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Edge-of-Chaos

The phrase "edge-of-chaos" was made popular by Stuart Kauffman and refers to the idea that many complex adaptive systems, including life itself, seem to naturally evolve towards a regime that is delicately poised between order and chaos. More precisely, it has been used as a metaphor to suggest a fundamental equivalence between the dynamics of phase transitions and the dynamics of information processing. Water, for example, exists in three phases: solid, liquid and gas. Phase transitions denote the boundaries between one phase and another. Universal computation -that is, the ability to perform general purpose computations and which is arguably an integral property of life exists between order and chaos. If the behavior of a system is too ordered, there is not enough variability or novelty to carry on an interesting calculation; if, on the other hand, the behavior of a system is too disordered, there is too much noise to sustain any calculation. Similarly, in the context of evolving natural ecologies, "edge-of-chaos" refers to how -in order to successfully adapt -evolving species should be neither too methodical nor too whimsical or carefree in their adaptive behaviors. The best exploratory strategy of an evolutionary "space" appears at a phase transition between order and disorder. Despite the intuitive appeal of the basic metaphor, note that there is currently some controversy over the veracity of this idea.

Web Resources On Edge-of-Chaos

http://www.cna.org/isaac/Glossb.htm

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