Complex systems exhibit emergent behavior

A complex system is a system made up of many interacting components or agents that exhibit emergent behavior, meaning behavior that arises from the interactions among the components, rather than from the behavior of individual components. These systems are often difficult to predict or control due to their large number of components, nonlinear interactions, and feedback loops.

Examples of complex systems include living organisms, economies, ecosystems, social networks, and the internet. Complex systems are also characterized by having multiple levels of organization, from the microscopic to the macroscopic level, and the properties of the system can be very different from the properties of the individual components.

A complex system has the following characteristics:^[1]

1. It involves large numbers of interacting elements.
2. The interactions are nonlinear, and minor changes can produce disproportionately major consequences.
3. The system is dynamic, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and solutions can’t be imposed; rather, solutions arise from the circumstances. This is frequently referred to as Emergence.
4. The system has a history, and the past is integrated with the present; the elements evolve with one another and with the environment; and evolution is irreversible.
5. Though a complex system may, in retrospect, appear to be ordered and predictable, hindsight does not lead to foresight because the external conditions and systems constantly change.
6. Unlike in ordered systems (where the system constrains the agents), or chaotic systems (where there are no constraints), in a complex system the agents and the system constrain one another, especially over time. This means that we cannot forecast or predict what will happen.

#complexity #systems #systems-thinking

see also:

• Scenario Planning envisions the future
• Complex networks have unique topological features