Scoping in Complexity
Basic Olicognograph: Complexity at Small Cardinal
"Complex systems are, at base, dissipative structures that import free energy and export entropy in a way that enables them to self-organise their structural content and configuration, but are subject to boundary limits. They maintain their boundaries and, at the same time, they are open systems that are irrevocably connected to an environment that contains other systems that can be complementary, competitive, combative, predative or available as prey. Systems that absorb information from their environment and create stores of knowledge that can aid action are often called ‘complex adaptive systems’. Levin (2003) defines such systems in terms of 3 properties: (1) diversity and individuality of components, (2) localized interactions among these components and (3) an autonomous process that uses outcomes of those interactions to select a subset of those components for replication or enhancement".
Complexity is not a discipline or a speciality where you have to know everything or managed them so exactly and sure and if experts reasons' have to prevail when pretending to determine social issues. Accross registers art of complexity are in mental states to balance registers after fundamentals and react to special issues. Not just because a doctrine of pure science that had slaved you. An art of practice of multiple disciplines and diversity of knowledge keeping alert critical thinking, rights to find original alternatives, liberty recognized by your environment if positive, efficient, careful and cautious as a good citizen and humanist. It is not to ignore that practicing a discipline makes oneselves easier at being logically integral, reach coherence of speech and at exposing reasons. This can be required, especially in technical issues (where the results are needed) so some basic common needs could be met. Good art of complexity, supported by practice mixes determinism and probability, safety and risk; wise understanding of formal methods and care of blurred real difference.
"Many complex systems can be described in terms of networks of interacting units and to add a relative independence somehow impredictable. Recent studies have shown that a wide class of both natural and artificial nets display a surprisingly widespread feature: the presence of highly heterogeneous distributions of links, providing a source of robustness against perturbations".
J. Foster (2004) provides a classification of complex systems. "First order complex systems (the imposed energy case) as existing in physico-chemical settings when energy is imposed on chemical elements. Non-adaptive structures or patterns, such as fractals, turbulence and Bernard cells form because they facilitate the dissipation of energy into movement, heat, light, etc. The dynamics exhibited in the presence of this kind of complexity can be modeled with both conventional dynamical mathematics and non-linear dynamical techniques (for example, synergetics)."
"Second order complex systems (the imposed knowledge, acquired energy case) can receive information that it can translate into a knowledge structure of some kind that permits some degree of control over the acquisition of energy. Knowledge here is no more than a capacity to make connections between elements in the external world. Acquiring energy, of course, requires the formation of physical structures."
"Third order complex systems (the acquired knowledge case) exists when a biological system does not only interact with its environment as a data field, but also through images formed of possible worlds, ie connections between elements in the knowledge structure that need not have existed in observed reality." Knowledge is both an accumulation of experiences and a source of ‘mental models’ that can be used to determine aspects of reality.
"Fourth order complex systems (the interactive knowledge case) ... come into being when mental models interact with each other. My imagination can still mould reality but knowledge that this is so, leads others to imagine what my imaginings might be".
Could be suggested, in the pathways of life's projects, to observe different sides of hills of logical constructions. At their top you the discover that landscape scope is not the maximum but the aim of life. Not as simple as the targeted tops but the quality of the journeys and the care of essence. Some hills sides being the pathes of access, others after dreamed wisdom and other behind or after of top, non commensurate realities, basic values, wholeness, were you go next, being these made of social wise knowledge, environmental relations to essential values.
So an art of complexity and few (3 to 5) broad perspectives of operation different at any place, an existence of general solutions of formal models only withint some realistic range, closer than the art of rethoretic and dialectics. Where fundamental experimental sciences have density in the safety of their truth. And also where social practices have much to do to fill properties of relative completness with intellectual honnesty and within within tropospheric margins.
Simple start up of logical complications may make patterns manageable as units of suggestions but better if units anchored to realities, as ecosystems ones. There are also after sort of complexities where universal formal solutions (simple infinite algebra) are not helpfull. But where play the disgrace of fake rhetoretic, oversimplifications, ideological dialectic with no good intentions as explotations, lack of freedom and so on (history shows that all have been used for moral justifications or plenty of good intentions but overambitious determinisms affecting safe social constructions and proper care of natural sustains. For many they reflect special interests poorly compatible with social utility.
