VARIETY (Distributed)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3729 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
In a population, the scattering of basic characters among numerous individuals.
H.G. BURGER describes this situation as follows: “Instead of reserve being latent, as in plasticity, it can be ready-formed, manifested in diversity. Each individual can then specialize and utilize all his talents without the overhead burden. Such a scheme provides multiple, variant individuals within a species. Each specimen need incorporate a random part of the potential range…
- “Should emergency arise, those individuals with the appropriate talents survive. The others perish” (1967, p.210).
This concept is useful in sociology and economy as well as in biology and ecology.
Incidentally, BURGER uses the term “reserve” instead of variety. His description thus links variety with the existence of reserves. This is a bridge between VENDRYES's concept of the counter-aleatory role of reserves and ASHBY's concept of requisite variety.