We present a model that allows one to build structures that evolve continuously from classical to quantum, and we study the intermediate situations, giving rise to structures that are neither classical nor quantum. We construct the closure structure corresponding to the collection of eigenstate sets of these intermediate situations, and demonstrate how the superposition principle disappears during the transition from quantum to classical. We investigate the validity of the axioms of quantum mechanics for the intermediate situations.

This paper presents a speculative model of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the transition from episodic to mimetic (or memetic) culture with the arrival of Homo erectus, which Donald [1991] claims paved the way for the unique features of human culture. The model draws on Kauffman's [1993] theory of how an information-evolving system emerges through the formation of an autocatalytic network. Though originally formulated to explain the origin of life, this theory also provides a plausible account of how discrete episodic memories (...) become woven into an internal model of the world, or worldview, that both structures, and is structured by, self-triggered streams of thought. Social interaction plays a role in (and may be critical to) this process. Implications for cognitive development are explored. (shrink)