Simon Mcgregor

Research

My academic focus is on complex adaptive systems and cognition both "in silico" (on computers) and "in vivo" (in biological organisms). While my primary research interests relate to broad-level principles, I am also interested in how these principles play out in depth within more detailed domains.  

Specific research interests:

  • Challenging intuitive assumptions about animacy and agency within Artificial Life theory.

  • Applying the frameworks of Shannon information theory and algorithmic information theory to the conceptual treatment of complex adaptive systems.

    • Karl Friston's "Free Energy Principle": a theory of adaptive systems in general, and in particular the brain, which seeks to provide a united explanation of inference and goal-directed action using an information-theoretic quantity.

  • Understanding the consequences of "the flip side of embodiment" for rationality: the intrinsic involvement of reasoners in the systems they are reasoning about.