Lamarckism
A method of heredity that does not apply to genetics but is applicable
to social adaptation. Lamarckism posits that acquired traits can
be passed from parent to offspring.
Lambda Calculus
A model of computation that is capable of universal
computation. The Lisp programming language was inspired by
Lambda calculus.
Learning
A process of adaptation by which synapses, weights of
neural network's, classifier strengths, or some other set
of adjustable parameters is automatically modified so that some
objective is more readily achieved. The backpropagation and
bucket brigade algorithms are two types of learning
procedures.
LIFE
See Conway's Game of Life.
Limit Cycle
A periodic cycle in a dynamical system such that previous
states are returned to repeatedly.
Linear
Having only a multiplicative factor. If f(x) is a linear
function, then f(a+b) = f(a) + f(b) and c f(x) = f(cx) must
both be true for all values of a, b, c, and x. Most things in
nature are nonlinear.
Linearly (In)separable
Two classes of points are linearly separable if a linear
function exists such that one class of points resides on one
side of the hyperplane (defined by the linear function), and all
points in the other class are on the other side. The XOR
mapping defines two sets of points that are linearly inseparable.
Lisp
A programming language designed to manipulate lists that was inspired
by
Lambda Calculus and was the inspiration for Stutter.
Local Minimum (Maximum)
The bottom of a valley or the top of a peak; a point in a search
space such that all nearby points are either higher (for a minimum)
or lower (for a maximum). In a continuous search space, local
minima and maxima have a 0 gradient vector. Note that
this particular valley (or peak) may not necessarily be the lowest (or
highest) location in the space, which is referred to as the global
minimum (maximum).
Logistic Map
The simplest chaotic system that works in discrete time
and is defined by the map x(t) = 4r x(t) (1-x(t)).
Feigenbaum's constant was first identified for this map.
Lorenz System
A system of three differential equations that was the first
concrete example of chaos and a strange attractor.
Lotka-Volterra System
A two-species predator-prey system that in its simplest form can
display only fixed points or limit cycles. More complicated
versions with three or more species can yield chaos.
L-System
A method of constructing a fractal that is also a model for
plant growth. L-systems use an axiom as a starting
string and iteratively apply a set of parallel
string substitution rules to yield one long string that can be used
as instructions for drawing the fractal. One method of interpreting
the resulting string is as an instruction to a turtle graphics
plotter. Many fractals, including the Cantor set, Koch
curve, and Peano curve, can be expressed as an L-system.
