Low-Dimensional Topology of Information Fusion

We provide an axiomatic characterization of information fusion, on the basis of which we define an information fusion network. Our construction is reminiscent of tangle diagrams in low dimensional topology. Information fusion networks come equipped with a natural notion of equivalence. Equivalent networks `contain the same information', but differ locally. When fusing streams of information, an information fusion network may adaptively optimize itself inside its equivalence class. This provides a fault tolerance mechanism for such networks.Comment: 8 pages. Conference proceedings version. Will be superceded by a journal versio

How properties hold together in Substances

This article aims to clarify how aspects of current chemical understanding relate to some important contemporary problems of philosophy. The first section points out that the long-running philosophical debates concerning how properties stay together in substances have neglected the important topic of structure-determining closure. The second part describes several chemically-important types of closure and the third part shows how such closures ground the properties of chemical substances. The fourth section introduces current discussions of structural realism (SR) and contextual emergence: the final sections reconsider the coherence of the properties of substances and concludes that recognition that structures qualify as determinants of specific outcomes—as ‘causes’ as that designation is used in Standard English—clarifies how properties stay together in chemical entities, and by analogy, how characteristics cohere in ordinary items

BigraphER: rewriting and analysis engine for bigraphs

BigraphER is a suite of open-source tools providing an effi- cient implementation of rewriting, simulation, and visualisation for bigraphs, a universal formalism for modelling interacting systems that evolve in time and space and first introduced by Milner. BigraphER consists of an OCaml library that provides programming interfaces for the manipulation of bigraphs, their constituents and reaction rules, and a command-line tool capable of simulating Bigraphical Reactive Systems (BRSs) and computing their transition systems. Other features are native support for both bigraphs and bigraphs with sharing, stochastic reaction rules, rule priorities, instantiation maps, parameterised controls, predicate checking, graphical output and integration with the probabilistic model checker PRISM

Characterizing correlations and synchronization in collective dynamics

Synchronization, that occurs both for non-chaotic and chaotic systems, is a striking phenomenon with many practical implications in natural phenomena. However, even before synchronization, strong correlations occur in the collective dynamics of complex systems. To characterize their nature is essential for the understanding of phenomena in physical and social sciences. The emergence of strong correlations before synchronization is illustrated in a few piecewise linear models. They are shown to be associated to the behavior of ergodic parameters which may be exactly computed in some models. The models are also used as a testing ground to find general methods to characterize and parametrize the correlated nature of collective dynamics.Comment: 37 pages, 37 figures, Late

Consciousness in historical time: Tacitus on the Suiones

Since knowability must emanate from the single individual, singularity constitutes the frame of reference, and the embodiment of knowing is expected to emerge through individual text production. Furthermore, the basis of the presented studies will consist of text materials with unknown frame factors. This is especially underlined by the fact that history at the Times of Tacitus was an art, not a science. It follows that only the individual text producer, namely Tacitus himself, can provide the unique physical space-time context. Only he has the capability to produce a discourse on the given subject. This capacity is contributing to the fact that the present approach is binding intentional dynamics to the production of textual movement patterns. Finally, structure cannot be imposed a priory, but can only be discovered. Thus, the question to be answered need to address the kind of structure that is establishing itself during production. The Latin text of Tacitus on the Suiones makes up the precondition for the establishment of Potential Energy Surfaces (PES) as well as Free Energy Surfaces (FES). In two separate although connected studies, strings of graphemes provide the foundation for the unfolding as well as folding of their textual resonance spaces. Thereby, produced and shaped consciousness can be established and described structurally with two global state attractors, carrying the inclusive names of Safeguard for Intention and Mastery for the Orientation. Hence, the basic focus will be on textual pattern dynamics as outcome of a subtle interplay between intentionality and orientation, for which the AaO axiom provides the proper foundation

Symmetry: a basis for sensorimotor reconstruction

technical reportGiven a set of unknown sensors and actuators, sensorimotor reconstruction is achieved by exploiting relations between the sensor data and the actuator control data to determine sets of similar sensors, sets of similar actuators, necessary relations between them, as well as sensorimotor relations to the environment. Several Author's have addressed this problem, and we propose here a principled approach that exploits various symmetries and that achieves more efficient and robust results. A theoretical position is defined, the approach shown more efficient than previous work, and experimental results given