dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaA Simple Model for the Evolution of Evolution
| Authors | Siegfried Fussy, Gerhard Groessing, Herbert Schwabl |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0204070 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0204070 |
| Journal | J. Biol. Systems 5, 3 (1997) 341 - 357 |
Abstract
A simple model of macroevolution is proposed exhibiting both the property of punctuated equilibrium and the dynamics of potentialities for different species to evolve towards increasingly higher complexity. It is based on the phenomenon of "fractal evolution" which has been shown to constitute a fundamental property of nonlinear discretized systems with one memory- or random-based feedback loop. The latter involves a basic "cognitive" function of each species given by the power of distinction of states within some predefined resolution. The introduction of a realistic background noise limiting the range of the feedback operation yields a pattern signature in fitness space with a distribution of temporal boost/mutation distances according to a randomized devil's staircase function. Introducing a further level in the hierarchy of the system's rules, the possibility of an adaptive evolutionary change of the resolution itself is implemented, thereby providing a time-dependent measure of the species' cognitive abilities: an additional feedback loop makes use of the inevitable intrinsic fluctuations within the fitness landscape to direct the temporal change of the resolution. Feeding back the small adaptive changes of resolution into the essentially directionless variations of the patterns' lifetimes in fitness space effectively leads to a clear tendency towards increasing evolution potentials for each species ("hierarchically emergent fractal evolution").
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"abstract": "A simple model of macroevolution is proposed exhibiting both the property of\npunctuated equilibrium and the dynamics of potentialities for different species\nto evolve towards increasingly higher complexity. It is based on the phenomenon\nof \"fractal evolution\" which has been shown to constitute a fundamental\nproperty of nonlinear discretized systems with one memory- or random-based\nfeedback loop. The latter involves a basic \"cognitive\" function of each species\ngiven by the power of distinction of states within some predefined resolution.\nThe introduction of a realistic background noise limiting the range of the\nfeedback operation yields a pattern signature in fitness space with a\ndistribution of temporal boost/mutation distances according to a randomized\ndevil\u0027s staircase function. Introducing a further level in the hierarchy of the\nsystem\u0027s rules, the possibility of an adaptive evolutionary change of the\nresolution itself is implemented, thereby providing a time-dependent measure of\nthe species\u0027 cognitive abilities: an additional feedback loop makes use of the\ninevitable intrinsic fluctuations within the fitness landscape to direct the\ntemporal change of the resolution. Feeding back the small adaptive changes of\nresolution into the essentially directionless variations of the patterns\u0027\nlifetimes in fitness space effectively leads to a clear tendency towards\nincreasing evolution potentials for each species (\"hierarchically emergent\nfractal evolution\").",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0204070",
"authors": [
"Siegfried Fussy",
"Gerhard Groessing",
"Herbert Schwabl"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"q-bio.PE"
],
"journal_ref": "J. Biol. Systems 5, 3 (1997) 341 - 357",
"title": "A Simple Model for the Evolution of Evolution",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0204070"
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