ELEMENTS as COMPONENTS
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1051 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
When elements combine with each others, their individual properties become deeply modified.
An hydrogen atom when independent, possesses characteristics which become hidden and merely potential when combined within a water molecule. This last one, in turn, is modified when included in a cell (as a part of some biochemical product) and the cell itself, included in an organ acquires and loses some properties.
Such is also the case in composite systems: a migrant locust within a flight of millions of other locusts loses some of its individual patterns of behavior and acquires others, as for example a permanently defined flight orientation.
It is however in the strongly integrated systems that the elements are most modified, up to the point that their new characteristics become irreversible: they cannot anymore return to an independent state, nor survive if severed from the system.
The terms “element” and “component”, while widely used as synonyms, have thus somewhat different meanings.
- “Element” implies an overtone of basic simplicity and clearly defined individuality, which are at least partly results of the way we reduce the system to its parts. “Component” is characterized by its membership in the system.