Paper M5 — Constructor Emergence in Cohesive Continua
Version: v0.4 (Revised) | Programme: Cohesion Dynamics / Stable Constructors | Status: Draft for internal circulation
M5 investigates how constructors—entities that preserve and reproduce specific patterns through interaction—can emerge within a cohesive informational continuum. While the substrate must be intrinsically constructive in an ontological sense (preserving information and repairing inconsistency), we show that pattern-specific constructors are not fundamental; they emerge only when additional structural conditions are satisfied.
Key Results:
- Using toy models and empirical simulation phases, identifies three necessary precursor properties: selectivity, persistence, and reusability
- These arise from minimal additional mechanism: admissible move precedence, a local rule that deterministically selects among allowed updates to minimize mismatch
- Reports first observation of entities exhibiting self-repair, replication, and functional preservation—meeting practical definition of emergent constructors
- Identifies missing ingredients required for hierarchical construction
Ontological Distinction: Ontological construction (fundamental substrate properties: error detection/correction, admissibility constraints, recovery from inconsistency) is required for any continuum to exist. Pattern-specific constructors are emergent phenomena requiring additional structure.
Paper ID: CD-M5 | Series: M-series (Formal Mechanisms) | Status: Draft v0.4 | Dependencies: M1–M4