# 🌱 [Early Request for Comments Thread] Reaction–Diffusion Economies with Aggregated Cobb–Douglas Preferences — Let’s Explore Endogenous α Evaluation Together

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Hi Polkadot Forum community! :waving_hand:

I recently posted a formal extension of my original two-good convex exchange model into a full n-good reaction–diffusion economy that preserves global consistency, convexity, and closed-form equilibrium properties while allowing rich heterogeneous agent preferences.

Link to the full write-up:
:right_arrow: Reaction–Diffusion Exchange Economy (LaTeX/PDF)

With the extension to the production and exchange phases treated as Reaction/Diffusion concepts taken from the original Turing 1952 paper, I think the model is now mature enough to serve as a solid economic analysis foundation for agent-based economic simulations in Substrate/Polkadot-native environments (coretime markets, agile coretime, task allocation, DePIN coordination, etc.) because it introduces technologies treated as zero-sum transformations and distributively executed by agents as part of their “production” (reaction) phase, for then being able to trade this new goods obtained by means of production.

What’s particularly exciting — and still wide open — is endogenous evaluation of the preference parameters α_{ij} via equilibrium analysis.

The paper describes the α_{ij} (pairwise Cobb–Douglas exponents) are taken as exogenous primitives.
The big unexplored opportunity is to reverse-engineer them from observed equilibrium allocations and prices, effectively letting the system infer distributed preferences consistent with what actually happens on-chain.

This “α-evaluation from equilibrium” direction would:

  • Turn static preference models into adaptive, learning-aware ones
  • Enable collusion/resilience analysis in coretime-style markets
  • Provide a principled way to bootstrap heterogeneous agent economies from real data
  • Open a path toward fully decentralized preference discovery and economic morphogenesis

This feels like one of the most promising threads for turning the reaction–diffusion framework into a real economic primitive, using my already referenced hack for the two-goods economy, extended to n being possible because the pairwise directions follow the same principles described in the “Emergent properties…” paper. Thus, this was a natural step-forward toward to extend the original Cobb-Douglas two-good solution to a more complex economy explicitly.

:rocket: Request for Comments

I’m actively looking for collaborators who are excited to dive into quantitative analysis’ α-evaluation stemming from equilibrium analysis and related directions.

Specifically interested in people with backgrounds in:

  • Mathematical economics & general equilibrium theory
  • Convex optimization / inference over equilibrium constraints
  • Rust implementation of interior-point solvers + agent simulation
  • DePIN, energy-based tokenomics, or multi-chain agent coordination

If you find the idea of inferring distributed preferences from equilibrium data compelling, let’s start a focused working group right here in this thread.

Long-term vision: a Polkadot-native library for reaction–diffusion economic simulations + preference inference that can be used for coretime pricing experiments, parachain resource markets, or even cross-chain task allocation.

Resources

Reply below if you’re interested in joining, have ideas on the α-evaluation problem, or just want to discuss whether this could be useful for future Polkadot economic layers and/or products.

Looking forward to collaborate with you! :herb:

— Diego Correa Tristain
PBA Berkeley Cohort | OnEdge Network | Ecosystemic Architect

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I would also like to take the opportunity and extend the vision that is behind this work on convex optimization and lately, morphogenetic economic modelling. This is a copy, the original article has been posted here:

:cyclone: Morphogenetic Economies: How Nature’s Pattern Formation Creates Truly Circular, Self-Organizing Markets — No Central Planner Needed

The circular economy has become a guiding vision for sustainable industry, but most real-world implementations are still plagued by the same problems:

  • Reliance on top-down coordination
  • Fragile subsidy-based incentives
  • Centralized bottlenecks and inefficiencies

But what if the loops closed themselves?

What if prices, specialization, and material flows emerged organically, like the patterns on a seashell or the structure of a forest ecosystem—through purely local rules and distributed optimization?

That’s exactly what I’ve been working on.

:herb: Reaction–Diffusion as an Economic Framework

Inspired by Alan Turing’s 1952 morphogenesis model, I’ve extended my previous work on convex exchange economies into a full-blown reaction–diffusion economic framework, where:

  • Reaction = local transformation of matter
  • Diffusion = token-mediated exchange between agents based on Cobb–Douglas utility functions

The result: Closed material loops, endogenous price formation, and emergent specialization — all appearing spontaneously within the context of a free market, without any centralized planning mechanism other than facilitating this transformations and exchanges virtuosly.

:page_facing_up: Technical paper: “Reaction–Diffusion Economies with Aggregated Cobb–Douglas Preferences for n ≥ 2 Goods”

:test_tube: Rust simulator (open, evolving): labormedia/rdx-sim

:magnifying_glass_tilted_left: Why This Might Be a Breakthrough for Circular Economies

  1. Thermodynamics-Compliant:
  2. Endogenous Valuation:
  3. Emergent Specialization:
  4. Loop Formation Without Planning:
  5. Scalable & Convex:

:hammer_and_wrench: Real-World Use Cases This Enables

  • Tokenized natural capital and waste-to-value markets
  • DePINs (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) with regenerative logic
  • Bioregional resource exchanges (industrial parks, urban loops, smart villages)
  • Policy sandboxing for post-growth economics
  • Blockchain-native regenerative finance tools

:rocket: Who This Is For:

If you’re building the infrastructure for a more resilient, equitable, and ecologically grounded future, this work may interest you:

  • :seedling: Impact VCs & regenerative capital allocators
  • :factory: Circular economy leads at enterprises, NGOs & gov agencies
  • :repeat_button: Token engineers & DePIN builders
  • :chart_increasing: Ecological economists & complexity theorists
  • :dna: Blockchain developers interested in economic simulation & coordination

:handshake: Join the Research + Builder Thread

The math is peer-review-ready, the simulator is open source, and the opportunity space is huge.

I’m actively looking for collaborators:

  • :input_symbols: Rust devs (especially with nalgebra, clarabel, or convex optimization experience)
  • :globe_showing_europe_africa: ABM experts looking to move from NetLogo to production-grade Rust
  • :bar_chart: Ecological modelers or economists wanting to simulate loop formation
  • :test_tube: Field pilots with access to real waste / resource flow data
  • :brick: Token designers interested in turning emergent prices into usable assets

If you’ve ever said:

“There must be a better way to coordinate matter, value, and incentives—without central control or spreadsheets” —

this might be it.

Drop a :cyclone: in the comments if you’re intrigued.

Reply with your background if you want to collaborate.

DM me if you have data, funding, or a testbed to explore.

Let’s stop trying to engineer circular economies from the top down.

Let’s grow them, using the same logic nature has relied on for billions of years.

#CircularEconomy #Morphogenesis #ReactionDiffusion #TokenEngineering #DePIN #RegenerativeFinance #NaturalCapital #Polkadot #Web3 #ComplexityScience #SystemsThinking #Sustainability