PROPAGATION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2677 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
The spread or dissimination of some characteristic in a population, or between elements or subsystems in a system.
Propagation is possible only if the characteristic is adaptive, or at least not counter-adaptive. It is quite generally limited because no environment can support the unlimited growth of any type of system. Excessive propagation of some population normally leads to a crash.
This may also be the case for techniques, ideas (memes) and the like, a subject that would be useful to research.
From another viewpoint, propagation is never instantaneous and quite unfrequently isotropic and/or isochronic. As the basic interaction mechanism, it can be linear or nonlinear, in this case with different types of feedbacks, on different rhythms in time. It can also take place in hierarchical levels, between components, or clusters of components, organized or not in subsystems.
The simultaneous propagation of various effects within a system can lead to more or less deterministic chaos.
See for example J.C. ECCLES about propagation of impulses within the cerebral cortex (1977, p.201-2).
Propagation modes are also of great importance in human systems.
See also
Criticality, Percolation