Nature is such a good source of inspiration, the "perturb" approach reminded me of [fixational eye movement][1] but maybe that's only a clear link in retrospect.
I just finished reading A Deepness in The Sky by Vernor Vinge which I totally enjoyed and as I read it reminded me of the scale and depth of Banks' Culture novels.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixation_(visual)