The evolution of the system presents two interesting features: 1) a step-wise

growth, peaking and decay of the length of the string. 2) The complexity of the
string which can be measured by its entropy rises and falls periodically. The
entropy of the string is calculated using the famous equation of Claude Shannon:
H=\displaystyle -\sum_{j=1}^n p_i\log_2(p_i),
Where p_i is the probability of the i^{th} character appearing in the string. For
each cycle this is plotted in Figure 2.

This plot shows the entropy minimal whenever the string falls to the lowest
complexity in the form of all a.

Now let us seed the same system with the starting string aaaaaaaaa i.e. 9
successive a and see it evolve. Here it evolves for 153 cycles before finally
halting (Figure 3, 4).

Tag_a9Tag_a9_entropyFigure 3 and Figure 4 (lower panel)

This longer evolution is accompanied by greater number of higher order cycles of

rises and falls. Yet the overall structure is similar to the previous case where it
evolved for only 25 cycles. Notably, we see a similar pattern of entropy evolution
of the strings.The rise to maximal string length in the form of all a string
results in an entropy minimum followed by complexification at same length to reach
paired maxima separated by a central dip in entropy. This is followed by change in
string length with the entropy showing a similar cycle for this new string length.
A closer look at the strings in the first example suggests that we reach minimal
entropy with all a strings with respectively 3, 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 a-s. In the second
example we have all a strings with 9, 14, 7, 17, 26, 13, 20, 10, 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 a-s.
Remarkably this pattern of the number of a reveals that the tag system is actually
computing the famous Collatz sequence or hailstone sequence. This sequence is
defined thus for any integer x_n:

x_{n+1}=\dfrac{x_n}{2}, if x_n is even

x_{n+1}=\dfrac{3x_n+1}{2}, if x_n is odd

Thus far all tested integers which have subjected to the above Collatz map finally
reach 1 (the Collatz conjecture), which is essentially equivalent to the above tag
system coming to a halt. Thus, there is a certain nesting of structure in the these
sequences, which is also evident in the plots of the above tag systems strings.
Both the aaa and aaaaaaaaa strings have 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 as the lengths of the set of
the last 5 all a strings in their evolution. Thus, part of the evolution of the
former is identically recapitulated in the latter.

Interestingly, say we start with a string which is not all a, like say aaaacaaa,
then for 23 cycles the system evolves through diversified strings until we hit
aaaaaaaaaa which pulls the evolution into the Collatzian process. Thus, there is
tendency for channelization into the Collatzian convergence for this tag system
even for non-all a strings. Of course certain strings can wander for even longer
number of cycle in a high entropy realm before falling into the Collatz trap. For
example, a system initiated with the string abcbcaabccababc wanders in a high
entropy realm for 94 cycles before being channeled into the Collatz process by a
14-a string appearing at cycle 95 (Figure 5).

tag_cycleFigure 5

Finally, if we initiate evolution with the string abcbcaabc the system does not
halt. Rather it settles into a 40 step meta-cycle coming back to the same string at
every 41st cycle. In each of the 39 following cycles the string length is longer
than the starter string. Thus, this starter string being the minimal string-length
in the meta-cycle neatly helps define it. Hence, evolution initiated with this
string or any of the other 39 strings which occur in the meta-cycle escapes the
standard Collatzian route to extinction. This behavior is more like the extension
of the Collatz function to the complex plane where in addition to the convergences
to 1 at the integers there are other cyclic traps for negative and complex numbers.
Thus, if we write the Collatz function as the following map we get the below Julia-
set like fractal upon color-coding by the number of iterations required to escape
to infinity (Figure 6).

z_{n+1} \rightarrow \dfrac{1}{4}(1+4z_n-(1+2z_n)\cos(\pi z_n))

Collatz_escape_01Figure 6

Though the Collatz conjecture is simple to describe, mathematicians since Paul

Erds have been saying that mathematics is not yet ready for proving it. Thus,
along with the Goldbach conjecture it is one of those simple to state but baffling
problems that lurk at the foundations of the mathematics. Remarkably, a simple tag
system as this one provides a model for how a relatively simple mechanism to
perform a computation can be devised. Indeed, it is systems such as this that
provide analogies to think about computation achieved in nature by the action of
relatively unintelligent systems as long as they can run for a large number of
steps. In a more general sense systems such as this that tend halt after a finite
number of steps also reminds one of the system of sage PINI for Sanskrit. Here
the process halts when it has formed a valid Sanskrit word.

Finally, this tag system also suggests an analogy for the process of the rise and
fall of clades of life. Its three rules can be analogized with the the processes of
diversification, local extinction and proliferation. Further, the replacement of
the two elements is suggestive of the replacement of older lineages by new ones.
Thus, under these reasonable models of low level processes we can see a clade
increase in number(string length), diversity (entropy increase), go through ups and
downs of these and ultimately become extinct or settle into an endless repeating
cycle of the same process. This does provide a way of thinking about the fate of
certain lineages like the trilobites. They went through many cycles of rise and
fall over 270 \times 10^6 years, remaining a dominant arthropod clade through much
of this period before a final decline and complete extinction. This makes one
wonder if such final extinctions are a generally unavoidable end for systems
evolving as analogs of such tag systems. This might even extend to civilizations in
human history much as thinkers like Spengler saw them growing, maturing senescing
and dying out.

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Posted in art, Scientific ramblings | Tagged Collatz, complex numbers, computation,

fractal, fractals, mathematics, tag systems
A note on the cow, the horse and the chariot in the gveda
Posted on August 6, 2017 by mAnasa-taraMgiNI
yasmai tva sukte jtaveda
u lokam agne kava syonam |
avina sa putria vravanta
gomanta rayi naate svasti ||

For whom you will make a pleasant world, O Jtavedas!

as he does correct rituals for you, O Agni!
He endowed with horses, offspring, heroes,
cattle and wealth attains well-being.

It would be an understatement to say in the gveda the cow, the horse and the
chariot mattered a lot to the rya-s. Indeed, philogical evidence establishes
beyond doubt that they were central to the life of the Indo-Iranians. Their
mentions number in the several hundreds whereas houses and gold (hiraya) is
mentioned far fewer times (171 times). If you sample random blocks of variable size
measured in terms of half k-s (50 : 5000) from the gveda and count the number of
occurrences of the common words for cow(go), horse (ava) and chariot (ratha) per
block you find that the number of occurrences of any pair of them are strongly
correlated (Pearsons correlation >.9 for each pair). This suggests that they form
a complex that is present throughout the RV. Yet this poses a poorly acknowledged
but major paradox for the archaeology, dating and the geography of the text:
1) The RV is considered by white indologists and their fellow