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| Title | Ouroboros Avatars: A Mathematical Exploration of Self-reference and Metabolic Closure |
| Authors | Jorge Soto Andrade, Sebastian Jaramillo, Claudio Gutierrez, Juan Carlos Letelier |
| Publication date | 2011 |
| Abstract | One of the most important characteristics observed in metabolic networks is that they produce themselves. This intuition, already advanced by the theories of Autopoiesis and (M,R)-systems, can be mathematically framed in a weird looking equation, full of implications and potentialities: f(f) = f . This equation (here referred as Ouroboros equation), arises in apparently dissimilar contexts, like Robert Rosens synthetic view of metabolism, hyperset theory and, importantly, untyped lambda calculus. In this paper we survey how Ouroboros equation appeared in those contexts, with emphasis on Rosens (M,R)-systems and Dana Scotts work on reflexive domains, and explore different approaches to construct solutions to it. We envision that the ideas behind this equation, a unique kind of mathematical concept, initially found in biology, would play an important role towards the development of a true systemic theoretical biology. |
| Downloaded | 11 times |
| Conference name | European Conference on Artificial Life |
| Publisher | MIT Press (Boston, MA, USA) |
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