Stationarity and nonstationarity in a self-organizing information system with primitive intentions

Summary form only given. Nest building by termites is considered as an example to acquire insight into the nature of self-organizing information systems. The behavior of the insects as atomistic units is organized by the time evolution of relatively stationary attractors in the pheromone diffusion field arising from the insects´ waste deposits. A change in the attractor layout induces an instability in the pheromone flow pattern, driving the system to a state of greater order, as instability begets self-organization. As a result, the nest building evolves through stages of random depositing, pillar construction, arch construction and dome construction. Nonstationarity is present in the form of time-dependent variations in the perceptual threshold of the individual insect. When the waste is deposited, the insect loses its pheromone affinity and ceases to be oriented by the diffusion field: the affinity returns with the accumulation of new waste. Consequently, sensitivity to the qualities of the field vary dynamically as a function of simple internal states. This overall insects-environment system of evolving global stationarities and local nonstationarities has been analyzed through the methods of nonlinear dynamics and simulated. Analysis and simulation suggest a number of potentially very general design principles for self-organizing information systems, among them the understanding that the attractors of such systems are emergent cross-scale symmetries