Small Circuits and Dual Weak PHP in the Universal Theory of p-time Algorithms

We prove, under a computational complexity hypothesis, that it is consistent with the true universal theory of p-time algorithms that a specific p-time function extending bits to bits violates the dual weak pigeonhole principle: Every string equals the value of the function for some . The function is the truth-table function assigning to a circuit the table of the function it computes and the hypothesis is that every language in P has circuits of a fixed polynomial size .

Acquiring Syntactic Variability: The Production of Wh-Questions in Children and Adults Speaking Akan

This paper investigates the predictions of the Derivational Complexity Hypothesis by studying the acquisition of wh-questions in 4- and 5-year-old Akan-speaking children in an experimental approach using an elicited production and an elicited imitation task. Akan has two types of wh-question structures (wh-in-situ and wh-ex-situ questions), which allows an investigation of children’s acquisition of these two question structures and their preferences for one or the other. Our results show that adults prefer to use wh-ex-situ questions over wh-in-situ questions. The results from the children show that both age groups have the two question structures in their linguistic repertoire. However, they differ in their preferences in usage in the elicited production task: while the 5-year-olds preferred the wh-in-situ structure over the wh-ex-situ structure, the 4-year-olds showed a selective preference for the wh-in-situ structure in who-questions. These findings suggest a developmental change in wh-question preferences in Akan-learning children between 4 and 5 years of age with a so far unobserved u-shaped developmental pattern. In the elicited imitation task, all groups showed a strong tendency to maintain the structure of in-situ and ex-situ questions in repeating grammatical questions. When repairing ungrammatical ex-situ questions, structural changes to grammatical in-situ questions were hardly observed but the insertion of missing morphemes while keeping the ex-situ structure. Together, our findings provide only partial support for the Derivational Complexity Hypothesis.

Measurement Invariance and the Socioecological Complexity Hypothesis

Lukaszewski et al. (2017) advanced a socioecological theory to account for differences in the strengths of covariances among disparate personality measurements in different cultures. They tested their theory using personality data gathered from 55 countries, and argued the results of their analysis implicated socioecological complexity as a modifier of personality trait covariances, thus providing evidence against rival explanations for observed differences in personality trait covariances between countries (e.g., life-history theory). While the socioecological complexity hypothesis is novel and interesting, we suggest that the analytic approach and several of the decisions made by Lukaszewski et al. are conceptually and analytically flawed. Accordingly, their findings should be considered cautiously and not construed as evidence against alternative explanations for differences in personality or other behavioral trait covariances within or across countries. Ultimately, their analyses can not empirically adjudicate their hypothesis or provide any means to decide between it and competing ones.

Tolerant and intolerant macaques show different levels of structural complexity in their vocal communication

We tested the social complexity hypothesis which posits that animals living in complex social environments should use complex communication systems. We focused on two components of vocal complexity: diversity (number of categories of calls) and flexibility (degree of gradation between categories of calls). We compared the acoustic structure of vocal signals in groups of macaques belonging to four species with varying levels of uncertainty (i.e. complexity) in social tolerance (the higher the degree of tolerance, the higher the degree of uncertainty): two intolerant species, Japanese and rhesus macaques, and two tolerant species, Tonkean and crested macaques. We recorded the vocalizations emitted by adult females in affiliative, agonistic and neutral contexts. We analysed several acoustic variables: call duration, entropy, time and frequency energy quantiles. The results showed that tolerant macaques displayed higher levels of vocal diversity and flexibility than intolerant macaques in situations with a greater number of options and consequences, i.e. in agonistic and affiliative contexts. We found no significant differences between tolerant and intolerant macaques in the neutral context where individuals are not directly involved in social interaction. This shows that species experiencing more uncertain social interactions displayed greater vocal diversity and flexibility, which supports the social complexity hypothesis.

Structural and functional complexity of vocalizations in a cooperatively breeding passerine, Jungle Babbler

Animal vocal communication ranges from simple to complex based on repertoire size, structure, and composition of calls and the information encoded in them. According to the social complexity hypothesis, communication complexity tends to increase with an increase in social complexity. While several studies on mammalian systems exist supporting this, evidence from avian systems is comparatively limited. Towards this, we present evidence for complex acoustic communication in a cooperatively breeding passerine, Jungle Babbler, based on three aspects of complexity: an extensive repertoire of acoustically-distinct calls, within-call structural complexity and the diverse behavioural contexts in which these calls are used. Jungle Babblers were found to possess a structurally and functionally diverse vocal repertoire comprising 15 different calls. Detailed acoustic analyses of multisyllabic calls revealed that these calls are composed of different notes. Further, despite a large number of notes present in the repertoire, the number of calls were limited to 15. This implies that there may be underlying rules that determine call composition to give rise to functional calls to which receivers respond. We also found that these calls were produced in a variety of affiliative and agonistic contexts and were employed towards coordination of diverse social behaviours including group movement, foraging, brood care, aggression and vigilance. Yet, 7 out of 15 vocalizations were produced in the context of vigilance. This disproportionate investment of vocalizations towards co-ordinated acoustic vigilance is characteristic of many cooperatively breeding birds. Our study extends support for the social complexity hypothesis and also lays the foundation for future investigations on combinatorial and syntactical rules underlying call structure and function in bird vocalizations.Significance statementStudies on vocal complexity in birds have focussed mainly on repertoire size, structure and function. However, fine temporal and spectral features of elements that constitute a call/song are rarely examined to evaluate vocal complexity. We examined complex communication in a cooperatively breeding social passerine, Jungle Babbler for which we assessed repertoire size, function, acoustic features of calls and of their constituent elements. Jungle Babblers were found to possess a structurally and functionally diverse vocal repertoire comprising of 15 calls, 46% of which were in the context of vigilance, thereby extending support to the social complexity hypothesis. We also found that several calls were composed of multiple, acoustically distinct notes. These findings will be foundational in understanding the interrelations between sociality and communicative complexity and underlying combinatorial rules that determine call structure and function.

Inquiry-Based Science Education: Analysis of Didactic Conceptions of Primary School Teachers in Costa Rica Based on a Complexity Model

This article analyzes didactic conceptions of primary school teachers regarding inquiry and establishes evolutionary complexity profiles according to three dimensions which comprise the technical, practical and critical complexity hypothesis. The perspective of four advisors and twelve teachers was analyzed through narratives based on an emerging narrative design (prepared by the advisors) and an open questionnaire (answered by the teachers). The results suggest a transmissive didactic model baseline for four of the teachers, a traditional didactic model and eight of the teachers in three intermediate levels with constructivist conceptions closer to an alternative model. However, none of the teachers were close to proposed complexity model baseline. The transition from an intermediary level to a reference level can be supported by initial and continuous teacher education.

Testing Models of Handedness in Stone Tools

When, why, and how did humans develop the extreme right-handedness found in this species? As reviewed in this chapter, several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the distribution of handedness in humans. The social learning hypothesis posits that similarity in hand configuration between demonstrator and learner facilitates learning; the fighting hypothesis states that a left-hander minority is maintained by an advantage in close combat; and the task complexity hypothesis proposes that task complexity increases hand preference. The three hypotheses are compared in terms of how they might be detected in the stone tool record. The power of the archaeological record is carefully considered to address hand preference and handedness at the level of individuals and groups, and how stone tools can help to test the predictions of the various hypotheses for the evolution of right-handedness in our species.