EQUILIBRIUM (Multiple)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1152 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
- “An area of catastrophe theory in which system behavior can flip unexpectedly from one attracting equilibrium to another” (K.DE GREENE, 1988, p.286).
DE GREENE emphasizes this type of equilibrium in relation to his study of the interconnections of cycles. He states: “In catastrophe theory the attractors are static equilibrium points. As a control parameter(s) ”drags along“ a behavior variable, the system may cross a discontinuity or catastrophic point, line, or surface and jump to another equilibrium manifold. This activity illustrates multiple-equilibrium behavior” (1994, p.8).
Unexpected flips occur when the superposition of various cycles of different lengths converge unto a same point and moment, which thus comes to be an unstability threshold.
The switching from one to another equilibrium corresponds to the switching from one attractor, corresponding to one phase, to another one.
Multiple equilibria, far from being merely an economic phenomenon, constitute a general model of behavior of many classes of systems.