ELEMENT (Frozen)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1049 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
An element in a network, unable of changing its state.
St. KAUFFMAN explains this as follows: “In (a) small sample network, all the elements (may be) ruled by Boolean OR functions and (be) all initially off. Changes cascade through the system after one element is turned on. Because of the configuration of the network and the Boolean functions involved, some elements freeze into the on state. Thereafter they will return to that state even if they or one of their inputs is altered” (1991, p.67).
This is a very interesting property, the base of what KAUFFMAN calls “antichaos”, i.e. progressive organization of random networks. This author explains: “Why do random networks with two inputs per element exhibit such profound order? The basic answer seems to be that they develop a frozen core, or a connected mesh of elements that are effectively locked into either an active or inactive state. The frozen core creates interlinked walls of constancy that 'percolate' or grow across the entire system. As a result, the system is partitioned into an unchanging frozen core and islands of changing elements” (p.67).
This very simple mechanism seems adequate for the modelization of numerous and seemingly unconnected properties of different kinds of networks. Memory, some neurotic or psychotic states, stable cores in languages, basic social structures could be examples.
Frozen cores, interestingly, appear also in some of CONWAY's games of life, by recurrent application of very simple rules.