Isabelle Sallagoity
580 California St., Suite 400
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Degeneracy, Long-Range Correlations and Accuracy Constraints
2013
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Abstract
Degeneracy is a ubiquitous property of complex adaptive systems, which refers to the ability of structurally different components to perform the same function in some conditions, and different functions in other conditions [1]. This work is based on the hypothesis supposing a causal link between the level of degeneracy in the system and the strength of long-range correlations in its behavior [2]. In this experiment, we manipulated degeneracy through accuracy constraints: we supposed that accuracy constraints should reduce the number of relevant behavioral solutions, and thus decrease degeneracy in the system involved in the production of performance. Additionally, we hypothesized that accuracy constraints should have a selective effect on variables directly affected by accuracy, but not on other variables. Participants performed a reciprocal aiming task, with 3 levels of difficulty differing only in target size (Figure 1, left). They performed 512 successive reciprocal pointings, an...
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References (2)
- J.M. Whitacre, Degeneracy: a link between evolvability, robustness and complexity in biological systems. Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling, 7, 6, 2010
- D. Delignières, V. Marmelat. Complexity, Degeneracy, and Long-Range Correlations, This Conference, 2013.