COMPLEXITY (Limits to)
Charles François (2004). COMPLEXITY (Limits to), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 555.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 555 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
I. PRIGOGINE states this problem in the following way: “The more elements that are in interaction, the higher the degree of the secular equation determining the characteristic frequencies of the system… The greater will therefore also be the chances of this equation's having at least one positive root and hence indicating instability (1976, p.123).
H. SIMON, in turn, through his famed parable of the two watchmakers Hora and Tempus showed how complexity may increase through hierarchization of processes and structures.
The instability problem is also subtly related to the hierarchy of complexity, since a more global dynamic stability may include local domains of attraction specifying “islands” of stability.