>[!abstract] >Constructor theory is a proposal for a new mode of explanation in fundamental physics in the language of ergodic theory, developed by physicists David Deutsch and Chiara Marletto, at the University of Oxford, since 2012. Constructor theory expresses physical laws exclusively in terms of which physical transformations, or tasks, are possible versus which are impossible, and why. By allowing such counterfactual statements into fundamental physics, it allows new physical laws to be expressed, such as the constructor theory of information. > >The fundamental elements of the theory are tasks: the abstract specifications of transformations as input–output pairs of attributes. A task is impossible if there is a law of physics that forbids its being performed with arbitrarily high accuracy, and possible otherwise. When it is possible, a constructor for it can be built, again with arbitrary accuracy and reliability. A constructor is an entity that can cause the task to occur while retaining the ability to cause it again. Examples of constructors include a heat engine (a thermodynamic constructor), a catalyst (a chemical constructor) or a computer program controlling an automated factory (an example of a programmable constructor). > >The theory [...] draws together ideas from diverse areas, including thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, information theory, and quantum computation. > >Quantum mechanics and all other physical theories are claimed to be subsidiary theories, and quantum information becomes a special case of superinformation. > >Chiara Marletto's constructor theory of life builds on constructor theory. (Wikipedia, 2024). >[!note] It reminds me of [[Markov chain|Markov chains]], though I understand the relation exists only in a broad sense. Both constructor theory and Markov chains can be seen as frameworks to understand how systems evolve, albeit in very different ways. Constructor theory is focused on possibilities (meta-laws), while Markov chains describe probabilities of state transitions. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): — >- **West** (similar): [[Markov chain]] >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —