CHANGE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 394 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
The transition from one state to another in a system, or from one value of some variable to another in a function.
Change can be periodic or aperiodic; random or determined; swift or slow (according to some time scale); local or global, i.e. affecting some structure and function, or the system as a whole.
It can also be cyclical in a simple or complex way. It may remain channeled within limits, or escape from them.
The most radical changes, as stated by I. PRIGOGINE, occur when: “nonequilibrium macroscopic conditions create new microscopic processes which in turn change the macroscopic conditions, and so on” (1984, p.61).
Each type of change is related to some specific cybernetic and/or systemic behavior.
The perception of change depends on the capacities of our senses, possibly aided by artefacts; on our specific training and on the correlation between our own time scale and the scale of change. We are ill equipped to perceive very small or very large change, as well as very swift and very slow ones. As a result we are exposed to be surprised by delayed or mass effects and catastrophes.