COMPLEXITY from noise principle
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 553 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
H. ATLAN explains:“These two opposite properties (i.e.redundancy and variety) appears both as obvious features of what is organization and therefore, a good theory must take them both into account in such a way that an optimal organization will appear as a kind of compromise between maximum order or redundancy and maximum disorder or complexity.
- “From then on, it is possible to see how random perturbations can produce a change in organization by reducing the redundancy and increasing the complexity of a system, at least, up to a certain point, as long as there is enough redundancy to keep the system going.
- “This is the so-called complexity from noise principle, at the root of the formal theory of self organization that I have worked out several years ago” (1972, p.28-30).
Equivalence between maximum order and redundancy, or maximum disorder and complexity is debatable. Maximum disorder is generally considered as a completely random state or behaviour of very numerous elements, which is complex only if one considers the massive necessity of information bits to describe it. Conversely redundancy is order only if order is defined as maximum homogeneity or uniformity. All this could lead to a serious semantic muddle.