Adaptive Systems and Ecosystems

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From the course by Macquarie University

Analysing Complexity

33 ratings

Macquarie University

Analysing Complexity

33 ratings

Course 1 of 4 in the Specialization Solving Complex Problems

The first course of the specialization ANALYZING COMPLEXITY will teach you what unifying patterns lie at the core of all complex problems. It advances your knowledge of your own field by teaching you to look at it in new ways. ANALYZING COMPLEXITY is constructed in the following way: Week I. "What is Complexity?" - What is at the core of all complex problems Week II. "Complex Physical Systems" - What complex problems all have in common in the inanimate world Week III. "Complex Adaptive Systems" - What complex problems all have in common in nature Week IV. "Complex Cultural Systems" - What complex problems all have in common in human society Week V. "Complexity, Fragility, and Breakdown" - Why complex problems arise Week VI. "Complexity in the Anthropocene" - What complex problems face us today

From the lesson

Complex Adaptive Systems

In this module, we'll explore the ratcheting up of complexity inside adaptive systems, and the impact adaptation has on the rules of the game for constantly evolving complex systems.

Adaptive Systems and Ecosystems3:21

Meet the Instructors

David Baker
Associate Lecturer
Big History Institute
David Christian
Professor
Big History Institute
Shawn Ross
Associate Professor
Big History Institute

The big question for this segment is,

what can be distilled from our examination of complex adaptive systems.

[MUSIC]

Once we move from complex physical to biological systems,

we are dealing with billions of more component parts and tangled webs.

Making it extremely more difficult to predict their behavior and

the outcome of their interactions.

Much more so than the calculable regularity of orbiting planets and

blazing stars.

The key to understanding the behavior of a complex adaptive system is keeping track

of the component parts of that system and the outside pressures upon it.

This will illuminate, not just one possible path for its behavior, but

many possible futures as new adaptations emerge.

Once you have a roster of possible pathways or trajectories,

we are better equipped to anticipate new emergent properties.

But one thing both physical and

biological systems hold in common is they are both dependent on energy flows.

Ultimately, the needs, movements and

trajectories of complex adaptive structures

are geared toward finding enough energy to sustain or increase their complexity.

All biological instinct, all individual behaviors and

even human cultural activity descends from this.

Either serving it, or as a harmless offshoot that does not impede this goal.

It is the core of both biological and cultural evolution.

Ultimately, this quest for energy flows to sustain or

increase our complexity, can have a knock on effect on the overall ecosystem.

That, in the long run, can ultimately rupture and

frustrate this goal for everyone and everything.

This applies to fast spreading and noxious bacteria,

highly successful herbivores that strip landscapes bare or carnivorous

predators that eliminate entire species and thus remove their own source of food.

And, of course, this applies to humans who, in our race to obtain energy flows,

to sustain or increase our own complexity, could wind up destroying that complexity.

This adds an extra layer to our analysis of complexity.

Not only is it tricky to project the trajectories of complex adaptive systems,

but even more mind boggling to predict the impact the interaction between these

millions upon millions of systems can have on an entire interwoven,

entangled meta-system or ecosystem.

In the next module, we shall ratchet up complexity even higher.

Looking at complex adaptive systems that do not rely primarily

on natural selection to generate new adaptations over millions and

billions of years, but thousands of innovations that allow for

rapid adaptations within a single generation, cultural systems.

[MUSIC]

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