Graham Alexander Sack
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolutionary dynamics of literary genre: the development of the 19th Century British novel is used as a motivating case study. The author constructs an agent-based model in NetLogo consisting of two interacting levels: (1) a genetic algorithm in which cultural forms (e.g., works of literature, pieces of music, etc.) are represented as binary feature strings. Cultural forms evolve across generations via asexual and sexual reproduction. Genres are represented as hierarchical clusters of similar feature strings. (2) Cultural forms are subjected to the selection pressure of consumer preferences. Preferences are heterogeneous: each consumer's tastes are represented by an ideal point in feature space. Preferences are configured in landscapes that vary in their levels of structure, entropy, and diversity. Landscapes are dynamic and may change due to (i) exogenous demographic shifts (e.g., population growth, generational turnover) or (ii) endogenous feedback (e.g., conformity / anti-conformity effects).
- Daranyi, P.; Wittek, L. Forro. "Toward Sequencing 'Narrative DNA.'" Proceedings Computational Models of Narrative. LREC. Istanbul, 2012.Google Scholar
- Hughes, J., Foti, N., Krakauer, D., Rockmore, D. "Quantitative patterns of stylistic influence in the evolution of literature." PNAS, May 2012.Google Scholar
- Moretti, Franco. Graphs, Maps, Trees. Verso: New York, 2005.Google Scholar
- Rabkin, E. and Simon, C. "Culture, Science Fiction, and Complex Adaptive Systems." Biocomplexity at the Cutting Edge of Physics, Systems Biology, and Humanities. Bologna: Bononia University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
- Shalizi, Cosmo. "Graphs, Trees, Materialism, Fishing." Reading Graphs, Maps, Trees: Responses to Franco Moretti. South Carolina: Parlor Press, 2011.Google Scholar
- Westergren, T. Pandora's Music Genome Project. http://www.pandora.com/about/mgp, 2013.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Simulating the cultural evolution of literary genres
Recommendations
Cultural complexity and complexity evolution
We review issues stemming from current models regarding the drivers of cultural complexity and cultural evolution. We disagree with the implication of the treadmill model, based on dual-inheritance theory, that population size is the driver of cultural ...
A new quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization based on cultural evolution mechanism for multiobjective problems
The application of quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization to multiobjective problems has attracted more and more attention recently. However, in order to extend quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization to multiobjective context, two major ...
The evolution of social behavior in the prehistoric American Southwest
Long House Valley, located in the Black Mesa area of northeastern Arizona (USA), was inhabited by the Kayenta Anasazi from circa 1800 B.C. to circa A.D. 1300. These people were prehistoric precursors of the modern Pueblo cultures of the Colorado ...
Comments