Tractable Emergence

A collection of rabbit holes that hint at universal assembly functions. Each entry exhibits:

1. a compressible generator (small rule-set relative to output expressivity),
2. a structure-generating gradient that selects for something of interest, and
3. a signature that recurs across substrates.

Picbreeder

Added: 30 April 2026

Picbreeder is a deceptively simple website that lets users ‘breed’ emergent complexity by applying simple covolutions in-series, collectively mapping the space of all possible patterns of a small feedforward neural net. The CPPN (a Compositional Pattern Producing Network) uses basic activations like sine, gaussian, and sigmoid that combine to produce recognisable forms like planets, butterflies, cars and mosques in 50–100 generations, before collapsing into high-entropy homogeneity as the process matures.

Resources

• Secretan et al. (2011), Picbreeder: A case study in collaborative evolutionary exploration of design space
• Woolley & Stanley (2014), Exploring promising stepping stones by combining novelty search with interactive evolution
• Lehman & Stanley (2015), Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective
• Stanley (2007), Compositional pattern producing networks