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Complex System
Any entity that consists of many simpler interacting components. It may be a biont, an ai, a polity, a weather pattern, or anything else. These components may themselves in turn be complex systems made up of still smaller or simpler components. Even if the underlying behavior of any of the parts is easily understood, the behavior of the system as a whole defies simple (especially SI:<1 comprehensible) explanation.
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- Chaos and Chaos Theory - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Irregular motion of a dynamic system that is impossible to predict in the long term. A defining quality of most complex (whether living or non-living) systems.
Chaos theory is the branch of mathematics, simulation, and applied cosmology that deals with chaos. - Chaos Wand
- Complex Life Cycle - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A life cycle that consists of several distinct stages (e.g., larva and adult) (see also complete metamorphosis). - Complexity
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- Meme-complex, Memeplex - Text by Glenn Grant
Also sometimes called a memeticity. A set of mutually-assisting memes which have co-evolved a symbiotic relationship. Religious and political dogmas, social movements, artistic styles, traditions and customs, chain letters, paradigms, languages, and so on are meme-complexes. Types of co-memes commonly found in a scheme are called the: bait; hook; threat; and vaccine. A successful scheme commonly has certain attributes: wide scope (a paradigm that explains much); opportunity for the carriers to participate and contribute; conviction of its self-evident truth (carries Authority); offers order and a sense of place, helping to stave off the dread of meaninglessness. - Metacomplexity - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Complexity in which even the relations between the various complexities that make up the whole is complex.
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Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 24 September 2001.
Initially published on 24 September 2001.
