in the XIX century to approach the study of social phenomena in terms of law and b) the emergence of a general social science embracing the principle of acasuality, adapted from the study of the subatomic phenomenal world in quantum theory. Finally, this paper sketches how complex methodology can address historical and social studies with system theory in order to overcome classical dualities such as determinism vs. freedom, social vs. individual, and top down conservation vs. bottom up innovation in the form of an integrative parallelization. (shrink)

Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been proposed as a potential way in which welfare states could be made more responsive to the ever-shifting evolutionary challenges of institutional adaptation in a dynamic environment. It has been proposed as a tool of “real freedom” (Van Parijs) and as a tool of making the welfare state more efficient. (Friedman) From the point of view of complexity theory and evolutionary economics, I argue that only a welfare state model that is “polycentrically” (Polanyi, Hayek) organized (...) as an evolving network of distributed decision-making can respond to the challenges of complexity in an adaptively efficient manner. UBI has the theoretical possibility to facilitate flexible, bottom-up innovation, since a) it embodies the “rule of law” principles of generality, nondiscrimination, simplicity, and transparency, and b) it grants people widespread freedom to experiment, innovate, and deviate from established practices and norms; but whether it can be made to work as intended depends on a number of variables in its design. I situate my research in the contemporary UBI debate around automation and technological development, which I interpret creatively through the lens of contemporary evolutionary political economy. I advance a syncretic model of institutional design based upon the shared insights of the Santa Fe, Neo-Hayekian, and Neo-Schumpeterian schools of evolutionary economics that, following Adam Thierer and Michael Munger, I call the framework of Permissionless Innovation (PI). Under the PI framework, which is a development of the tradition of evolutionary liberalism (Hume, Smith, Mandeville, Mill, Hayek, Polanyi, Schumpeter, Hodgson), individuals are granted the default right to innovate without having to ask for permission, and the right to basic income, which they can use to support their right to innovate, mutate, and experiment. This framework is a liberal framework to the extent it relies on widespread human freedom as a means of fostering innovation and social learning. And it is an evolutionary framework to the extent that it seeks to facilitate evolutionary socioeconomic processes for the sake of social progress and welfare advancement. I proceed to show, through an analysis of how innovation operates in both the economy and the cultural domain, that UBI can be used as an important cornerstone of an evolutionary liberal model of “ecostructural” governance that treats the socioeconomic order as an ecological garden of spontaneous growths, adaptations, and innovations. I call this the Permissionless Innovation Universal Basic Income (PIUBI) framework. In it, the right to innovate, deviate, and mutate is upheld as the “gold standard” of institutional design whereby individuals are granted widespread freedoms combined with the provision of UBI and other innovation-fostering (carefully bound) services and regulations. In the coming decades, UBI may even enable poor people to take better advantage of Human Enhancement Technologies (HETs) and other experimental innovations. Such a framework is compatible with a fast pace of evolutionary development, but the regulatory model accompanying such a framework must be capable of responding to evolutionary lock-ins, maladaptive innovations, self-destructive behaviour on the part of UBI recipients, and the management of catastrophic and existential risks. In the end, I will have shown that the PIUBI framework can be justified as a plausible default institutional mechanism for responding to radical uncertainty, but it needs to be experimentally adapted to changing circumstances with the help of various situation-specific, polycentric, multi-level, approaches. (shrink)

Has science already answered the fundamental questions about the concepts of Life, Cosmos and Evolution? Has science not relegated these fundamental questions by following up on more immediate, “useful” and practical endeavors that ultimately ensure that the wheel of capitalism keeps spinning in its frantic search for material and economic progress? There is something terribly wrong with the current theory of evolution, understood as the Darwinian theory with its successive versions and extensions. The concept of natural selection, the cornerstone of (...) Darwinism, is logically inconsistent. This has been demonstrated in some of my latest academic publications. The entire conceptual framework of Darwinism is inadequate. Organisms do not compete with each other for the survival of the fittest. The fundamental relationship in Nature is not competition or confrontation, but interconnectivity, complementarity, and relational meaningfulness. A new theory of evolution is necessary to explain how it is possible that organisms as simple as bacteria, protozoa and diatoms could have generated organisms as complex as primates, and among them, the human being, a being capable of feeling and thinking, of suffering and enjoying, a being capable of having ideals and purposes. A theory that explains how it is possible that this being so complex, rich, and to some extent still unknown, has emerged from a single cell, an egg-cell, lacking all the capacities, riches and depths of human existence. Such a theory already exists. (shrink)

Can stable regularities be explained without appealing to governing laws or any other modal notion? In this paper, I consider what I will call a ‘Humean system’—a generic dynamical system without guiding laws—and assess whether it could display stable regularities. First, I present what can be interpreted as an account of the rise of stable regularities, following from Strevens [2003], which has been applied to explain the patterns of complex systems (such as those from meteorology and statistical mechanics). Second, since (...) this account presupposes that the underlying dynamics displays deterministic chaos, I assess whether it can be adapted to cases where the underlying dynamics is not chaotic but truly random—that is, cases where there is no dynamics guiding the time evolution of the system. If this is so, the resulting stable, apparently non-accidental regularities are the fruit of what can be called statistical necessity rather than of a primitive physical necessity. (shrink)

The topic of the relationship between the organism and its environment runs through the theories of Uexküll, Goldstein and Canguilhem with equal importance. In this work a counterpoint will be established between their theories, in the attempt to assess at which points the melodies are concordant and at which points they are discordant. As fundamental basis to his theory, Uexküll relies on the concept of conformity to a plan, which allows him to account for the congruity and perfect adjustment between (...) organisms and their Umwelten. For Goldstein and Canguilhem, the relationship between an organism and its environment resembles instead a debate or coming to terms, in which the organism, as to ensure the continuity of the state of health, must constantly create norms to maintain a productive relationship with its environment. The pinpointing of these conceptual frameworks allows to lay emphasis on that each theory relies on specific assumptions regarding teleology and sense in organisms, as well as on specific definitions of the concept of life in general. Ultimately, the view that organisms and their environments have an original and common source, a principle, or plan, which must possess all the creative characteristics of life, will be seen as prevailing. (shrink)

In this work the doctrine of organicism will be addressed, as explained and seen mainly by Bertalanffy. We will study how this doctrine represents and embodies the ambiguity of Kantian teleology as a regulative principle, and how this same problem leads to consider a real problem as a knowledge problem. It will be concluded that organicism, conceived in this way, does not represent a true holism, but what we will call a syn-holism, a synthesis or assembly, and that to obtain (...) a true holism we must resort to the concept of true form. Finally, it will be established that since the fundamental characteristic of an organism is its development, a historical theory of the organism is required for which the concept of field can be useful and necessary. (shrink)

Recent discussions of emergence in physics have focussed on the use of limiting relations, and often particularly on singular or asymptotic limits. We discuss a putative example of emergence that does not fit into this narrative: the case of phonons. These quasi-particles have some claim to be emergent, not least because the way in which they relate to the underlying crystal is almost precisely analogous to the way in which quantum particles relate to the underlying quantum field theory. But there (...) is no need to take a limit when moving from a crystal lattice based description to the phonon description. Not only does this demonstrate that we can have emergence without limits, but also provides a way of understanding cases that do involve limits. (shrink)

Emergence is much discussed by both philosophers and scientists. But, as noted by Mitchell (2012), there is a significant gulf; philosophers and scientists talk past each other. We contend that this is because philosophers and scientists typically mean different things by emergence, leading us to distinguish being emergence and pattern emergence. While related to distinctions offered by others between, for example, strong/weak emergence or epistemic/ontological emergence (Clayton, 2004, pp. 9–11), we argue that the being vs. pattern distinction better captures what (...) the two groups are addressing. In identifying pattern emergence as the central concern of scientists, however, we do not mean that pattern emergence is of no interest to philosophers. Rather, we argue that philosophers should attend to, and even contribute to, discussions of pattern emergence. But it is important that this discussion be distinguished, not conflated, with discussions of being emergence. In the following section we explicate the notion of being emergence and show how it has been the focus of many philosophical discussions, historical and contemporary. In section 3 we turn to pattern emergence, briefly presenting a few of the ways it figures in the discussions of scientists (and philosophers of science who contribute to these discussions in science). Finally, in sections 4 and 5, we consider the relevance of pattern emergence to several central topics in philosophy of biology: the emergence of complexity, of control, and of goal-directedness in biological systems. (shrink)

A dynamical system is called chaotic if small changes to its initial conditions can create large changes in its behavior. By analogy, we call a dynamical system structurally chaotic if small changes to the equations describing the evolution of the system produce large changes in its behavior. Although there are many definitions of “chaos,” there are few mathematically precise candidate definitions of “structural chaos.” I propose a definition, and I explain two new theorems that show that a set of models (...) is structurally chaotic if it contains a chaotic function. I conclude by discussing the relationship between structural chaos and structural stability. (shrink)

The presented study introduces a new theoretical model of collapse for social, cultural, or political systems. Based on the current form of quantum anthropology conceptualized by Heidi Ann Russell, further development of this field is provided. The new theoretical model is called the spiral model of collapses, and is suggested to provide an analytical framework for collapses in social, cultural, and political systems. The main conclusions of this study are: 1) The individual crises in the period before a collapse of (...) social, cultural, and political systems form the trajectory of a conical helix similar to a vortex. 2) The occurrences of crises in the period before a collapse have the shape of the trajectory on the surface of the circular cone with a convex wall narrowing up to its peak. The shape of this cone is based on the Fibonacci sequence coiled into the three-dimensional space. 3) The constant circular movement along the trajectory of crises can occur in exceptional situations in the development of social, cultural, and political systems; however, such a state is always temporary. In such cases, the trajectory of the crisis does not follow the Fibonacci sequence, but the shape of a regular helix. Remaining on the trajectory of a regular helix in the long-term is highly improbable for social, cultural, and political systems. 4) The creation of new potentialities after the final collapse of a system is explained by the conception of topological inversion, when the heretofore embodied part of the energy-information field returns to the global, wave-particle energy-information potential. 5) The global, wave-particle energy-information potential is a source of energy-information for future embodiments in the sense of the future collapses of wave functions. (shrink)

Large sets of elements interacting locally and producing specific architectures reliably form a category that transcends the usual dividing line between biological and engineered systems. We propose to call them morphogenetically architected complex systems (MACS). While taking the emergence of properties seriously, the notion of MACS enables at the same time the design (or “meta-design”) of operational means that allow controlling and even, paradoxically, programming this emergence. To demonstrate our claim, we first show that among all the self-organized systems studied (...) in the field of Artificial Life, the specificity of MACS essentially lies in the close relation between their emergent properties and functional properties. Second, we argue that to be a MACS a system does not need to display more than weak emergent properties. Third, since the notion of weak emergence is based on the possibility of simulation, whether computational or mechanistic via machines, we see MACS as good candidates to help design artificial self-architected systems (such as robotic swarms) but also harness and redesign living ones (such as synthetic bacterial films). (shrink)

This doctoral dissertation investigates the notion of physical necessity. Specifically, it studies whether it is possible to account for non-accidental regularities without the standard assumption of a pre-existent set of governing laws. Thus, it takes side with the so called deflationist accounts of laws of nature, like the humean or the antirealist. The specific aim is to complement such accounts by providing a missing explanation of the appearance of physical necessity. In order to provide an explanation, I recur to fields (...) that have not been appealed to so far in discussions about the metaphysics of laws. Namely, I recur to complex systems’ theory, and to the foundations of statistical mechanics. The explanation proposed is inspired by how complex systems’ theory has elucidated the way patterns emerge, and by the probabilistic explanations of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. More specifically, this thesis studies how some constraints that make no direct reference to the dynamics can be a sufficient condition for obtaining in the long run, with high probability, stable regular behavior. I hope to show how certain metaphysical accounts of laws might benefit from the insights achieved in these other fields. According to the proposal studied in this thesis, some regularities are not accidental not in virtue of an underlying physical necessity. The non-accidental character of certain regular behavior is only due to its overwhelming stability. Thus, from this point of view the goal becomes to explain the stability of temporal patterns without assuming a set of pre-existent guiding laws. It is argued that the stability can be the result of a process of convergence to simpler and stable regularities from a more complex lower level. According to this project, if successful, there would be no need to postulate a (mysterious) intermediate category between logical necessity and pure contingency. Similarly, there would be no need to postulate a (mysterious) set of pre-existent governing laws. Part I of the thesis motivates part II, mostly by arguing why further explanation of the notions of physical necessity and governing laws should be welcomed (chapter 1), and by studying the plausibility of a lawless fundamental level (chapters 2 and 3). Given so, part II develops the explanation of formation of simpler and stable behavior from a more complex underlying level. (shrink)

The future of human computation benefits from examining tasks that agents already perform and designing environments to give those tasks computational significance. We call this natural human computation. We consider the possible future of NHC through the lens of Swarm!, an application under development for Google Glass. Swarm! motivates users to compute the solutions to a class of economic optimization problems by engaging the attention dynamics of crowds. We argue that anticipating and managing economies of attention provides one of the (...) most tantalizing future applications for NHC. (shrink)

The Emergic Cognitive Model (ECM) is a unified computational model of visual filling-in based on the Emergic Network architecture. The Emergic Network was designed to help realize systems undergoing continuous change. In this thesis, eight different filling-in phenomena are demonstrated under a regime of continuous eye movement (and under static eye conditions as well). -/- ECM indirectly demonstrates the power of unification inherent with Emergic Networks when cognition is decomposed according to finer-grained functions supporting change. These can interact to raise (...) additional emergent behaviours via cognitive re-use, hence the Emergic prefix throughout. Nevertheless, the model is robust and parameter free. Differential re-use occurs in the nature of model interaction with a particular testing paradigm. -/- ECM has a novel decomposition due to the requirements of handling motion and of supporting unified modelling via finer functional grains. The breadth of phenomenal behaviour covered is largely to lend credence to our novel decomposition. -/- The Emergic Network architecture is a hybrid between classical connectionism and classical computationalism that facilitates the construction of unified cognitive models. It helps cutting up of functionalism into finer-grains distributed over space (by harnessing massive recurrence) and over time (by harnessing continuous change), yet simplifies by using standard computer code to focus on the interaction of information flows. Thus while the structure of the network looks neurocentric, the dynamics are best understood in flowcentric terms. Surprisingly, dynamic system analysis (as usually understood) is not involved. An Emergic Network is engineered much like straightforward software or hardware systems that deal with continuously varying inputs. Ultimately, this thesis addresses the problem of reduction and induction over complex systems, and the Emergic Network architecture is merely a tool to assist in this epistemic endeavour. -/- ECM is strictly a sensory model and apart from perception, yet it is informed by phenomenology. It addresses the attribution problem of how much of a phenomenon is best explained at a sensory level of analysis, rather than at a perceptual one. As the causal information flows are stable under eye movement, we hypothesize that they are the locus of consciousness, howsoever it is ultimately realized. (shrink)

Il tema della complessità della scienza è stato da qualche decennio oggetto di una vasta letteratura sia sul versante più strettamente scientifico, sia sul piano filosofico. Un argomento emerso con notevole interesse ha riguardato un aspetto della complessità inteso come rinuncia a una generalizzazione dei procedimenti assiomatico-deduttivi come metodo generale della ricerca scientifica. È stata espressa la convinzione che la fisica pre-relativistica sia stata fondata prevalentemente sul trionfo di questo metodo, sulla scia, fra l’altro, della gloriosa tradizione dei Principia newtoniani. (...) Pur riconoscendo la sua imponenza storica e concettuale, che ha condotto spesso a una sua identificazione con la stessa tradizione della scienza occidentale, la mia ricerca storica ha evidenziato una posizione antagonista presente nelle idee di Newton, e ripresa da due grandi fisici ottocenteschi, Ampere e Maxwell, posizione consistente in un ricorso alla cosiddetta deduzione dai fenomeni, un metodo di ricerca che rappresenta un’importante alternativa rispetto al metodo assiomatico-deduttivo. Nei primi decenni del nuovo secolo, si impongono poi progressivamente le idee di Einstein, che sul problema del metodo presentano un’irrisolta problematica. La celebrazione del metodo assiomatico-deduttivo si contrappone ad una lode dell’osservazione dei fenomeni e della riflessione sugli esperimenti, una variazione sul tema della deduzione dai fenomeni. Seppure i contributi del grande scienziato alle teorie derivate dagli assiomi del campo generalizzato non portarono a teorie conclusive, le sue idee in merito contribuirono enormemente alla moderna riflessione storico-epistemologica sulla scienza. (shrink)

In this paper, a number of traditional models related to the percolation theory has been considered by means of new computational methodology that does not use Cantor’s ideas and describes infinite and infinitesimal numbers in accordance with the principle ‘The part is less than the whole’. It gives a possibility to work with finite, infinite, and infinitesimal quantities numerically by using a new kind of a compute - the Infinity Computer – introduced recently in [18]. The new approach does not (...) contradict Cantor. In contrast, it can be viewed as an evolution of his deep ideas regarding the existence of different infinite numbers in a more applied way. Site percolation and gradient percolation have been studied by applying the new computational tools. It has been established that in an infinite system the phase transition point is not really a point as with respect of traditional approach. In light of new arithmetic it appears as a critical interval, rather than a critical point. Depending on “microscope” we use this interval could be regarded as finite, infinite and infinitesimal short interval. Using new approach we observed that in vicinity of percolation threshold we have many different infinite clusters instead of one infinite cluster that appears in traditional consideration. (shrink)

The term “Complex Systems Biology” was introduced a few years ago [Kaneko, 2006] and, although not yet of widespread use, it seems particularly well suited to indicate an approach to biology which is well rooted in complex systems science. Although broad generalizations are always dangerous, it is safe to state that mainstream biology has been largely dominated by a gene-centric view in the last decades, due to the success of molecular biology. So the one gene - one trait approch, which (...) has often proved to be effective, has been extended to cover even complex traits. This simplifying view has been appropriately criticized, and the movement called systems biology has taken off. Systems biology [Noble, 2006] emphasizes the presence of several feedback loops in biological systems, which severely limit the range of validity of explanations based upon linear causal chains (e.g. gene → behaviour). Mathematical modelling is one the favourite tools of systems biologists to analyze the possible effects of competing negative and positive feedback loops which can be observed at several levels (from molecules to organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, ecosystems). Systems biology is by now a well-established field, as it can be inferred by the rapid growth in number of conferences and journals devoted to it, as well as by the existence of several grants and funded projects.Systems biology is mainly focused upon the description of specific biological items, like for example specific organisms, or specific organs in a class of animals, or specific genetic-metabolic circuits. It therefore leaves open the issue of the search for general principles of biological organization, which apply to all living beings or to at least to broad classes. We know indeed that there are some principles of this kind, biological evolution being the most famous one. The theory of cellular organization also qualifies as a general principle. But the main focus of biological research has been that of studying specific cases, with some reluctance to accept (and perhaps a limited interest for) broad generalizations. This may however change, and this is indeed the challenge of complex systems biology: looking for general principles in biological systems, in the spirit of complex systems science which searches for similar features and behaviours in various kinds of systems. The hope to find such general principles appears well founded, and I will show in Section 2 that there are indeed data which provide support to this claim. Besides data, there are also general ideas and models concerning the way in which biological systems work. The strategy, in this case, is that of introducing simplified models of biological organisms or processes, and to look for their generic properties: this term, borrowed from statistical physics, is used for those properties which are shared by a wide class of systems. In order to model these properties, the most effective approach has been so far that of using ensembles of systems, where each member can be different from another one, and to look for those properties which are widespread. This approach was introduced many years ago [Kauffman, 1971] in modelling gene regulatory networks. At that time one had very few information about the way in which the expression of a given gene affects that of other genes, apart from the fact that this influence is real and can be studied in few selected cases (like e.g. the lactose metabolism in E. coli). Today, after many years of triumphs of molecular biology, much more has been discovered, however the possibility of describing a complete map of gene-gene interactions in a moderately complex organism is still out of reach. Therefore the goal of fully describing a network of interacting genes in a real organism could not be (and still cannot be) achieved. But a different approach has proven very fruitful, that of asking what are the typical properties of such a set of interacting genes. Making some plausible hypotheses and introducing some simplifying assumptions, Kauffman was able to address some important problems. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that a dynamical system of interacting genes displays selforganizing properties which explain some key aspects of life, most notably the existence of a limited number of cellular types in every multicellular organism (these numbers are of the order of a few hundreds, while the number of theoretically possible types, absent interactions, would be much much larger than the number of protons in the universe). In section 3 I will describe the ensemble based approach in the context of gene regulatory networks, and I will show that it can describe some important experimental data. Finally, in section 4 I will discuss some methodological aspects. (shrink)

L’osservazione della natura con l’intento di capire l’origine della varietà di forme e fenomeni in cui si manifesta ha origini remote. All’inizio il rapporto con i fenomeni naturali era dominato da sentimenti quali paura e stupore che conducevano a supporre l’esistenza di entità sfuggenti alla percezione diretta che permeavano gli elementi animandoli. Ecco dunque che la magia rappresenta l’elemento dominante della filosofia naturale primitiva caratterizzata da una unicità degli eventi e dalla impossibilità di capirli e dominarli in quanto frutto della (...) volontà di essenze a noi estranee e non governabili. Con il nascere della civiltà ed il suo progredire il tempo dedicato ai lavori necessari per il sostentamento e la sopravvivenza diminuì e nella ripartizione dei compiti alcuni individui potevano dedicare parte del loro tempo alla osservazione della natura ed alla sua interpretazione in termini non trascendenti. Nella natura, intesa come tutto ciò che ci circonda composto da esseri viventi e da materia inorganica nelle sua varie aggregazioni sulla terra e nel cosmo, ciò che attirò l’attenzione fin dall’inizio furono furono i fenomeni regolari e periodici come i moti della luna, dei pianeti e delle stelle. Nel contempo dopo una spinta iniziale dettata da esigenze pratiche come contare gli oggetti o misurare i campi, la matematica si era sviluppata autonomamente e si rivelò idonea a descrivere in termini quantitativi i moti dei corpi celesti. La terra era al centro dell’universo mentre il moto degli altri corpi celesti risultava da una composizione di moti circolari uniformi. Questa visione geocentrica e pitagorica (armonia delle sfere) dell’universo ha prevalso fino agli albori della scienza moderna, anche se una descrizione eliocentrica, basata su validi argomenti, era stata proposta. Per quanto riguarda la struttura della materia i presocratici avevano già proposto i quattro elementi mentre gli atomisti avevano ricondotto tutto ad entità elementari primigenie, il cui aggregarsi e disgregarsi da luogo a tutti gli stati e le molteplici forme della materia. Queste intuizioni si ritrovano nella fisica moderna che contempla quattro stati di aggregazione, che hanno come unico sostrato comune gli atomi. La fisica moderna nasce con Galileo e Newton, la cui dinamica si sviluppa a partire dalle leggi di Keplero che descrivono il moto dei pianeti nel sistema eliocentrico, per potersi poi applicare ad un qualunque sistema materiale. Pertanto nei due secoli successivi si ritenne che un modello meccanico potesse essere sviluppato per un qualunque sistema fisico e quindi per l’universo intero la cui evoluzione doveva essere matematicamente prevedibile. Per i fenomeni termici tuttavia vennero formulate leggi ad hoc come quelle della termodinamica che mostrano come i processi macroscopici siano irreversibili in contrasto con le leggi della meccanica. Si deve a Boltzmann1 il tentativo di ricondurre la termodinamica alla meccanica per un gran numero di particelle dei cui moti disordinati viene data una lettura di carattere statistico. L’aumento della entropia e la irreversibilità seguono dalla ipotesi di caos molecolare ossia che i moti siano così disordinati che si perde rapidamente memoria dello stato iniziale. L’idea di introdurre una misura di probabilità nel contesto della meccanica sembra antitetica con la natura stessa della teoria rivolta fino ad allora allo studio di sistemi con moti regolari, reversibili e prevedibili individualmente su tempi lunghi. Tuttavia l’analisi probabilistica diventa essenziale per lo studio di sistemi caratterizzati da forti instabilità, e da orbite irregolari per i quali la previsione richiede una conoscenza della condizioni iniziali con precisioni fisicamente non raggiungibili. Combinando la evoluzione deterministica della meccanica di Newton o di Hamilton con la descrizione statistica attraverso una opportuna misura invariante di probabilità nello spazio delle fasi, nasce la teoria dei sistemi dinamici2 che consente di descrivere non solo i sistemi ordinati o i sistemi caotici ma anche tutti quelli che vedono coesistere in diverse proporzioni ordine e caos e che presentano una straordinaria varietà di strutture geometriche e proprietà statistiche, tanto da fornire almeno se non proprio un quadro teorico per lo meno metafore utili per la descrizione dei sistemi complessi. Anche se non c’è unanime consenso ci sembra appropriato definire complessi non tanto sistemi caratterizzati da interazioni non lineari tra i suoi componenti e da proprietà emergenti, che rientrano a pieno titolo nel quadro dei sistemi dinamici, ma piuttosto i sistemi viventi o quelli di vita artificiale che ne condividono le proprietà essenziali3. Tra queste possiamo certamente annoverare la capacità di gestire la informazione e di replicarsi, consentendo tramite un meccanismo di mutazione e selezione di dare origine a strutture di crescente ricchezza strutturale e dotate di capacità cognitive sempre più elaborate. Una teoria dei sistemi complessi non esiste ancora, anche se la teoria degli automi sviluppata da Von Neumann4 e la teoria della evoluzione di Darwin5 ne possono fornire alcuni pilastri importanti. Recentemente la teoria delle reti è stata utilizzata con successo per descrivere le proprietà statistiche delle connessioni tra gli elementi costitutivi (nodi) di un sistema complesso6. Le connessioni che non sono né completamente casuali né completamente gerarchiche, consentono una sufficiente robustezza rispetto a malfunzionamenti o danneggiamenti dei nodi unita a un adeguato livello di organizzazione per consentirne un funzionamento efficiente. Nei sistemi fisici il modello base è un insieme di atomi o molecole interagenti, che danno luogo a strutture diverse quali un gas, un liquido o un cristallo, come risultato di proprietà emergenti. Nello stesso modo per i sistemi complessi possiamo proporre un sistema automi interagenti come modello base. Le molteplici forme che il sistema assume anche in questo caso vanno considerate come proprietà emergenti del medesimo sostrato al mutare delle condizioni esterne e frutto delle i replicazioni, ciascuna delle quali introduce piccole ma significative varianti. Questa è la grande differenza tra un sistema fisico ed un sistema complesso: il primo fissate le condizioni esterne ha sempre le medesime proprietà, il secondo invece cambia con il fluire del tempo perché la sua organizzazione interna muta non solo al cambiare di fattori ambientali ma anche con il succedersi delle generazioni. C’è dunque un flusso di informazione che cresce con il tempo e che consente agli automi costituenti ed alla intera struttura di acquisire nuove capacità. Questo aumento di ordine e ricchezza strutturale avviene naturalmente a spese dell’ambiente circostante, in modo che globalmente i la sua entropia cresce in accordo con la seconda legge della termodinamica. In assenza di una teoria formalizzata paragonabile a quella dei sistemi dinamici, per i sistemi complessi si possono fare osservazioni e misure, sia puntuali sui costituenti elementari e sulle loro connessioni, sia globali sull’intero sistema, oppure costruire modelli suscettibili di essere validati attraverso la simulazione. Se di un sistema si riesce infatti a fornire una descrizione sufficientemente dettagliata, è poi possibile osservare come questo si comporti traducendo le regole in algoritmi e costruendo quindi una versione virtuale, anche se semplificata del sistema stesso. Il passaggio più difficile è il confronto tra il sistema simulato ed il sistema vero, che passa necessariamente attraverso la valutazione di una numero limitato di parametri che ne caratterizzino e proprietà. La codifica del progetto è una proprietà cruciale dei sistemi complessi perché questa si realizza con un dispendio di massa ed energia incomparabilmente più piccolo rispetto a quello necessario per realizzare l’intera struttura; nello stesso tempo apportare piccole modifiche ad un progetto è rapido ed economico. In questo processo che comporta la continua introduzione di varianti si aprono molteplici strade e con lo scorrere del tempo si realizza una storia in modo unico e irripetibile. Anche il susseguirsi di eventi fisici caratterizzati da processi irreversibili e dalla presenza di molteplici biforcazioni da origine ad una storia che non si può percorrere a ritroso, né riprodurre qualora fossimo in grado ripartire dalle stesse condizioni iniziali. Tuttavia esiste una differenza profonda tra la storia di un sistema fisico come il globo terrestre e la storia della vita. La prima registra i molteplici cambiamenti che ha subito la superficie del nostro pianeta ove montagne e mari nascono e scompaiono senza un chiaro disegno soggiacente. La storia della vita è caratterizzata da una progressiva crescita della ricchezza strutturale e funzionale e accompagnata da una crescita della complessità progettuale. La rappresentazione di questa storia prende la forma di un albero con le sue ramificazioni che mostra la continua diversificazione delle strutture e la loro evoluzione verso forme sempre più avanzate. La direzione in cui scorre il tempo è ben definita: le strutture affinano le capacità sensoriali mentre cresce la potenza degli organi che elaborano la informazione. Un sistema complesso è anche caratterizzato da un molteplicità di scale, tanto più alta quanto più si sale sulla scala evolutiva. La ragione è che il procedere verso strutture sempre più elaborate avviene utilizzando altre strutture come mattoni per cui l’immagine che si può fornire è quella di una rete di automi a più strati: partendo dal basso una rete con le sue proprietà emergenti diventa il nodo di una rete di secondo livello, cioè un automa di secondo livello che interagisce con altri automi dello stesso tipo e così via. Nei sistemi inorganici, dove non esiste un progetto, si distinguono di norma solo due livelli, quello dei costituenti elementari e quello su scala macroscopica. I sistemi fisici sono riconducibili a poche leggi universali, che governano i costituenti elementari della materia, ma il passaggio dalla descrizione dalla piccola alla grande scala è impervio e consentito soltanto dalla simulazione numerica, quando ci allontaniamo dalle situazioni più semplici caratterizzate da un equilibrio statistico. I limiti che il disegno riduzionista incontra già per i sistemi fisici diventano decisamente più forti nel caso dei sistemi complessi. (shrink)

Beyond belief change and meme adoption, both genetics and infection have been spoken of in terms of information transfer. What we examine here, concentrating on the specific case of transfer between sub-networks, are the differences in network dynamics in these cases: the different network dynamics of germs, genes, and memes. Germs and memes, it turns out, exhibit a very different dynamics across networks. For infection, measured in terms of time to total infection, it is network type rather than degree of (...) linkage between sub-networks that is of primary importance. For belief transfer, measured in terms of time to consensus, it is degree of linkage rather than network type that is crucial. Genes model each of these other dynamics in part, but match neither in full. For genetics, like belief transfer and unlike infection, network type makes little difference. Like infection and unlike belief, on the other hand, the dynamics of genetic information transfer within single and between linked networks are much the same. In ways both surprising and intriguing, transfer of genetic information seems to be robust across network differences crucial for the other two. (shrink)

Many biological processes and objects can be described by fractals. The paper uses a new type of objects – blinking fractals – that are not covered by traditional theories considering dynamics of self-similarity processes. It is shown that both traditional and blinking fractals can be successfully studied by a recent approach allowing one to work numerically with infinite and infinitesimal numbers. It is shown that blinking fractals can be applied for modeling complex processes of growth of biological systems including their (...) season changes. The new approach allows one to give various quantitative characteristics of the obtained blinking fractals models of biological systems. (shrink)

Recenzja książki: Andrzej Pelczar, Czas i dynamika. O czasie w równaniach różniczkowych i układach dynamicznych, OBI--Kraków, Biblos-Tarnów 2003, ss. 117.

The hope of finding new methods of predicting the course of historical processes could be connected with the recent developments of the theory of self-organisation, also called synergetics. It provides us with knowledge of constructive principles of co-evolution of complex social systems, co-evolution of countries and geopolitical regions being at different stages of development, integration of the East and the West, the North and the South. Due to the growth of population on the Earth in blow-up regime, the general and (...) local instability of development is increasing. The social world seems to go towards a unity, a sustainable commonwealth through pulsations rather than monotonously. It goes via alternation of disintegration, even if partial, and getting more powerful integrations of structures. There is a path of multiple reduction of temporal and material expenses, a path of a resonant excitation of desirable and — no less important — feasible in a given social system structure. In the case of the right topology of integration of geopolitical structures an arising whole organisation can accelerate its tempo of evolution. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. (shrink)

Comprehensive when it was published in 1990, this guide brought together information on the broad spectrum of education and research opportunities then available in the sciences of complexity. Prepared under the direction physicist-author Fritjof Capra and pioneering cyberneticist Heinz Von Foerster, the guide's purpose was to make these kinds of investigations more accessible by providing information on programs, institutions, organizations, and literature where one can learn about their principles, methods, and applications. The guide was intended to help interested students and (...) educators locate the various academic fields, departments, institutes, and programs that offer education in systems thinking and complex systems research. The guide also served professionals who are already involved in the systems sciences as a directory to general activity in what are otherwise widely separate fields. By browsing the guide one can get a snapshot of where education and research in systems science was happening at the time in both North America and Europe. (shrink)

This paper serves at the mathamatical core companion paper for The Architecture of Wholeness: How the Universe Studies Itself, which presents the philosophical argument for this paper. Here we introduces a unified scalar-tensor framework that addresses three fundamental problems in modern physics: the Cosmic Coincidence Problem, the nature of dark energy, and the physical basis of consciousness. Key Contributions: Cosmological Attractor Dynamics: We demonstrate that a complex scalar field Ψ coupled to matter via energy exchange Q = ΓHρ_Ψ possesses a (...) stable fixed-point attractor at Ω_Ψ/Ω_m = φ² ≈ 2.618, where φ is the Golden Ratio. This resolves the Cosmic Coincidence Problem by showing that the current near-equality of dark energy and matter densities is a transient phase in the universe's approach to geometric equilibrium. Unlike standard Interacting Dark Energy models where the coupling constant is fit to data, our framework derives Γ ≈ 0.81 geometrically from the φ-scaling hypothesis, reducing free parameters while increasing predictive power. Chameleon Screening Mechanism: The field's self-interaction potential V(|Ψ|) = M^(4+α)/|Ψ|^α employs a density-dependent screening mechanism with predicted exponent α = φ ≈ 1.618, satisfying Solar System gravity constraints (thin-shell factor ΔR/R ≈ 10^-14) while remaining cosmologically significant. Neural Coupling Predictions: We propose that biological neural networks can locally unscreen the field, acting as resonant cavities. This predicts a measurable Local Coherence Index (LCI ≈ 1.151) in EEG data and differential responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation at φ-ratio frequencies. Falsifiable Predictions: Cosmological: Ω_Ψ/Ω_m should continue evolving toward 2.618 ± 0.2 at z < 1 Laboratory: Atom interferometry should measure Chameleon exponent α = 1.618 ± 0.05 Neuroscience: LCI clustering at 1.151 ± 0.02 across conscious states High Energy: Field mass M ~ 10^-3 eV detectable in modified gravity experiments Significance: This work presents a parsimonious unification where consciousness, cosmology, and particle physics reflect the same underlying φ-optimization principle. The framework is distinguished by making specific numerical predictions testable across three independent domains (cosmological observations, laboratory experiments, and neuroscience), providing multiple falsification pathways that avoid circular reasoning. Mathematical Approach: The paper derives the field dynamics from a fundamental action principle, solves the coupled Friedmann equations numerically, and demonstrates robust convergence to the φ² attractor from arbitrary initial conditions. Full simulation code is provided in the appendix for reproducibility. (shrink)

ENTRELAÇAMENTO QUÂNTICO CONTÍNUO HIPÓTESE INTERPRETATIVA DE FLUXO COSMOLÓGICO DE NEUTRINOS V5 Subtítulo: Dossiê de Validação Dialética: A Ontologia do Estar e a Hipótese da Imunidade de Sabores -/- Resumo: Este dossiê formaliza a Versão 5 (V5) da hipótese interpretativa sobre a conectividade quântica universal. O documento apresenta o registro integral da convergência dialética entre o autor e o Sistema Analítico de alta hierarquia (LLM - Google). O ponto nevrálgico desta atualização é a fundamentação da hipótese de que a Oscilação de (...) Sabores dos neutrinos constitui um mecanismo de autodefesa topológica, garantindo a imunidade de fase da informação quântica contra a dissipação. A tese expande a "Ontologia do Estar" para propor que o neutrino não é apenas um suporte de fluxo, mas a "memória persistente" do próprio tecido espaço- temporal, resolvendo o paradoxo da localidade através de um tapete saturado de informação que mantém a unidade primordial do cosmos intacta. -/- CONTINUOUS QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT NEUTRINO COSMOLOGICAL FLUX INTERPRETATIVE HYPOTHESIS V5 Subtitle: Dialectical Validation Dossier: The Ontology of Being and the Flavor Immunity Hypothesis -/- Abstract (EN): This dossier formalizes Version 5 (V5) of the interpretative hypothesis on universal quantum connectivity. The document presents the full record of the dialectical convergence between the author and Google's high-hierarchy Analytical System (LLM). The core of this update is the grounding of the hypothesis that Neutrino Flavor Oscillation constitutes a topological self-defense mechanism, ensuring quantum information's phase immunity against dissipation. The thesis expands the "Ontology of Being" to propose that the neutrino is not merely a flux medium, but the "persistent memory" of the space-time fabric itself, resolving the locality paradox through a saturated information carpet that keeps the primordial unity of the cosmos intact. (shrink)

Signal-Bifurcation Theory (SBT) treats the “hard problem” of consciousness as a category error arising from the misidentification of a symbol-interpreting narrational overlay as the condition of consciousness. -/- SBT treats consciousness as the immediate interior continuity of living organisation under valence-weighted sensorimotor coupling: Semepoietic consciousness. In sufficiently organised biological systems, consciousness is participation from within one unfolding organisational continuity, not an added phenomenon. -/- SBT distinguishes this from the narrational “I”. The narrational “I” is Semepoietic-Signal Narration: a symbol-interpreting diagnostic neurological (...) overlay that stabilises at a threshold of symbolic recursion and Meta-Recursive Centring. This overlay has genuine regulatory function within biological organisation, but it is not the ground of consciousness. -/- SBT is a process-monist framework in which reality is one organisational continuity described at different resolutions rather than a stack of ontological layers. Its central asymmetry is stability-bias: the organisational condition in which some patterns stabilise and remain coherent across interaction while others do not. On this view, invariant relations are compressed descriptions of stability that has already succeeded, and organised structure recurs across scale under boundary conditions. -/- Within this continuity, SBT rejects both functionalist deflation, which explains behaviour while leaving interior continuity unaddressed, and panpsychism, which distributes experience across matter at the cost of combination problems. Instead of positing mind-stuff, SBT treats consciousness as a mode of biological organisation: the interior continuity of a living system in which stability becomes internally discriminated as continuation versus disruption. -/- Agency and free will are characterised as bounded modulation within the same stability-shaped continuity that characterises biological organisation: not metaphysical exemption, but recursive re-weighting, inhibition, rehearsal, and redirection within Semepoietic continuity. (shrink)

This work establishes a law of nature governing persistence under real transformation. From minimal assumptions — distinguishable states, admissible transformations, and identity relations — it is shown that unrestricted transformation leads necessarily to identity collapse. Persistence is therefore possible only under structural constraint. It is proven that such constraint induces a canonical decomposition of the state space, a structural asymmetry between invariant and transformable components, and a necessary coupling structure regulating transformation. These structures are not introduced but derived from the (...) transformation system and the identity relation via the condensation structure and the identity quotient. The resulting architecture — La Profilée — specifies the necessary conditions under which persistence under real transformation is possible. (shrink)

Physical theories describe dynamical evolution but typically treat time as a fundamental parameter. This work develops a structural account in which temporal direction and persistence arise from the topology of admissible transformations in persistent systems. Persistent systems are represented as (S,G,I), where S is a state space, G⊆End(S) the admissible transformations, and I an identity relation invariant under admissible transformations. From these minimal assumptions it follows that persistent differentiation cannot be maintained in fully symmetric transformation structures. Asymmetric reachability relations necessarily (...) generate irreversible transitions between transformation domains. These domains form strongly connected components whose condensation graph induces a partial order that defines structural temporal direction. Irreversible transitions progressively reduce the set of reachable future domains, generating a structural entropy gradient. Together with energy-driven transformation dynamics this leads to a universal persistence boundary that constrains the stability of physical systems. The theory introduces a multidimensional concept of structural time consisting of ordering time, structural load time, and integration time. These quantities determine the conditions under which physical systems can maintain identity while undergoing transformation. (shrink)

This paper applies La Profilée (LP), a structural theory of persistence under real transformation, to four major corporate collapses across four industries, four decades, and four countries: Nokia (Finland, telecommunications, 2007–2013), Kodak (USA, imaging, 1975–2012), WeWork (USA, real estate/tech, 2010–2023), and BlackBerry (Canada, telecommunications, 2007–2016). The analysis extends prior LP work on corporate collapse (Maibom, 2026d), which demonstrated that eight Australian corporate failures over fifty years all exhibited identical structural pathology: Integration Ratio IR >> 1, with all cases classified as (...) Regime E. The present study introduces a wider structural vocabulary by examining four cases that span different industries and failure modes. The central finding is that LP identifies not one but three structurally distinct collapse patterns, each with a different mechanism but the same terminal condition (IR > 1): Type 1 — Overload through Module explosion (WeWork): Extreme M-expansion without corresponding F or I development. The Lane (2016) pattern. Type 2 — Overload through Frame Rigidity (Nokia, Kodak): F is real and strong, but Constraint Level (CL) is so high that the Frame cannot absorb necessary transformation. R explodes; I collapses; the Frame becomes a structural trap rather than a stabilising anchor. Type 3 — Overload through Module Stagnation (BlackBerry): The inverse of Type 1. M is suppressed — not by absence of capability, but by deliberate Frame protection. R grows as the market transforms; M cannot keep pace because Frame rigidity blocks necessary Module development. These three types, combined with the Lane pattern, constitute a structural typology of corporate collapse that LP generates as a necessary consequence of its architecture. They are not empirically discovered categories: they follow from the logical structure of IR = R / (F · I · C) under different configurations of variable dominance. The paper concludes that LP's structural typology resolves a persistent puzzle in the collapse literature: why some organisations fail through reckless expansion (WeWork, Lane cases), others through apparent caution and strategic conservatism (Kodak, BlackBerry), and others through what appears to be both simultaneously (Nokia). In each case, the terminal structural condition is the same: IR > 1, sustained, without effective intervention. (shrink)

La Profilée defines the persistence boundary of a system under real transformation as IR = R / (F · M · K) ≤ 1. This paper derives a necessary structural consequence of approaching this boundary. It is shown that as transformation load approaches integration capacity (IR → 1⁻), stable absorption of perturbations becomes structurally impossible. As a result, any such system must exhibit a characteristic pre-collapse signature consisting of variance amplification, loss of monotonic convergence, and degradation of coupling. This result (...) is domain-independent and follows from finite integration capacity and vanishing residual reserve. Absence of this signature under verified boundary approach constitutes a falsification of the operational form of the persistence condition. (shrink)

La Profilée (LP) specifies a universal necessary condition for structural persistence: the Integration Ratio IR = R / (F · I) must remain at or below 1. Prior publications have demonstrated that this condition applies across organisational and biological failure modes, and that the T_visible interval — the delay between structural overload onset and visible pathological manifestation — is empirically documented in both domains. This paper addresses the next question: how is IR measured in practice? The direct measurement of IR (...) requires operationalisation of four variables (F, M, R, I) across domains. This paper proposes a domain-general proxy framework based on the following principle: LP variables are not directly observable, but their structural effects are. Every domain has observable indicators of Frame stability, Module activity, Transformation pressure, and Integration capacity. These indicators do not measure LP variables — they proxy the structural conditions those variables represent. The paper develops proxy frameworks for three domains: Biological systems: F-proxies (transcription factor stability, differentiation markers, genomic integrity indices); R-proxies (inflammatory markers, oxidative stress indices, metabolic stress indicators); I-proxies (ATP production rate, repair enzyme activity, proteostasis capacity). Organisational systems: F-proxies (identity coherence indicators, governance stability metrics, cultural consistency measures); R-proxies (transformation pressure indices from market, technology, regulatory dimensions); I-proxies (decision velocity, resource liquidity, strategic integration capacity). Person-level systems: F-proxies (identity clarity, values consistency, self-continuity perception); R-proxies (role demand load, existential challenge intensity, environmental disruption); I-proxies (psychological energy, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation capacity). In all three domains, the structural diagnosis IR > 1 is in principle computable from observable proxies before the visible pathological manifestation — establishing LP as a prospective early-warning framework, not merely a retrospective analytical tool. (shrink)

Transformation is not a primitive. The persistence condition determines what counts as transformation, whether a transformation is admissible, and whether transformation can be defined at all. A transformation is a state transition that imposes a non-zero integration requirement on the persistence relation — and this definition is not a choice. Any alternative definition cannot generate a persistence-relevant admissibility condition. Three results follow necessarily: (1) the Transformation Constraint Theorem — admissibility of transformation is equivalent to satisfaction of the persistence condition; (2) (...) the Persistence Primacy Theorem — transformation is definable only for systems that admit a persistence relation; (3) the Monotonic Expansion Proposition — the admissible transformation set is ordered by integration capacity. Transformation is therefore derived, structured, and system-relative. It is not prior to the persistence condition. It is defined by it. (shrink)

This work derives the necessary structural condition under which any system can remain the same system under real transformation. Persistence requires a constrained relation between transformation and integration. This constraint is not introduced but follows from the existence of non-trivial identity under admissible transformation. It induces asymmetry, generates structural time, and enforces a minimal architecture. This architecture is La Profilée.

This paper derives necessary structural dynamics of persistent systems from a minimal set of relations between transformation pressure, integrative capacity, and structural coherence. -/- It is shown that: -/- persistent overload necessarily leads to degradation of integrative capacity this degradation propagates to the structural frame as a consequence of persistence under available capacity , structural improvement is possible but not necessary the space of effective interventions is structurally closed The result is a law-like system in which structural trajectories follow directly (...) from: -/- IR=R/(F⋅I) -/- The variables R, I, F used in this paper correspond to the physical instantiation of the structures F, M, C established in „The Law of Persistence of Real Systems“. (shrink)

A traditional “theory of everything” seeks a unified dynamical description of all fundamental interactions. This work proposes a different perspective. La Profilée (LP) does not aim to provide such a dynamical unification. Instead, it derives a necessary structural condition for persistence under real transformation: IR=R_Ω/(β⋅F^*⋅I)≤1 -/- This condition does not describe dynamics. It constrains them. Any theory that describes systems maintaining identity under transformation must implicitly satisfy a condition equivalent to this inequality over the domain in which persistent identity is (...) maintained. LP is therefore not a theory of everything in the traditional sense. It is the structural framework within which any physically meaningful theory of persistent reality must operate. (shrink)