HETEROGENEITY and DECOUPLING
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1521 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
The subdivision of a system into functional subsystems is useful in order to isolate the various subsystems from many disturbances.
Each subsystem must take charge only of some quite specific disturbances, related to its function, but protects the system as a whole against them with an enhanced efficacity.
Such a decoupling thus allows for a significant increase of the global efficiency of the system.
This acquired superiority of very heterogeneous systems over the less differentiated ones is generally obvious and explains possibly the universal trend towards the emergence of more and more complex systems, whose flexibility and adaptiveness is considerably enhanced by heterogeneity. This applies equally to individual systems and to populations.
As noted by C. HOLLING, decoupled heterogeneity also enhances systems resilience. (1976, p.80-82).