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Semiogenesis: A Dynamic System Approach to Agency and Structure

DOI:10.1007/s12304-022-09494-8
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J. Augustus Bacigalupi at University of Tartu
J. Augustus Bacigalupi
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Abstract and Figures

This paper will develop the concept of semiogenesis – a process of novel sign generation – and how instances of this process, such as agency, relate to their built environment and beyond. Section two will build on Hoffmeyer’s discussion of swarms, specifically the idea of overlapping swarms and its manifestation in the creation of termite mounds, in order to introduce three types of structure. Building upon this real-world example explored in section two, the third section will present a heuristic for semiogenesis: a neuromorphic dynamic system model grounded in information and thermodynamic theory. Through the lens of this heuristic model, the penultimate section will more rigorously characterize the similarities and differences between termite and human agency in their respective built milieus.
On the left, particular Primary Nodes are stimulated by arbitrary frequencies from the environment between times a and b, in the work equation on the left. As these frequencies persist, stimulation in the sympathetic Primary Nodes will be triggered, which results in pulses. These pulses interfere in the array’s shared common medium creating an ephemeral interference pattern, or figure/ground. The figure is the constructive interference, which can be sensed by the more numerous grey Secondary Nodes, which is the basis upon which biases, or “hard connections”, accrue in the network, diagrammatically illustrated at right, which render the network sensitive to this particular more complex pattern. These biases, i.e., structure, facilitate a more rigorous response when these learned patterns recur in the environment, which results in more relevant work, as denoted between times x and y in the work equation on the right. Adapted from (Bacigalupi, 2013)
On the left, particular Primary Nodes are stimulated by arbitrary frequencies from the environment between times a and b, in the work equation on the left. As these frequencies persist, stimulation in the sympathetic Primary Nodes will be triggered, which results in pulses. These pulses interfere in the array’s shared common medium creating an ephemeral interference pattern, or figure/ground. The figure is the constructive interference, which can be sensed by the more numerous grey Secondary Nodes, which is the basis upon which biases, or “hard connections”, accrue in the network, diagrammatically illustrated at right, which render the network sensitive to this particular more complex pattern. These biases, i.e., structure, facilitate a more rigorous response when these learned patterns recur in the environment, which results in more relevant work, as denoted between times x and y in the work equation on the right. Adapted from (Bacigalupi, 2013)
… 
The parabola at left figuratively represents a balance between order, at point a, and disorder, at point c. There are ordinal, i.e., countable, levels of order. For example, a 1st level attractor is a distinct set of single nodes that tend to be co-stimulated by a particular pattern in their environment; there can be an arbitrary number of distinct 1st level attractors. A 2nd level attractor is a dynamic that becomes possible upon the scaffolding of two or more 1st level attractors, which have become associated over time. Adapted from (Bacigalupi, 2013)
The parabola at left figuratively represents a balance between order, at point a, and disorder, at point c. There are ordinal, i.e., countable, levels of order. For example, a 1st level attractor is a distinct set of single nodes that tend to be co-stimulated by a particular pattern in their environment; there can be an arbitrary number of distinct 1st level attractors. A 2nd level attractor is a dynamic that becomes possible upon the scaffolding of two or more 1st level attractors, which have become associated over time. Adapted from (Bacigalupi, 2013)
… 
Parabolae grow as a result of diverse environmental stimulation. In this hypothesized idealization, each cycle is one step in a ratchet whereby Relevance – the product of Relevant Work and Complexity – momentarily descends to set the stage for its subsequent ascension. It is hypothesized that such a cycle may be the reason for sleep, which intermittently insulates the semiosic agent from external stimulation so that sparse order can be harvested from the day’s “noise”. The polynomial regression of this ratchet is semiogenesis. Adapted from (Bacigalupi, 2013)
Parabolae grow as a result of diverse environmental stimulation. In this hypothesized idealization, each cycle is one step in a ratchet whereby Relevance – the product of Relevant Work and Complexity – momentarily descends to set the stage for its subsequent ascension. It is hypothesized that such a cycle may be the reason for sleep, which intermittently insulates the semiosic agent from external stimulation so that sparse order can be harvested from the day’s “noise”. The polynomial regression of this ratchet is semiogenesis. Adapted from (Bacigalupi, 2013)
… 
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Biosemiotics (2022) 15:261–284
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-022-09494-8
Abstract
This paper will develop the concept of semiogenesis – a process of novel sign
generation – and how instances of this process, such as agency, relate to their
built environment and beyond. Section two will build on Homeyer’s discussion
of swarms, specically the idea of overlapping swarms and its manifestation in the
creation of termite mounds, in order to introduce three types of structure. Building
upon this real-world example explored in section two, the third section will present
a heuristic for semiogenesis: a neuromorphic dynamic system model grounded in
information and thermodynamic theory. Through the lens of this heuristic model,
the penultimate section will more rigorously characterize the similarities and dier-
ences between termite and human agency in their respective built milieus.
Keywords Agency · Structure · Semiosis · Semiogenesis · Stigmergy · Jesper
Homeyer
Introduction
At the heart of this paper is the claim that agency is not equivalent to individual
organisms, and that agency is a paradox insofar as one attempts to characterize it as a
localizable phenomenon, either in time or space. This claim will have some similari-
ties with that of thinkers as early as Heraclitus (c.535–c.475 BC) and more recent
examples such as Jesper Homeyer. In particular, Homeyer’s notion of swarms of
swarms, or overlapping swarms (Homeyer, 1997), will be leveraged to illustrate
this claim and its implications throughout this paper. More rigorous characteriza-
tions of similar phenomena – such as patterns of patterns and overlapping distribu-
Received: 13 June 2022 / Accepted: 1 July 2022 / Published online: 9 August 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2022
Semiogenesis: A Dynamic System Approach to Agency and
Structure
J. AugustusBacigalupi1
J. Augustus Bacigalupi
bacigalupiworks@gmail.com
1 University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
1 3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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