PATTERNING (Dynamic)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2502 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
- “The aggregate effects of energy flows which emerge from collective or aggregate relation in networks” (V. ROWLAND, 1976, p.121).
This effect corresponds to the synchronization of interconnected effects.
ROWLAND gives the following example: “Electrical generators with their own governors vary somewhat around the 50 cycle frequency. When connected up in parallel, however, those generators running too slow are speeded up and those too fast, slowed down. The combined compensations of the whole network produce a very stable 50 cycles per second. However, if these generators are linked up in series they do not stabilize each other in terms of the electrical feedbacks inherent in a parallel arrangement.
- “Thus… the dynamic patterning refers to a stabilizing of a frequency which is produced not by the elements of the system but rather by the manner in which they are interconnected or related” (Ibid).
The same effect also appears, for example, in ASHBY's homeostat and has been shown by KATCHALSKY et al. to exist in brain cells assemblies (Ibid).
It is also present in ecosystems.
It is the result of the existence of various initial conditions, submitted however to a basic global superseeding determinism (See: chaos).
Dynamic patterning is a very basic coherence condition in networks and complex systems, in which it provides a diffuse and distributed, but at the same time, global control.
In accordance with PRIGOGINE's extension of thermodynamics to open dynamic systems, ROWLAND also observes that dynamically maintained patterns: “… require the dissipation of energy for their maintenance” (p.123).
See also
Oscillators (Coupled)