Complexity Theory: Key Concepts

This video presents some of the key concepts in complex systems theory in pictures. We look at systems, non-linearity, networks, self-organization and adaptation using rich visuals. There are many definitions for what a complex system is here are just a sample of them; The Advances in Complex Systems Journal, gives us this definition; “A system comprised of a (usually large) number of (usually strongly) interacting entities, processes, or agents, the understanding of which requires the development, or the use of, new scientific tools, nonlinear models, out-of-equilibrium descriptions and computer simulations.” The social scientist Herbert Simons gives us this definition; “A system that can be analyzed into many components having relatively many relations among them, so that the behavior of each component depends on the behavior of others.”Jerome Singer tells us that a complex system is; “A system that involves numerous interacting agents whose aggregate behaviors are to be understood. Such aggregate activity is nonlinear, hence it cannot simply be derived from a summation of individual components behavior.”