TRANSITION (Principle of asymmetric)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3623 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
- “The probability of transition from a less stable configuration A to a more stable one B is larger than the probability for the inverse transition” (F. HEYLIGHEN, 1992a, p.5).
HEYLIGHEN comments: “The conjunction of energy conservation and asymmetric transitions implies that configurations will tend to dissipate energy (or heat) in order to move to a more stable state” (Ibid).
This is why systems of higher complexity, while producing more entropy than systems of lower levels of complexity, will settle to the least possible level of entropy production compatible with their level of complexity.
This however does not impede the process of dissipative structuration in systems submitted to excessive inputs of energy in relation to their level of complexity. In such cases, instability sets in until a new sustainable level of complexity is attained. Thereafter, the principle of asymmetric transition is reinstated.
A different way to asymmetric transition described by E. PESSA (1992, p.437) is the “disappearance of chaotic behavior and the emergence of ordered ones (e.g. limit cycles)” through the “mechanism of noise-induced transitions”. This seems to be closely related to the nucleation mechanism described by PRIGOGINE.
See also
Order from noise principle