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History and Definitions

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Self-organising Software

Part of the book series: Natural Computing Series ((NCS))

Abstract

This chapter discusses the different types of self-organisation and emergence. For each term it discusses its origins and historical evolution and it describes the various definitions given so far with particular emphasis on those concerning software systems. Subsequently, it discusses the main mandatory and optional properties that characterise systems exhibiting self-organisation and emergence. Finally, for both terms it provides operational definitions suitable for use in Computer Science.

Defining and implementing Self-organisation and Emergence.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Benard phenomenon refers to the appearance of hexagonal cells or pattern rolls in liquids when heated from below. See Heylighen [43] for more detail.

  2. 2.

    Genetic Algorithms is a general approach to computer problem solving which is based on mutation and recombination of partial solutions, and the subsequent selective reproduction of the most “fit” new partial solution combinations.

  3. 3.

    In Chemistry autocatalytic reactions are reactions in which at least one of the products is also a reactant. Such reactions are fundamentally nonlinear, and this nonlinearity can lead to the spontaneous generation of order. A dramatic example of this order is the one found in living systems. This spontaneous order creation initially seems to contradict the Second Law of Thermodynamics. However, this contradiction is resolved when the disorder of both the system and its surroundings are taken into account and it is recognised that energy is dissipated into the environment to lower the entropy of the system.

  4. 4.

    The term Morphogenesis (from the Greek morphe = shape and genesis = creation) was originally introduced in biology to refer to a process that would cause an organism to develop its shape.

  5. 5.

    For example, in societies of termites the queen selects a location and deposits pheromones symmetrically at equal distances resulting in nest arches being equally distanced from the queen location [10].

  6. 6.

    Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book H 8.6.1045a:8-10.

  7. 7.

    Complexity can be simplistically perceived as the minimum amount of information necessary for system description. Various definitions of complexity exist; for example see [4].

  8. 8.

    The term function here refers to a process or operation and not to some direct input–output mechanism such as a mathematical function. For example, an foraging ant-colony can find the shortest path between food source and nest without it being an explicit function of the system.

  9. 9.

    http://www.bitstorm.org/gameoflife/

  10. 10.

    Chalmers argues that the only irreducible emergent phenomenon is consciousness and any other phenomenon can be in principle derived given initial conditions and computing power. See [18, 19] for more details.

  11. 11.

    See Stephan in [73] for more details on physical monism.

  12. 12.

    The values of iterated functions are calculated sequentially in a manner such that the output of each calculation is the input to the next one.

  13. 13.

    Heylighen [43] uses the term organisational closure to refer to the convergence of a system to a set of particular states as a result of a dynamic self-organisation process.

  14. 14.

    See [33, 64] for a discussion on how emergent phenomena are interpretations of epiphenomena produced from dynamic system operations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK

    Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo

  2. IRIT, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France

    Marie-Pierre Gleizes

  3. Technological Educational Institute of Larissa, Larissa, Greece

    Anthony Karageorgos

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  1. Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo
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  3. Anthony Karageorgos
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Universitaire d'Informatique, Université de Genève, route de Drize 7, Carouge, 1227, Geneve, Switzerland

    Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo

  2. , Institut de Recherche, Université Paul Sabatier, route de Narbonne 118, Toulouse, 31062, France

    Marie-Pierre Gleizes

  3. of Larissa, Dept. of Forestry, Technological Education Institute, Terma Mavromihali, Karditsa, 431 00, Greece

    Anthony Karageorgos

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Di Marzo Serugendo, G., Gleizes, MP., Karageorgos, A. (2011). History and Definitions. In: Di Marzo Serugendo, G., Gleizes, MP., Karageorgos, A. (eds) Self-organising Software. Natural Computing Series. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17348-6_3

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