Properties of Complex Adaptive Systems
| Property | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nonlinearity | In nonlinear equations, the outputs are not proportional to their inputs. | Nonlinearity (1) can lead to sudden massive changes of the system and (2) is sensitive to initial conditions. |
| Attractor | An attractor is a point toward which a variable, moving according to the dictates of a dynamic system, evolves over time. | Points that get close enough to the attractor remain close even if slightly disturbed. |
| Open to environment | Living systems continuously interact with their environment, for example, exchanging material, energy, people, capital, and information. | In open systems, nonlinear responses to the external environment can lead to sudden massive and stochastic changes. |
| Self-organization | Self-organization is a process whereby some form of global order or coordination arises out of the local interactions between the components of an initially disordered system. | Self-organization relies on 4 basic principles: recursive feedback (positive and negative), a balance of exploitation and exploration, and multiple interactions. |
| Emergence | Emergence is the way in which complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. | Emergence (1) arises from intricate causal relations across different scales and feedback (interconnectivity) and (2) the emergent behavior or properties are not a property of any single such entity, nor can they easily be predicted or deduced from behavior in the lower-level entities, that is, they are irreducible. |
| Pattern of interaction | All parts in a system involve predictable, repetitive processes. | Pattern of interaction can result from (1) different combinations of agents leading to the same outcome, or (2) the same combination of agents leading to different outcomes. |
| Adaptation and evolution | Adaptation is the process of change due to changes in the environment. | Evolution is the persistence of a change into the future. Adaptation and evolution (1) occur in numerous diseases over many years, during which time the whole body system adapts to function in the altered environment; (2) change the whole system and are not restricted to a few clinically measurable factors; and (3) lead to a new homeostasis with new dynamic interactions. |
| Coevolution | Coevolution is the change of an object triggered by the change of a related object. | Coevolution results in parallel development of a subsystem with new characteristics and dynamics. |