TECHNICAL MACROSYSTEM
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3497 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences |
Any system which implies the simultaneous, interconnected and synergetic use of different technologies.
Examples are electrical interconnected networks , telecommunications systems, railways networks , worldwide airlines and aerial traffic control systems .
An important characteristic of these systems is the permanent monitoring and control of the constantly changing state of the network and of its elements , through an uninterrupted flow of information .
Technical macro-systems include of course a considerable number of human participants (the agents of the technicalmanagement). They tend to evolve toward increasing complexity and some may undergo phases of instability .
They may also show a growing resistance to change becoming hypercomplex .
According to A. GRAS, the western way of using techniques based on massive energy use is leading mankind toward a network of evermore expanding and integrated socio-technical macrosystems (Template:Ency entity) (1993).
This is consonant with structuration and emergence through energetic dissipation as established experimentally by BÉNARD and generalized as a thermodynamic non-equilibrium process by PRIGOGINE.
It remains to be seen if these TMS are already acquiring their definitive structure, or if the possible future exhaust of mega and macro fossil energy sources could oblige them to a global reorganization, based for example in numerous smaller local energy sources.