CLUSTER
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 456 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
A more or less interacting gathering of elements within a common environment.
Clustering is the result of existing patterns of circulation within the environment, which tend to create more or less homogeneous local conditions, as opposed to global heterogeneous ones.
Clustering can as well be more or less local, i.e. in composite systems many local proto-clusters may coexist, with only a very loose interaction (if any) until their concentration increases up to a critical threshold, where suddenly a global cluster appears through part or whole of the region. The increased closeness of the elements tends to trigger more interactions among them. This may lead to a higher level of organization, which in turn may become stabilized (frozen cores), or not.
Clusters can be observed among such diverse kinds of elements as stars and galaxies, plants and human settlements, political organizations and systems of ideas. Clustering is thus an important systemic concept.