Systems are a group of interrelated entities that form a whole. They become complex when they show behaviours that are not obvious linked to the individual entities or the whole system in aggregate.
An interesting example of a complex system is ant hives. Ants themselves are simple creatures. By some measure they have only 10-40 distinct behaviours. Yet as a hive they can build complex nests and even coordinate to construct bridges using their bodies. How is this possible?
If the complex behaviour is not because individual ants are complex is it because the queen ant is setting goals for each individual ant? No! Ant colonies will slowly continue their complex behaviour even without a queen ant.
The complex emerges from the interactions between the individual ants in the colony. The ants use pheromones that alter each others behaviour. This means that in order to understand a single ant’s behaviour we have to understand the behaviour of each ant it interacts with. To understand each of the interacting ants we have to understand even more ants. You can see how it gets complex quite quickly.
This idea of complex behaviour emerging from the interactions of simple entities is present in many other systems. The brain made of networks of neurons. Natural ecologies made of interconnected food chains. The global climate made of many interacting microclimate systems. Economies made of companies and individuals that transact with each other.
The scientific method unlocked the mystery of the stars, flight and the atoms around us. However, scientific experiments typically require us to reduce a system to its constituent pieces. In complex systems this destroys the very thing we are trying to observe! We will never observe a trillionth of a brain from an individual neuron. Just as we will never see a tiny version of the complex ant hive with an single ant.
As a result of this fact it’s no surprise that we don’t know a lot about these complex systems. Not all hope is lost though! There are many tools researchers are creating, investigating and discovering. From agent based modelling to network analysis to chaos theory. Understanding complex systems will allow us to understand how ants build nests, what a seizure is, where lemmings disappear to and why blackouts will occur.
If, like me, you’re excited by comprehending the messy universe around you then keep reading! I’ll be providing regular updates where we’ll dive into the systems both consequential and frivolous. Find patterns in complex confusing behaviour. And maybe even learn how to make the world a better place.