The articulation process of dynamical networks is studied with a functional
map, a minimal model for the dynamic change of relationships through iteration.
The model is a dynamical system of a function f, not of variables, having a
self-reference term fโf, introduced by recalling that operation in a
biological system is often applied to itself, as is typically seen in rules in
the natural language or genes. Starting from an inarticulate network, two types
of fixed points are formed as an invariant structure with iterations. The
function is folded with time, until it has finite or infinite piecewise-flat
segments of fixed points, regarded as articulation. For an initial logistic
map, attracted functions are classified into step, folded step, fractal, and
random phases, according to the degree of folding. Oscillatory dynamics are
also found, where function values are mapped to several fixed points
periodically. The significance of our results to prototype categorization in
language is discussed.Comment: 48 pages, 15 figeres (5 gif files