Randomness + determinism = progresses: why random processes could be favored by evolution.
Biologists are somehow pioneers on the idea that progress can be driven by randomness: randomness is one of the main engine of evolution; small variations induced by randomness coupled with natural selection allows the species to self-adapt to their moving environment. Studies from the last 40 years in computer science suggest that randomness is in fact able of doing much more and revealed unexpected possibilities which might appear impossible at first. Furthermore, it turns out that these discoveries are faster, cheaper and above all exponentially thriftier than their deterministic alternatives. This means that random explorations would almost surely generate a stochastic process way before any equivalent deterministic counterpart is found. It follows that most likely these processes are favored by evolution and should thus be known to anyone dealing with systems (alive or not) having access to random sources. This article presents some of these counter-intuitive results as a possible source of inspiration for studying systems fed with randomness.
CNRS, Université Paris Diderot (LIAFA UMR 7089), Case 7014, 175 rue du Chevaleret, 75205 Paris, France. nicolas.schabanel@liafa.univ-paris-diderot.fr
Nicolas
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Schabanel
D005075:Biological Evolution; D003201:Computers; D011336:Probability; D013269:Stochastic Processes