Cliff wrote: > > It's not a firm conclusion, but I'm basing it on information / > complexity theory. This relates, in certain ways, to ideas about > entropy -- and energy is negentropy. I.e. without the sun's input we > would be nothing. > > I'm not convinced of this idea on an intuitive basis, but rather on a > mathematical basis -- that is, the mathematical idea that complexity > cannot be "freely produced". You cannot get truly random numbers out > of a fixed process would be another way to state this.
No, but you can get pseudorandomness from energy. I would say that we ourselves are, at best, pseudorandom as well. True randomness is a tricky thing to get. > > I also wonder if AGI's could really be trained in a simulated micro- > environment...perhaps the real universe's "randomness" is *necessary* > for development of intelligence. How? Your ideas are interesting, but I don't see the need for them. We understand the core principles of evolution, we see it in action and it makes intuitive sense. We also know that raw energy input can lead to an increase in evolution. We have all the necessary and sufficient conditions for evolution to have worked, there's not really a missing piece to fill in. Consider the following thought experiment: a computer able to simulate the earth down to an atomic level (let's put aside the possibility that quantum phenomena influence events on the scale of earth-life). This system has 1 source of input, a constant stream of energy. The machine is simple, runs on a turing machine. Do you doubt that this machine could recreate evolution in its simulation? If you do not, then we're all done here, as this machine is completely isolated and receives no "complexity input". If you do doubt it, what is the missing piece that you are trying to fill? > > Well, that's what I'm wondering about. Does co-evolution increase the > total complexity (in a mathematical, Kolmogorov sense) or does it > *mirror* or *absorb* complexity. Lately, I suspect the latter -- you > cannot really increase it, you can only reflect it. Energy->complexity in a closed system. ------- To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
