The physics of categorization

In the context of cognition, categorization is the process through which several elements (i.e., words) are grouped into a single set which by naming becomes an ion of its elements. For example, tiger, kitty, and max can be categorized as Cats. In this article, we aim to show how the physical, biological and cognitive dimensions are related in the process of categorization or ion through the physics of computation. Drawing on Landauer's principle, we show that the price paid in terms of entropy is higher when grouping elements of low ranking (high probability) than when grouping elements of high ranking (low probability). Therefore, the logic of the cognitive process of ion is explained through constraints imposed by memory on the computation of categories. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 269–274, 2016