Complexity of the universe
Welcome to the complexity of the universe homepage!
Please check out our other complexity links for connecting pages.
The universe around us has structure and form. Where did this complexity come from? We answer that here.
The universe seems to change in complexity as time goes by, how does this happen and what does it mean? We answer that here.
In technical terms:
The complexity of the universe is inversely related to the probability of it being at a
particular state. A more complex universe is one that has a lower probability of being in that
state, and a less complex universe is one that has a high probability of existing.
Think about it, what are the most improbable things that exist?
Is there a probability that we are in this particular state? What is the probability?
Are some improbable states able to stay around? How?
A more complex universe has more varied things- a more intricate structure. This is a by product of the underlying formation of complexity.
All complexity is created by nondeterministic events. The events that create complexity are the ones that are preserved into the future. Many nondeterministic events are lost to the future, but some leave a legacy, and they are the progenitors of all that we see around us.
When the universe began, it was isotropic (the same in all directions) and homogeneous.
This was decidely a not very complex universe. It was not very complex at all. At the very start of the universe there was no information and no complexity within it. There was no form, and no structure within it.
Then bang
Small irregularities were amplified as the universe expanded, and these became the gravitational
precipitation points around which the stars and planets coalesced. These irregularities were the
beginning of complexity... they represented a break in the symmetry... the specific places of
these assymmetries did not have a probability of 1.0. It is thought that these
irregularities had an origin in quantum decoherence. In fact, it appears that almost all of the structure and complexity of our universe had its origins in quantum decoherence.
This also shows the crucial fact: complexity and form arises from the breaking of symmetry. A deterministic evolution does not allow for symmetry breaking behavior. The breaking of symmetry comes from nondeterministic evolution.
The universe became more complex in its early formation, due to the formation of these early structures.
The modern universe can both gain and lose complexity, as it moves into higher and lower areas of probability.
The complexity of the universe increases when it goes into a less probable state. This occurs when the universe goes through a transition where it moves into one of multiple states. These transitions are also known as bifurcations, or cusps. On a quantum noise level, many of these bifurcations occur and are lost. This "background noise" does not change the complexity of the universe because it is lost so rapidly. This background noise is ongoing all the time. Changes to complexity happen when a bifurcation occurs that is amplified and preserved.
The complexity of the universe decreases when it goes into a more probable state. This happens when the universe goes from one of multiple states to a single state. When this is observed on a quantum level it is called quantum erasure. On a more macroscopic level we observe things being erased and decreasing complexity on a regular basis. When an object is completely destroyed, and no record of it exists any longer, the universe has "lost the complexity" of that object.
The complexity of the universe remains the same when it stays in the same probability of states. A completely deterministic universe then would not change in complexity . A completely deterministic universe would transtition from state to state without any alternative paths. Every state would have the same probability as every state before and afterwards, and the complexity would not change. Look at the link below to see how this relates to entropy.
Some processes preserve complexity. For a complex state to be preserved, the state must propagate itself forwards through time. Living systems are the prime example for propagation of complexity. Living systems propagate themselves forwards through time without being obliterated or erased. They preserve information and their existence represents a more complex state for the universe as a whole.
As the genetic code of organisms is randomly mutated and these mutations are preserved the universe can become more complex. Similarly, the conception of ideas within the human mind and the propagation of these should be representable as part of the complexity of our universe. Note the suggested reading list below and read "The Selfish Gene" for further information on memes.
We can represent the increase in complexity of our universe as a line that splits into two with time moving from left to right as:
/------------------- potential state
/
initial state------/
\
\
\---------------- potential state
In this example, the universe moves into a more complex state as it traverses the splitting point. The universe moves into a more complex state as it "chooses" one of the future potential states. This type of transition occurs when a random or nondeterministic event happens that is preserved. In a simplistic sense we can assume rolling a standard die causes the universe to "choose" one of the faces to land upright. (In a realistic sense, rolling a die will often be deterministically determined due to the original velocity, orientation, etc.) In our thought experiment we can see that the die has landed on one of the upright faces, and the universe is more complex. However, if we pick the die up and roll it again, the original gain in complexity is eliminated as the die is rolled again, for the previous roll is forgotten.
The universe decreasing in complexity can be represented as two initial states converging to one, as follows:
potential initial state ------------------\
\
\_________end state
/
/
potential initial state ------------------/
In this example, the universe goes down in complexity as it devolves from multiple past states to a single future state.
To explore related topics examine these links.
There are some interesting implications of this.
Cellular automata have complexity too.
Check out Kolmogrov complexity.
Check out Bennet complexity.
Check out Shannon complexity.
What about entropy?.
Suggested reading list of books.
Nice list of external complexity links.
Some philosophical questions that help provide background
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The universe has a complexity irregardless if there is an observer, and the expectations or perceptual ability of the observers do not impact the complexity of the universe. This is important because many other measures of information depend on the expectation of the observer.
Copyright 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999.
M. Hill.