Computational mechanics, an approach to structural complexity, defines a process's causal states and gives a procedure for finding them. We show that the causal-state representation--an e-machine--is the minimal one consistent with accurate prediction. We establish several results on e-machine...

I review the purported opposition between computational and dynamical approaches in cognitive science. I argue that both computation and dynamical notions will be necessary for a full explanatory account of cognition, and give a perspective on how recent research in complex systems can lead to a...

Dynamics is not enough for cognition nor is it a substitute for information processing aspects of brain behavior. Moreover, dynamics and computation are not at odds, but are quite compatible. They can be synthesized so that any dynamical system can be analyzed in terms of its intrinsic...

Many natural systems, as social insects, perform complex computations collectively. In these groups, large numbers of individuals communicate in a local way and send information to its nearest neighbors. Interestingly, a general observation of these societies reveals that the computational...