Complex Adaptive System
Chapter 1 - Worldview
Previous page: Complexity - Complex Adaptive System - Next page: Dialectic Thinking
Back to Book content or directly to Main Page or Worldview
.
Welcome to the Complex Adaptive System page
.
A complex adaptive system is a dynamic network of interactions, but the behaviour of the ensemble may not be predictable according to the behaviour of the components. It is adaptive in that the individual and collective behaviour mutate and self-organise, corresponding to the change-initiating micro-event or collection of events. It is a "complex macroscopic collection" of relatively "similar and partially connected micro-structures" formed to adapt to the changing environment and increase their survivability as a macro-structure. The Complex Adaptive Systems approach builds on replicator dynamics.
.
Core ideas
.
Fighting entropie
While the universe is subject to entropy, some systems can withstand that entropy for a limited time and coalesce into systems with emergent behaviour. Self-organisation is realised in the physics of non-equilibrium processes (flow), in chemical reactions, where it is often characterised as self-assembly (creating molecules) and in biology, from the molecular to the ecosystem.
.
Non linearity
A large number of systems are known to be “non-linear.” Examples include biological cells, organisms, the economy, brains, prey and predator populations, embryos, immune systems, ecosystems, human group behaviour within social structures, or stock markets.
A non-linear change is not based on a simple proportional relationship between cause and effect. Such changes are often abrupt, unexpected, and difficult to predict
A non-linear relationship or process occurs when a slight change in the value of a driver (i.e., an independent variable) produces a disproportional shift in the outcome (i.e., the dependent variable). Relationships, where there is a sudden discontinuity or change in rate, are sometimes referred to as abrupt and often form the basis of thresholds.
.
Homeostatis
An essential property of a Complex Adaptive System is homeostasis. That is, the system can adapt to changing conditions and external stimuli while preserving macroscopic emergent properties by qualitatively and quantitatively changing the function of some of its constituent parts.
.
Deep Dive
.
Human complex adaptive system(s)
.
Self-organisation, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spontaneous when sufficient energy is available and does not need control by any external agent.
.
What to do in a Complex Adaptive System situation?
- You can’t change a complex system by changing parts, but you can change interactions
- Do not try to fix a problem, change the (eco)system
- Do not change mindsets, change the context
- There are no linear causalities in complex systems
- Heterogenous systems evolve, homogenous do not
- Learn where you are now (as a system), move to ”adjacent possible”, and evaluate again
- Sustainable change happens at the local level
| Content source |
|---|
| Cynefin® |
.