[FRIAM] WedTech: Formalisms In Complexity; Wed Aug 2, 1:30p @ Tesoro

[Jochen Fromm]

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: friam-bounces at redfish.com [mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com] 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