graphy theory as models of physical systems

Cellular automata as emergent systems and models of physical behavior

Cellular automata provide a basic model for complex systems generated by simplistic rulesets. While each step in a simulation is dominated by local interactions, over time complex macroscopic behavior can emerge. Observation of this long-term emergent behavior due to simple, easily understood and computationally efficient rules has led to attempts to model physical systems within the framework ...

Diagrams as Physical Models

We discuss a variety of roles for diagrams in helping with reasoning, focusing in particular on their role as physical models of states of affairs, much like an architectural model of a building or a 3-D molecular model of a chemical compound. We discuss the concept of a physical model for a logical sentence, and the role played by the causal structure of the physical medium in making the given...

Networks as Renormalized Models for Emergent Behavior in Physical Systems

Networks are paradigms for describing complex biological, social and technological systems. Here I argue that networks provide a coherent framework to construct coarsegrained models for many different physical systems. To elucidate these ideas, I discuss two long-standing problems. The first concerns the structure and dynamics of magnetic fields in the solar corona, as exemplified by sunspots t...

Physical Models of Living Systems

Big Toy Models: Representing Physical Systems As Chu Spaces

We pursue a model-oriented rather than axiomatic approach to the foundations of Quantum Mechanics, with the idea that new models can often suggest new axioms. This approach has often been fruitful in Logic and Theoretical Computer Science. Rather than seeking to construct a simplified toy model, we aim for a ‘big toy model’, in which both quantum and classical systems can be faithfully represen...

Choreo - graphy

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7