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  • © 2018

Culture on the Edge of Chaos

Cultural Algorithms and the Foundations of Social Intelligence

  • Cultural algorithm has three major components: a population space, a belief space, and a communication protocol that describes how these components exchange knowledge
  • Author originated the cultural algorithm, a branch of evolutionary computing
  • Applications in understanding social evolution

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Computer Science (BRIEFSCOMPUTER)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Cultural Algorithm Framework

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 13-25
  3. Modeling the Social Fabric

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 27-40
  4. Generating Chaos

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 41-44
  5. Social Metrics

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 45-51
  6. The Cultural Engine: Putting Individuals to Work

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 53-57
  7. The Power of Subcultures

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 77-100
  8. Conclusions and Future Work

    • Robert G. Reynolds
    Pages 101-104
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 105-108

About this book

The author first introduces the basic framework for cultural algorithms and he then explains the social structure of a cultural system as a mechanism for the distribution of problem-solving information throughout a population. Three different models for social organizations are presented: the homogeneous (nuclear family), heterogeneous (expanded family), and subculture (descent groups) social models. The chapters that follow compare the learning capabilities of these social organizations relative to problems of varying complexity. The book concludes with a discussion of how the results can impact our understanding of social evolution.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Computer Science Department, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA

    Robert G. Reynolds

About the author

Prof. Robert G. Reynolds is a professor of computer science in the College of Engineering of Wayne State University, and a Visiting Research Scientist at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology and the Center for Complex Systems at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He developed the Cultural Algorithms paradigm, and has given invited talks on this topic at conferences such as WCCI and SSCI.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access