Science of Complex Systems Searches for "Hidden Order"
The word complexity derives from the Latin verb complecti (to twine
together) and the noun complexus (network). A system becomes complex when
it has many diverse components interacting in nonlinear ways. The science of
complex adaptive systems is emerging from the interplay of many disciplines,
including physics, mathematics, biology, economics, engineering and computer
science. 
It seeks to discern the general "organizing" principles that guide the
behavior of complex systems, focusing particularly on how the "global"
properties of whole systems emerge from the interactions of their parts. As the
University of Michigan's John Holland puts it, the young science searches
for the emergence of the "hidden order" in systems as diverse as cells, brains,
economies, ecosystems, ant colonies, stock markets and the Internet. In
searching for how large-scale patterns arise from interactions of simple things,
the unfolding science of complexity deemphasizes the traditional goals of
prediction, optimization and control in favor of deepening understanding of
systems characterized by diversity, nonlinearity, dynamics, novelty and
self-organization.
Research typically is conducted with a combination of computational methods
and mathematical analysis, often in the form of agent-based modeling and
nonlinear
system dynamics modeling. These methods have been applied to a diverse array of
phenomena at Michigan and elsewhere, including traffic patterns, spread of
disease, emergence of cooperation and altruism, ecological diversity, trading
patterns and collaborative networks.
The hope is that the complex systems approach will uncover deep patterns and
processes of organization, which hold across systems studied in different
disciplines,
thus promoting intellectual progress through cross-fertilization. Another hope
is that lessons learned at one level may be applicable at other levels in nested
system hierarchies.
The Santa Fe Institute and the University of Michigan are pioneers in the study
of complex adaptive systems. The U-M Center for the Study of Complex Systems
brings together 60 professors from around the University, including the Business
School, in research and education about complex adaptive systems. For more
information, see http://www.cscs.umich.edu/ and
http://www.santafe.edu/.
For more information, contact:
Bernie DeGroat
Phone: (734) 936-1015 or 647-1847
Email: bernied@umich.edu
(Back to the
Sustainable Transportation Special Report)
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