Patterns of information storage and senescence.
Jonathan D. H. Smith · 2005
Abstract: Against the background of increasing entropy ordained by the Second Law, we discuss the abstract options for information storage and order. General patterns of growth, homeostasis, senescence and demise emerge. We propose simple formal models of these behaviors, and examine some examples. The central idea is the so-called Grouping Principle, identifying the grouping of microstates into macrostates as the key determinant of long-term behavior. In particular, a model of abstract oncogenesis suggests that a small change in the grouping may convert homeostasis into unconstrained growth.