Evolution of Ideas: A Novel Memetic Algorithm Based on Semantic Network
Publication Type:
Conference PaperSource:
IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, IEEE, Brisbane, p.1-8 (2012)Keywords:
semantic networks; memetic algorithmsAbstract:
This paper presents a new type of evolutionary
algorithm (EA) based on the concept of “meme”, where the
individuals forming the population are represented by semantic
networks and the fitness measure is defined as a function of the
represented knowledge. Our work can be classified as a novel
memetic algorithm (MA), given that (1) it is the units of culture,
or information, that are undergoing variation, transmission,
and selection, very close to the original sense of memetics as
it was introduced by Dawkins; and (2) this is different from
existing MA, where the idea of memetics has been utilized as a
means of local refinement by individual learning after classical
global sampling of EA. The individual pieces of information are
represented as simple semantic networks that are directed graphs
of concepts and binary relations, going through variation by
memetic versions of operators such as crossover and mutation,
which utilize knowledge from commonsense knowledge bases.
In evaluating this introductory work, as an interesting fitness
measure, we focus on using the structure mapping theory of
analogical reasoning from psychology to evolve pieces of information
that are analogous to a given base information. Considering
other possible fitness measures, the proposed representation and
algorithm can serve as a computational tool for modeling memetic
theories of knowledge, such as evolutionary epistemology and
cultural selection theory.
The computer as music critic
Publication Type:
ReportSource:
The New York Times (2012)URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/opinion/sunday/the-computer-as-music-critic.htmlAbstract:
Thanks to advances in computing power, we can analyze music in radically new and different ways. Computers are still far from grasping some of the deep and often unexpected nuances that release our most intimate emotions. However, by processing vast amounts of raw data and performing unprecedented large-scale analyses beyond the reach of teams of human experts, they can provide valuable insight into some of the most basic aspects of musical discourse, including the evolution of popular music over the years. Has there been an evolution? Can we measure it? And if so, what do we observe?
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Measuring the evolution of contemporary western popular music
Publication Type:
Journal ArticleSource:
Scientific Reports, Nature, Volume 2, p.521 (2012)URL:
www.nature.com/srep/2012/120726/srep00521/full/srep00521.htmlKeywords:
Big data; Music; Power laws; Complex networks; EvolutionAbstract:
Popular music is a key cultural expression that has captured listeners' attention for ages. Many of the structural regularities underlying musical discourse are yet to be discovered and, accordingly, their historical evolution remains formally unknown. Here we unveil a number of patterns and metrics characterizing the generic usage of primary musical facets such as pitch, timbre, and loudness in contemporary western popular music. Many of these patterns and metrics have been consistently stable for a period of more than fifty years. However, we prove important changes or trends related to the restriction of pitch transitions, the homogenization of the timbral palette, and the growing loudness levels. This suggests that our perception of the new would be rooted on these changing characteristics. Hence, an old tune could perfectly sound novel and fashionable, provided that it consisted of common harmonic progressions, changed the instrumentation, and increased the average loudness.
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Quantifying the evolution of popular music
Publication Type:
Conference PaperSource:
No Lineal, Zaragoza, Spain (2012)Abstract:
Popular music is a key cultural expression that has captured listeners' attention for ages. Many of the structural regularities underlying musical discourse are yet to be discovered and, accordingly, their historical evolution remain formally unknown. In this contribution we use tools and concepts from statistical physics and complex networks to study and quantify the evolution of western contemporary popular music. In it, we unveil a number of patterns and metrics characterizing the generic usage of primary musical facets such as pitch, timbre, and loudness. Moreover, we find many of these patterns and metrics to be consistently stable for a period of more than fifty years, thus pointing towards a great degree of conventionalism in this type of music. Nonetheless, we prove important changes or trends. These are related to the restriction of pitch transitions, the homogenization of the timbral palette, and the growing loudness levels. The obtained results suggest that our perception of new popular music would be largely rooted on these changing characteristics. Hence, an old tune could perfectly sound novel and fashionable, provided that it consisted of common harmonic progressions, changed the instrumentation, and increased the average loudness.
