通过随机添加元素发现复杂系统中的交互模式。
A General Algorithm for Detecting Higher-Order Interactions via Random Sequential Additions
- 用随机顺序添加元素,观察贡献变化形成L形图谱。
- L-score量化交互、独立与冗余,范围-1到+1。
- 适用于任意可增量评估的系统,无需特定度量。
许多系统中组件间存在复杂交互:某些特征或行为会相互增强,有些提供冗余信息,有些则独立贡献。我们提出一种简单的几何方法来发现这些交互与冗余:当元素以随机顺序依次添加并多次试验后,其贡献变化会形成特征性的L形模式,直接反映交互结构。该方法量化每个元素的贡献如何依赖于先前添加的元素,揭示了在统一尺度上区分交互、独立与冗余的模式。将成对贡献可视化为二维点云时,冗余对形成仅首元素有贡献的L形,协同对形成仅同时加入才有效应的L形,独立元素则呈现无序依赖性分布。我们引入L-score作为连续度量,取值范围从-1(完美协同,如Y=X₁X₂)到0(独立)再到+1(完美冗余,如X₁≈X₂)。L形臂的相对尺度反映元素间的信息主导关系。尽管仅基于成对测量,三个或更多元素的高阶交互可通过一致的跨对关系自然显现(如AB、AC、BC)。该方法不依赖具体度量,广泛适用于任何可对非重复元素序列进行增量性能评估的领域,提供统一的几何分析框架。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Many systems exhibit complex interactions between their components: some features or actions amplify each other's effects, others provide redundant information, and some contribute independently. We present a simple geometric method for discovering interactions and redundancies: when elements are added in random sequential orders and their contributions plotted over many trials, characteristic L-shaped patterns emerge that directly reflect interaction structure. The approach quantifies how the contribution of each element depends on those added before it, revealing patterns that distinguish interaction, independence, and redundancy on a unified scale. When pairwise contributions are visualized as two--dimensional point clouds, redundant pairs form L--shaped patterns where only the first-added element contributes, while synergistic pairs form L--shaped patterns where only elements contribute together. Independent elements show order--invariant distributions. We formalize this with the L--score, a continuous measure ranging from $-1$ (perfect synergy, e.g. $Y=X_1X_2$) to $0$ (independence) to $+1$ (perfect redundancy, $X_1 \approx X_2$). The relative scaling of the L--shaped arms reveals feature dominance in which element consistently provides more information. Although computed only from pairwise measurements, higher--order interactions among three or more elements emerge naturally through consistent cross--pair relationships (e.g. AB, AC, BC). The method is metric--agnostic and broadly applicable to any domain where performance can be evaluated incrementally over non-repeating element sequences, providing a unified geometric approach to uncovering interaction structure.
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