STRUCTURES (Types of)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3248 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
Two basic types of structures seem to appear in all classes of systems:
- Cellular structures, as for example in crystals, vegetal tissues, beehives, and hexagonal organization in human occupancy of space.
- branching structures in electric discharges, growing crystals, trees, neuron networks, and hierarchic organization in human systems.
Cellular structures seem to result from strong environmental constraints leading to an involution process.
Branching structures, result of oriented bottom-up or top-down processes, with constraints dominant in a favored direction. Branching structures can be mathematically modelled by anastomic networks.
These structures appear to be mostly stable, at least at the human level of perception. In fact, when they maintain themselves, it is through permanent self-reproduction.
A third class of structures are the interconnected looped structures, characteristic in complex systems, wherein rules controlling the numerous possible interactions lead to (generally imperfect) organizational closure, with more or less periodic (or chaotic) self-reproduction. This type of structures has been researched by M. KARSKY (1993, p.1412-21).
This author applied the looped structures model to what he calls “delayed catastrophes”.