Next: Introduction
Mean Field Theory of The Edge of Chaos
Howard Gutowitz
and Chris Langton
Ecole Supérieure de Physique
et Chimie Industrielles
Laboratoire d'Electronique
10 rue Vauquelin
75005 Paris
The Santa Fe Institute,
1399 Hyde Park Road
Santa Fe, NM 87501
January 1995
Abstract:
Is there an Edge of Chaos, and if so, can evolution
take us to it? Many issues have to be settled before
any definitive answer can be given. For quantitative
work, we need a good measure of complexity. We suggest
that convergence time is an appropriate and useful
measure. In the case of cellular automata,
one of the advantages of the convergence-time measure
is that it can be analytically approximated using a
generalized mean field theory.
In this paper we demonstrate that the mean field theory
for cellular automata can 1) reduce the variablity of behavior inherent in
the 
-parameter approach, 2) approximate
convergence time, and 3) drive an evolutionary process
toward increasing complexity.
Howard A. Gutowitz
Wed Mar 29 16:14:50 MST 1995