Complexity Sciences Research

Circle of Sciences

Influences that continue to shape the field of theory and practice of Human Systems Dynamics

Autopoiesis

http://www.oikos.org/mariotti.htm

Umberto Maturana, Francisco Varela

Autopoiesis comes from Greek “self-made.” Maturana and Varela see this as the primary distinction between living and non-living things. From their concept of self-organizing systems emerges an understanding of enactive cognition. In HSD we use these ideas to talk about self-organizing and, in particular, the significance of the container in influencing self-organizing dynamics. behavior of human systems.

Deterministic Chaos Theory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

Edward Norton Lorenz

Even simple and deterministic initial conditions can, under certain circumstances and in certain relationships, generate behavior that is unpredictable. Strange attractor patterns and butterfly effects come from this discipline. In HSD we often refer to uncertainty that emerges, even when initial conditions are well known.

Cellular Automata

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ElementaryCellularAutomaton.html

Stephen Wolfram

A cellular automaton is a very simple computer simulation that can generate complex and unpredictable patterns. It is one example of simple rules driving local behavior that generates systemic patterns. The cellular automaton is the simplest and most studied example of simple rules in action. In HSD we use the simple behavior of rule-based simulation models to think about the complex behavior of human systems.

Dissipative Structures

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissipative_system

Ilya Prigogine

Counter to Newtonian assumption that order always tends to disorder, order can sometimes arise “spontaneously.” In a branch of thermodynamics, a system pushed far from equilibrium reorganizes itself and dissipates accumulated entropy (disorder). The emergent patterns in complex systems that we discuss in HSD function as dissipative structures, for example innovation, teaming, trust, crowd behavior, and employee engagement.

Emergent Evolution

http://stephenjaygould.org/

Stephen Jay Gould

Evolution can be seen as burst of creative process between periods of minimal change. Gould described this process as punctuated evolution and explored how complex, nonlinear dynamics were at work to set conditions for such a discontinuous process. In HSD we consider a similar phenomenon when we talk about dynamical change.

Systems Dynamics

http://www.systemdynamics.org/what_is_system_dynamics.html

Jay Forrester

System interdependencies modeled as a combination of stocks and flows, showing an accumulation of some relevant variable and the influence of variables on each other. Models can be qualitative and used to explore the underlying logic in a system or they can be represented in computer simulation models. From an HSD perspective, systems dynamics models are good representations of known differences and exchanges within a given container.

nK Landscapes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NK_model

Stuart Kauffman

Computer simulation model of network where the number of nodes and connections among them determine the stability and variability of the space. Used to model fitness and evolution of biological agents under various conditions. Sometimes they are called fitness landscapes, and the various states can be seen as parallel to the zones of the HSD Landscape Diagram.

Complex Adaptive Systems

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

John Holland

Collection of agents free to act in unpredictable ways, and their interactions generate system-wide patterns. Sometimes called self-organizing systems. The CDE Conditions for Self-Organizing were initially drawn from this field and confirmed in others.

Catastrophe Theory

http://home.swipnet.se/~w48087/faglar/materialmapp/teorimapp/ekt1. html

Rene Thom

Discontinuous change is represented mathematically by characteristic manifolds in space/time. As the number of relevant dimensions increases, the descriptive shapes become increasingly difficult to represent physically. In HSD we use Catastrophe Theory to consider dynamics of high dimension systems. Though movement in high dimension space can be patterned and recognizable, it cannot be predicted moment to moment, and the patterns cannot be described easily with a two- or three-dimensional model.

Dynamical Networks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissipative_system

Albert-Laszlo Barabasi

Traditional networks include nodes and connections. Dynamical network theory considers how dependencies within and between networks can shift the nature, structure, and function of networks in a self-organizing way. HSD uses dynamical networks to inform our own management and organization decision making and to support clients in designing and implementing organizational change..

Fractals

http://www.coolmath.com/fractals/gallery.htm

Benoit Mandelbrot

When simple, nonlinear equations are solved repeatedly and the stability of the results plotted on a complex number plane, patterns are generated that are 1) self-similar across scales; 2) complicated but coherent; 3) never repeating; 4) really, really beautiful. In HSD we use the idea of iterative processes to generate coherent and quite diverse structures in human systems.

Self-Organized Criticality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organized_criticality

Per Bak

Studying sandpiles, Per Bak identified a mathematical relationship among the numbers, sizes, and frequencies of avalanche events. This relationship is a constant across discontinuous changes in many kinds of systems—both living and nonliving. He explained the phenomenon in terms of accumulating and releasing tension within or beyond a particular system boundary. This principle sets the groundwork for the HSD paradigm shift of dynamical change.

Synergetics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetics_(Fuller)

Buckminster Fuller

Coherent patterns emerge at a systemic level from complex interactions of constituent systems. This study was used in early research and design for laser technologies. Relationships among the parts that influence emergent patterns are called order parameters. Influence of the pattern on the parts of the system are called control parameters. The self-organizing image in HSD is related to these dynamics.

Selected International Complexity Institutes & Research Centres

  • Independent, nonprofit theoretical think tank located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, including physical, computational, biological, and social systems.

  • One of the 80 institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, located in Dresden, Germany. The research at the institute in the field of the physics of complex systems ranges from classical to quantum physics and focuses on three main areas: condensed matter, finite systems, and biological physics.

  • The School of Complex Adaptive Systems is established within the College of Global Futures, Arizona State University (ASU). Grown from the Global Biosocial Complexity Initiative at ASU and developed in affiliation with the Santa Fe Institute, the School of Complex Adaptive Systems develops solutions and suggests interventions that enhance resilience and stability of some of the most critical aspects of our shared global futures, with a focus on sustainability, health, economics, technology, social stability and innovation.

  • The Centre for Complexity Sciences at the Imperial College London engages in a range of research into the applied and fundamental aspects of complexity science, such as: applying evolutionary dynamics to study economics and finance, exploiting ideas from statistical mechanics to analyse the dynamics and structuring of social insects, and more.