For the past few weeks, we've been conducting experiments in the Quandary Den, a simple game simulation where the players evolve strategies. We've been looking at how complex solutions can evolve from simpler ones. So far, no single technical definition captures everything we mean informally by complexity, but for our purposes here I am describing a solution as more complex if it involves more distinct parts that are each individually essential. Last week we confirmed that there are neutral roads to such complexity, … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Developing a Complex
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Science Corner: Traveling on the Level
When we last visited the Quandary Den, we saw how our players could take an adaptive path to complexity. By complexity, I mean that the solution to the challenge of the room involved multiple players making distinct and essential contributions. We saw that they were essential by looking at the last-on-the-bus (LOTB) score which looks at the difference between the team's result with that player and without. If a player has a LOTB score of zero, then their contributions are not essential; they might score one or more … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Traveling on the Level
Science Corner: Don’t Miss the Bus
Two weeks ago, we revisited the Quandary Den to see what happens when multiple players are able to work together. We did this by modeling gene duplication, a known biological process. Last week we saw some results showing that solutions involving multiple players could evolve, and when multiple players got involved solutions tended to come faster. At the same time, more wasn't always better; we saw that when players were added too quickly, they were more likely to get in the way and inhibit solutions. This little model … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Don’t Miss the Bus
Science Corner: Better with Friends?
Last week, we talked about gene duplication and looked at some simulation results. For starters, I was just simulating a random walk in the number of genes. The probability of adding a gene (taking a step 'up') remained the same, but I varied the probability of losing a gene (taking a step 'down'). And I prevented the number from ever getting to zero or lower. You can see the results to the right (click for a bigger version). When the probability of losing a gene is 10x higher than gaining (purple/darkest line), the … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Better with Friends?
Science Corner: Better with Friends
Over the weekend, our household reached the point where all of us are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. We celebrated this milestone with an escape room outing. That got me thinking about my little escape room model, the Quandary Den. You can read more details here`, but the short version is that the Quandary Den simulates a game where a player has to "solve" the challenge of the room. My family's in-person escape room involved lots of combination locks, and here on the blog we simulated some password challenges of a … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Better with Friends