Complexity
From CasGroup
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| - | A [[System|system]] has high '''complexity''' or is very complex, if there is no simple description or definition, i.e. if it is hard to define or if it can not be described in a simple way. A [[Complex System|complex system]] is difficult to understand, because it can not be fully explained by an understanding of its isolated parts and components | + | : "Science has explored the microcosmos and the macrocosmos; we have a good sense of the lay of the land. The great unexplored frontier is complexity." - Heinz Pagels in "The Dreams of Reason" |
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| + | A [[System|system]] has high '''complexity''' or is very complex, if there is no simple description or definition, i.e. if it is hard to define or if it can not be described in a simple way. Complexity is the opposite of [[Simplicity|simplicity]] and uniformity, complex is everything that is not simple. A [[Complex System|complex system]] is difficult to understand, because it can not be fully explained by an understanding of its isolated parts and components. As Sunny Y. Auyang says in her book ''Foundations of Complex Systems Theories'', "simplicity may have a unified form, but complexity has many varieties" (p.9). In this sense complexity can be viewed simply as variety or variation. | ||
== Definition == | == Definition == | ||
| - | It is inherently | + | Complexity means there is no simplicity. Something is complex if it is *not* simple. The opposites of simple things are always hard to describe. As it is common for many buzzwords, it is not only hard to describe, but also very fascinating and interesting. Complexity is a typical [[Buzzword|buzzword]]. It is inherently difficult to give a clear and concise definition of complexity. Maya Paczuski argues that "There seems to be a trade-off between precision in the definition and generality of the definition" [http://www.ucalgary.ca/complexity/node/151]. Complexity is a term which is very difficult to define, because it describes something which is hard to define. There are roughly two ways to define complexity: first, as the amount of difficulty in the process of understanding, describing and explaining systems ("how much effort is needed in the description process" or the length of the description). This dynamic view considers complexity as a part of a description and explanation process. Second, we can define complexity independent of the description process as a system property ("how is a system organized and structured" or the length of the blueprint) related to organization and structure. This organizational view considers complexity as a static property of a system, and depends on the number of parts, interactions, structures on the different scales of the system. |
| - | Second, we can define complexity independent of the description process as a system property ("how is a system organized and structured" or the length of the blueprint) related to organization and structure. This organizational view considers complexity as a static property of a system, and depends on the number of parts, interactions, structures on the different scales of the system. | + | |
== Origin and Creation == | == Origin and Creation == | ||
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[[Cellular Automata|cellular automaton]] whose outcome can | [[Cellular Automata|cellular automaton]] whose outcome can | ||
be found effectively only by carrying it out explicitly. | be found effectively only by carrying it out explicitly. | ||
| + | This is called [[Computational_irreducibility|computational irreducibility]]. | ||
== Relations and Connections == | == Relations and Connections == | ||
