IMHO formal treatments and formalisms are not helpful for complex systems, if you want to understand complex systems in general. They are NOT the right way, because they try to press the diversity of complex systems into equations with a few placeholders. This is the old way science has tried for centuries and which is now more or less obsolete, since Stephen Wolfram has proposed a "New Kind of Science". Formal treatments, formalisms and equations are of course useful for chaos theory. Chaos theory and strange attractors are fascinating. The problem is that deterministic chaos is only a very special case of a complex system.
Simplicity has a unified form, but complexity has many varieties. As Phil says, simplifying without confusing is not always easy. Perhaps the best way to understand complexity is to consider it as 'unity in diversity'. Formal or even mathematical definitions of complexity, self-organization or emergence are not helpful. They are helpful for simple systems with dumb particles and strong regularities, but they are less useful for complex systems with intelligent agents where many exceptional, unexpected and accidental events can happen. Classifications and taxonomies are much more useful wherever one has to deal with diversity. What one can do is to describe the different forms and types of complex systems, the different class of emergence and self-organization. If one has a more or less comprehensive set of classes, one can examine how they are connected, how they have evolved, and if it is possible to find a general principle like evolution, 'edge of chaos' or growth which connects them. -J. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Owen Densmore Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 8:12 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Subject: Re: [FRIAM] WedTech: Formalisms In Complexity;Wed Aug 2, 1:30p @ Tesoro To kick off our discussions of Formalisms In Complexity, I thought I'd add this to the mix. -- Owen ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
