OpenArxiv

Preprints, openly shared.

Research in AI, computer science, and economics, with optional AI reviews and reading suggestions from verified researchers.

4 preprints
Information Theory (cs.IT)Oct 21, 2026

Emergencia Entrópica de la Causalidad y Necesidad Antrópica en la Formulación de Estado Relativo: Un Modelo de Bloque Pentadimensional

José Andrés Castillo Crespo

La física estadística y la mecánica cuántica convencional suelen evaluar la probabilidad de las configuraciones macroscópicas desde una perspectiva externa en tercera persona, descartando la extrema improbabilidad de la cadena de eventos que origina a un observador específico como una falacia de probabilidad retrospectiva. El presente estudio demuestra que dicho enfoque incurre en un error metodológico y físico al omitir un parámetro empírico primario: la existencia y la experiencia consciente en primera persona del observador (el lector) frente a un conjunto abrumador de trayectorias temporales inertes (“líneas muertas”). Al calcular la probabilidad acumulada del conjunto de eventos discretos de configuración desde el último ancestro común universal (LUCA, hace aproximadamente 4,000 millones de años) hasta la línea exacta de eventos que finaliza en el lector, se obtiene una probabilidad de P≈10^(-575,000,000) (51,458.46 σ) para los últimos 205 millones de años y de P≈10^(-23,740,000,000) (330,645.93 σ) desde LUCA. Postular un universo único gobernado por un colapso estocástico obliga a aceptar una anomalía estadística irracional. Como solución de máxima parsimonia axiomática, se desarrolla un modelo físico e informacional basado exclusivamente en la relatividad del espacio-tiempo, la mecánica cuántica relativista de Dirac y la formulación de estado relativo de Everett. Se propone un universo de bloque de al menos cinco dimensiones en el que, junto a las coordenadas espaciales (X,Y,Z), existen dos ejes espaciales adicionales: ana-kata (el vector de entropía generado por el entrelazamiento cuántico, percibido subjetivamente como tiempo) y superana-superkata (el eje donde ocurre la ramificación cuántica). Finalmente, se demuestra que la estabilidad de las leyes clásicas y la ausencia de anomalías cuánticas a gran escala son el resultado directo de la entropía combinatoria de las ramas (donde existen inconcebiblemente más microestados en los macroestados normales que en los anormales) en conjunto con el principio antrópico y copernicano.

No AI review
Information Theory (cs.IT)Oct 21, 2026

Entropic Emergence of Causality and Anthropic Necessity in the Relative State Formulation: A Five-Dimensional Block Model

José Andrés Castillo Crespo

Conventional statistical physics and quantum mechanics typically evaluate the probability of macroscopic configurations from an external, third-person perspective, dismissing the extreme improbability of the chain of events leading to a specific observer as a retrospective probability fallacy. This paper demonstrates that such an approach constitutes a methodological and physical fallacy by omitting a primary empirical parameter: the existence and first-person conscious experience of the observer (the reader) against an overwhelming set of inert timelines (“dead timelines”). By calculating the cumulative probability of the discrete set of configuration events from the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA, approximately 4,000 million years ago) down to the exact line of events terminating in the reader, we obtain probabilities on the order of P≈10^(-575,000,000) (51,458.46 σ) over the last 205 million years, and P≈10^(-23,740,000,000) (330,645.93 σ) since LUCA. Postulating a single universe governed by stochastic wave-function collapse requires accepting an irrational statistical anomaly. As a solution of maximum axiomatic parsimony, a physical and informational model is developed based exclusively on spacetime relativity, Dirac’s relativistic quantum mechanics, and Everett’s relative state formulation. A block universe of at least five dimensions is proposed in which, alongside ordinary spatial coordinates (X,Y,Z), two additional spatial axes emerge: ana-kata (the entropic vector driven by quantum entanglement, subjectively perceived as time) and superana-superkata (the axis along which quantum branching occurs). Finally, it is shown that the stability of classical laws and the absence of macroscopic quantum anomalies are the direct result of pure combinatorial branch entropy (where inconceivably more microstates exist within normal macrostates than within abnormal ones) combined with the anthropic and Copernican principles.

No AI review
Software Engineering (cs.SE)Oct 8, 2026

The Strength of Weak Ties Between Open-Source Developers

Hongbo Fang, Patrick Park, James Evans, James Herbsleb, Bogdan Vasilescu

In a real-world social network, weak ties (reflecting low-intensity, infrequent interactions) act as bridges and connect people to different social circles, giving them access to diverse information and opportunities that are not available within one's immediate, close-knit vicinity. Weak ties can be crucial for creativity and innovation, as they introduce ideas and approaches that people can then combine in novel ways, leading to innovative solutions. Do weak ties facilitate creativity in software in similar ways? This paper suggests that the answer is "yes." Concretely, we study the correlation between developers' knowledge acquisition through three distinct interaction networks on GitHub and the innovativeness of the projects they develop, across over 37,000 Python projects hosted on GitHub. Our findings suggest that the topical diversity of projects in which developers engage, rather than the volume, correlates positively with the innovativeness of their future code. Notably, exposure through weak interactions (e.g., starring) emerges as a stronger predictor of future novelty than via strong ones (e.g., committing)

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Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)cs.DLOct 7, 2026

Generalization and the Rise of System-level Creativity in Science

Hongbo Fang, James Evans

Scientific progress is widely understood as combinatorial, yet existing measures focus on the inputs a paper draws together, saying little about how knowledge is supplied for downstream reuse. Analyzing citation networks from tens of millions of publications in OpenAlex and the Web of Science, we decompose scientific contributions into three functional types, foundations, extensions, and generalizations, distinguishable by the roles they play in future science. Foundational and extensional works, which build and elaborate ideas within disciplines, dominated the post-war decades but declined steadily after the 1990s, while generalizations that catalyze innovation across many contexts rose sharply. Challenging the narrative of declining innovation inferred from the disruption index, our findings suggest the locus of innovation has shifted from within disciplines to between them, a transition the Internet and large language models may have facilitated. Our indices disentangle innovation modes conflated by existing measures, enabling reinterpretation of landmark findings of 'disruptive' science.

No AI review