I'm going to introduce Complexity Theory and show why it's important. Essentially, it is the science of human-machine systems created to model a world system that we're moving in to. But first, some introductory points from notes.
P.S. When you read the literature and watch the videos, no one ever mentions that Complexity Theory was created to model human systems, but if you listen carefully you'll see them talk around this point, skirting the obvious.
What Makes a System Complex?
What defines a system as complex, as opposed to being merely "complicated"? The answer lies in the presence of four factors:
1. A population of diverse agents, all of which are
2. Connected, with behaviors and actions that are
3. Interdependent, and that exhibit
4. Adaptation.
Complex Adaptive Systems.
Complex adaptive systems are open, self-organizing systems that have the added capacity to conserve and process high levels of information. They live on the "edge of chaos" where the system maintains enough structure to process information, but fluctuates enough that new information (in the form of new patterns and structures) is always being created.
Complexity, Emergence & Fractals
The behavior of a complex system in equilibrium is chaotic, in non-equilibrium is critical.
Emergence is the way complex systems and pattern arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions
A fractal is an object or quantity that displays self-similarity on all scales.
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"For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root."David Thoreau (1817-1862)
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