Information Physics Reading Club

Reading Sessions

Each session centers on discussion of one or more published works.

• [Sep 16, 2025] Discussed “Using Dynamical Systems Theory to Quantify Complexity in Asymptotic Lenia”, Ivan Yevenko, Hiroki Kojima, Chrystopher L. Nehaniv.
• [Oct 28, 2025] Discussed “Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics”, E. T. Jaynes.
• [Nov 11, 2025] “Navigating the Free Energy Principle & Bayesian Mechanics”: discussed “The math is not the territory: navigating the free energy principle”, Mel Andrews (2020); and “On Bayesian mechanics: a physics of and by beliefs”, Ramstead et al. (2023).
  Slides: Bayesian Mechanics and The Math Is Not the Territory
• [Dec 2, 2025] “Kauffman on the Emergence of Life”: discussed selected works by Stuart Kauffman.
• [Dec 11, 2025] “Intuition & Mathematics of Free Energy”: discussed selected works by Karl Friston.
  Slides: Mathematics & Intuition of Free Energy
• [Jan 13, 2026] Discussed “Thermodynamics of Information”, Juan MR Parrondo.
  Slides: Thermodynamics of Information
• [Jan 27, 2026] “Making Sense of Active Inference: Optimal Control Without Cost Function”.
• [Feb 10, 2026] “Statistical mechanics and variational principles: a perspective from large deviation theory”: discussed “The large deviation approach to statistical mechanics”, Hugo Touchette.
  Slides: Large Deviation Theory

Proposed Readings & Topics

Papers and themes we are interested in discussing in future sessions. Suggestions are welcome.

• Thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs), e.g., “Position-Momenta Uncertainties in Classical Systems” — Dipesh K. Singh and P. K. Mohanty
• Information theory, e.g., “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” — Claude E. Shannon
• Free energy principle & active inference
• Dynamical systems & chaos theory
• Stochastic dynamical systems & entropy production

Interested in joining?

Interested in joining? Please reach out via email. If you have a paper you'd like to present, feel free to propose it.