Sophistication about Symmetries

A Puzzle about Laws, Symmetries and Measurability

I describe a problem about the relations among symmetries, laws andmeasurable quantities. I explain why several ways of trying to solve it will not work, and I sketch a solution that might work. I discuss this problem in the context of Newtonian theories, but it also arises for many other physical theories. The problem is that there are two ways of defining the space-time symmetries of a physic...

M-sophistication

The m-sophistication of a finite binary string x is introduced as a generalization of some parameter in the proof that complexity of complexity is rare. A probabilistic near sufficient statistic of x is given which length is upper bounded by the m-sophistication of x within small additive terms. This shows that m-sophistication is lower bounded by coarse sophistication and upper bounded by soph...

Sophistication Revisited

Simplicity: the ultimate sophistication.

Efficient movement underpins all great sporting performances. When performed by an expert, complex movements can appear effortless, almost simple; as Leonardo Da Vinci stated, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Dynamic control of movement is also central to safe sporting function and is dependent on the sophisticated integration of a range of factors including environment, nature of t...

IT-Enabled Sophistication Banking

Globalization of financial markets resulting from both IT (particularly internet standards) and increasing homogeneity of regulation has strongly affected the environment, financial services companies are operating in. Given these changes on the market, innovation is not a choice, but a necessity to survive. Observable today, however, are defensive strategies and poor service quality. In this p...