Lever Point
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| - | Lever points in a [[Complex_Adaptive_System|complex adaptive system]] are points at which a small effort can produce a desired, directed effect. | + | Lever points (also named 'Leverage Points') in a [[Complex_Adaptive_System|complex adaptive system]] are according to John H. Holland points at which a small effort can produce a desired, directed effect. They are places within a complex adaptive system where a little change makes a big difference and a small shift a big change. At these critical transition points the behavior of a complex system changes fundamentally. They are similar to Gell-Mann's [[Frozen_Accident|frozen accidents]]. Lever points identify places to intervene in a system. |
John H. Holland writes about them (see [http://www.capatcolumbia.com/CSFB%20TLF/2000/holland_sidecolumn.pdf here]) | John H. Holland writes about them (see [http://www.capatcolumbia.com/CSFB%20TLF/2000/holland_sidecolumn.pdf here]) | ||
: "Almost every complex adaptive system that we know of has lever points. These are great things if you can find them. A lever point allows you to make big, directed changes for a relatively small effort. A vaccine is a good example of a lever point. An immune system is terribly complex. But we do know that for some diseases, we can make a small injection and train the immune system to resist a disease for the rest of its existence — much longer than the life span of any blood cell in your body." | : "Almost every complex adaptive system that we know of has lever points. These are great things if you can find them. A lever point allows you to make big, directed changes for a relatively small effort. A vaccine is a good example of a lever point. An immune system is terribly complex. But we do know that for some diseases, we can make a small injection and train the immune system to resist a disease for the rest of its existence — much longer than the life span of any blood cell in your body." | ||
| - | see also [[Butterfly_Effect|butterfly effect]], [[Path_Dependence|path dependence]] | + | see also [[Butterfly_Effect|butterfly effect]], [[Path_Dependence|path dependence]], [[Frozen_Accident|frozen accident]] |
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| + | [[Category:Basic Principles]] | ||
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| + | If there are only a few lever points, where a small effort can produce a large effect, then the majority of points and events are ordinary points, where a small effort has only a small or even vanishing effect. These are points where a little change makes only a little difference. | ||
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| + | == Links == | ||
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| + | * The Scientist article from John H. Holland [http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54988/ Biology's Gift to a Complex World] | ||
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| + | * Paper from Donella Meadows about [http://www.sustainer.org/pubs/Leverage_Points.pdf Leverage Points] | ||
