Complexity,information and time

Evolution proceeds in time. Time is experienced as change only, predominantly irreversible change. Measuring change in the form of information growth it is possible to define a measure for the amount of time produced during information increase. Systems creating information contribute to the generation of time. To be able to create information, a system has to be highly complex. The more complex a system is, the more it can contribute to generation of time. The rate of time generation is determined by the capability of the system to gain information. Complexity, information accumulation, and time generation are therefore synonyms.     

The autonomy of social reality: On the contribution of the theory of systems to the theory of society 1

Many contemporary schools of thought contend that the autonomy of the human world is an impossible and dangerous goal to aim at. It is shown that this is the result of the unwarranted identification of autonomy with self‐mastery. Autonomy has to be conceived of in terms of complexity and self‐transcendence (a bootstrapping). Among the paradigms that are thus revisited: Structuralism, Deconstruction, Methodological Individualism.     

Emergence of a Social Inquiry Group: A Story of Fractals and Networks

This article relates the emergence of a group of faculty researchers utilizing complexity science approaches. The narrative emerges from three projects combining research into complexity, communities, and technologies. Details of how the research was initiated, and the nature and quality of the conversational method, are provided. In addition, theoretical concepts that were consciously applied and others that arose through insights from the data as it was collected are discussed. Although this is like most real narratives, a never-ending story, it concludes with a presentation of some of the ideas that separate complexity-informed research from other paradigms.     

Representations of Complexity: How Nature Appears in Our Theories

In science we study processes in the material world. The way these processes operate can be discovered by conducting experiments that activate them, and findings from such experiments can lead to functional complexity theories of how the material processes work. The results of a good functional theory will agree with experimental measurements, but the theory may not incorporate in its algorithmic workings a representation of the material processes themselves. Nevertheless, the algorithmic operation of a good functional theory may be said to make contact with material reality by incorporating the emergent computations the material processes carry out. These points are illustrated in the experimental analysis of behavior by considering an evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics, the algorithmic operation of which does not correspond to material features of the physical world, but the functional output of which agrees quantitatively and qualitatively with findings from a large body of research with live organisms.     

Animals,humans and x-men: Human uniqueness and the meaning of personhood

Research in animal intelligence suggests to some that humans are different only in degree from animals, possibly eroding the traditional theological doctrine of the imago dei. In this paper, several critical boundary areas between humans and animals are examined for scientific evidence about human distinctiveness. These include communication and language capacity, cultural creativity, spirituality, and ethical capacity. Chimpanzee language studies and research in Neanderthal mentality are examined as the closest known natural approximations to human communication and intelligence. The implications of the findings are explored in relation to human culture, ethics, and spirituality in a context consistent with evolutionary continuity. Aspects of human uniqueness are apparent, can be fruitfully encompassed in the idea of personhood, and are coherent with Trinitarian theology's anthropological focus.     

Natural scene statistics mediate the perception of image complexity

Humans are sensitive to complexity and regularity in patterns (Falk & Konold, 1997; Yamada, Kawabe, & Miyazaki, 2013). The subjective perception of pattern complexity is correlated to algorithmic (or Kolmogorov-Chaitin) complexity as defined in computer science (Li & Vitányi, 2008), but also to the frequency of naturally occurring patterns (Hsu, Griffiths, & Schreiber, 2010). However, the possible mediational role of natural frequencies in the perception of algorithmic complexity remains unclear. Here we reanalyze Hsu et al. (2010) through a mediational analysis, and complement their results in a new experiment. We conclude that human perception of complexity seems partly shaped by natural scenes statistics, thereby establishing a link between the perception of complexity and the effect of natural scene statistics.     

The effect of semantics on problem solving is to reduce relational complexity

This article reports a study carried out in order to measure how semantic factors affect reductions in the difficulty of the Chinese Ring Puzzle (CRP) that involves removing five objects according to a recursive rule. We hypothesised that semantics would guide inferences about action decision making. The study involved a comparison of problem solving for two semantic isomorphic variants of the CRP ( fish and fleas ) with problem solving for the puzzle's classic variant (the Balls and Boxes problem; Kotovsky & Simon, 1990 Kotovsky, K. and Simon, H. A. 1990. What makes some problems really hard: Exploration in the problem space difficulty. Cognitive Psychology, 22: 143–183. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Our results showed that the number of moves was reduced by 47% in the fish version and by 51% in the flea version. We discuss these results in terms of semantic inferences and reductions in relational complexity. During the exploratory stage of problem solving participants discover the dependent relations between elements in the puzzle. Initially these relations are processed separately; learning involves generalising the relations within a coherent, interconnected whole that makes up the puzzle's rules. It seems that semantics make it easier for the puzzle's elements to be grouped together within coherent, meaningful wholes, which reduces relational complexity and facilitates problem solving.     

Motor timing and the preparation for sequential actions

Motor timing is essential for performing self-initiated movement sequences. Here, we investigated how sequence rhythm, or the timing for co-ordinating movements within a sequence, contributes to action preparation, compared with other processes occurring during sequence planning. First, we recorded the readiness potential (RP) in a condition of complex sequence rhythm and in condition of high demand on the timing for sequence initiation. We found that sequence rhythm and sequence initiation are independent processes, with sequence initiation contributing to early RP. Second, we compared the RP recorded in a condition of complex sequence rhythm and in a condition of complex sequence order, in which a complex combination of finger sub-movements had to be correctly ordered within a sequence. We found that sequence rhythm and sequence order share common processes occurring late RP. We suggest that the preparation for movement involves independent processes devoted to different aspects of motor timing and sequencing.     

A RESPONSE TO ERVIN LASZLO: QUANTUM AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Abstract. I respond to Ervin Laszlo's suggestions and criticism regarding my essay in this issue of Zygon. Virtual atomic orbitals are used as a model to illustrate the existence of a general realm of potentiality in physical reality from which the actual world emanates. Laszlo's suggestions for “paradigm repair” are supported and accepted as essentially being in agreement with my intentions and as offering highly useful clarifications. I compare virtual states to historic ideas of forms as metaphysical principles of being that inspire thoughts regarding the actions of a Cosmic Consciousness in the processes of the universe. Metaphysical and theological interpretations of the results of scientific research are defended, provided that they are not used to interfere a priori with the technical program of scientific research.     

EMERGENCE AND HUMAN UNIQUENESS: LIMITING OR DELIMITING EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATION?

Abstract. Philip Clayton's book Mind and Emergence presents a highly sophisticated argument against any kind of uncritical theology that might want to follow science into a world of overly narrow, compartmentalized disciplines that do not sufficiently communicate between themselves. Clayton argues persuasively that the basic structure of the phenomenal world is multileveled, with emergent properties and degrees of freedom that cannot be adequately described, predicted, or explained in terms of lower‐level phenomena only. Moreover, the various levels of organization are linked to one another by interfaces of mutual constraint in terms of upward and downward causation. The most valuable part of Clayton's argument, however, is that in a philosophy of emergence one must also, if not especially, account for the role of the biological sciences and especially for the influence of human thoughts and skills, human choices and actions, and—one of the most important causes of all—human purposes. Clayton's biggest challenge is that the level of human personhood offers us the only appropriate level to introduce the question of God and the possibility of divine agency. I critically evaluate this central claim and its implications not only for the extent of divine influence on the world but also for the scope and limitations of the interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and the sciences.