Modular Interdependency in Complex Dynamical Systems

Hierarchical modularity is a familiar characteristic of a large class of natural dynamical systems. A normal interpretation of modularity is that interactions between subsystems are sparse compared to interactions within subsystems and this leads some to assume that the interactions between modules are largely unimportant. In the evolution of complex systems, if a system can be decomposed into modules that are basically independent then evolving such a system is greatly aided. However, this interpretation of modularity is over-simplistic. Specifically, although modules may be sparsely connected, dynamical properties of modules may be strongly interdependent, and if functional properties depend on dynamical properties then interactions between modules may be critically important. If inter-module dependencies are significant then resolving the dependencies between modules is problematic, and simple evolutionary processes can be inadequate. However, `compositional' evolutionary mech...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2005
• Where: ALIFE
• Authors: Richard A. Watson, Jordan B. Pollack
• Keywords: ALIFE 2005, ALIFE 2007, Dynamical Properties, Hierarchical Modularity, Systems