Systems theory

interdisciplinary field about the study of systems

mathematical model which describes the time dependence of a point in a geometrical space

system where only the inputs and outputs can be viewed, and not its implementation

fundamental physics principle stating that physical solutions of linear systems are linear

system that manages the behavior of other systems

does not allow certain types of transfers (such as transfer of mass) in or out of the system

discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, physics, complexity science, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling

thumb|Diagrams of systems in various degrees of centralisation. From left to right: centralisation, decentralisation, distribution, and distributed decentralisation. Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular group within that organisation. This creates a power structure where the said group occupies the highest level of hierarchy and has significantly more authority and influence over the other

thermodynamically open system which is operating out of, and often far from, thermodynamic equilibrium in an environment with which it exchanges energy and matter

thumb|upright=1.2|Self-organization in micron-sized Nb3O7(OH) cubes during a Hydrothermal synthesis|hydrothermal treatment at 200 °C. Initially [[amorphous cubes gradually transform into ordered 3D meshes of crystalline nanowires as summarized in the model below.]]

multidisciplinary, macro-scale approach to world history and social change that stresses that the world-system should be the primary unit of social analysis

thumb|In coffee percolation, soluble compounds leave the coffee grounds and join the water to form coffee. Insoluble compounds (and granulates) remain within the [[coffee filter.]] thumb|Percolation in a square lattice.

view of linguistics

based on systems theory (broadly applicable concepts and principles, as opposed to concepts and principles applicable to one domain of knowledge; distinguishes, dynamic or active systems and static or passive systems)

thumb|3D representation of a living cell during the process of mitosis, example of an autopoietic system

medical procedure that separates patients into different groups

A trade-off (or tradeoff) is a situational decision that involves diminishing or losing on quality, quantity, or property of a set or design in return for gains in other aspects. In simple terms, a tradeoff is where one thing increases, and another must decrease. Tradeoffs stem from limitations of many origins, including simple physics – for instance, only a certain volume of objects can fit into a given space, so a full container must remove some items in order to accept any more, and vessels can carry a few large items or multiple small items. Tradeoffs also commonly refer to different confi

theory in developmental psychology about how human development is shaped by interactions between individuals and layered social systems, highlighting active roles and contextual influences

spontaneous emergence of order out of seeming chaos

mathematical model of a system based on the use of a linear operator

thumb|200px|Conatus is, for Baruch Spinoza, where "each thing, as far as it lies in itself, strives to persevere in its being." In the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, conatus (; :wikt:conatus; Latin for "effort; endeavor; impulse, inclination, tendency; undertaking; striving") is an innate inclination of a thing to continue to exist and enhance itself. This thing may be mind, matter, or a combination of both, and is often associated with God's will in a pantheist view of nature. The conatus may refer to the instinctive will to live of living organisms or to various metaphysical theories of motio

area of mathematics

engineered systems built and operated with seamless integration between physical components and computation

thumb|Ant paths built from pheromone traces Stigmergy ( ) is a mechanism of indirect coordination, through the environment, between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the environment by an individual action stimulates the performance of a succeeding action by the same or different agent. Agents that respond to traces in the environment receive positive fitness benefits, reinforcing the likelihood of these behaviors' becoming fixed within a population over time.

state of a system or a process in which the variables which define the behavior of the system or the process are unchanging in time

analysis of social structures using network and graph theory

branch in philosophy of science

thumb|upright=1.2|Self-assembly of lipids (a), [[proteins (b), and (c) SDS-cyclodextrin complexes. SDS is a surfactant with a hydrocarbon tail (yellow) and a SO4 head (blue and red), while cyclodextrin is a saccharide ring (green C and red O atoms).]] thumb|upright=1.2|Transmission electron microscopy image of an iron oxide [[nanoparticle. Regularly arranged dots within the dashed border are columns of Fe atoms. Left inset is the corresponding electron diffraction pattern. Scale bar: 10 nm.]] upright=1.2|thumb|Iron oxide nanoparticles can be dispersed in an organic solvent (toluene). Upon its

thumb|A ball on the top of a hill is an unstable situation. In dynamical systems, instability means that some of the outputs or internal states increase with time, without bounds. Not all systems that are not stable are unstable; systems can also be marginally stable or exhibit limit cycle behavior.

method of identifying or measuring the mathematical model of a system from measurements of the system inputs and outputs; uses statistical methods to build mathematical models of dynamical systems from measured data

matrix of inner products of a set of vectors

term for extra-cellular interstitial fluid surrounding bodily organs

distinct from biological reality or individual cognitive reality

type of system that includes social and technological elements, enabling society's complex infrastructures, organizations and interactions

future vision

the study of social processes, especially social change

system of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives

thumb|300px|Schematic representation of a self-oscillation as a positive feedback loop. The oscillator V produces a feedback signal B. The controller at R uses this signal to modulate the external power S that acts on the oscillator. If the power is modulated in phase with the oscillator's velocity, a negative damping is established and the oscillation grows until limited by nonlinearities.

hypothesis in neuroscience proposed by Karl Friston

a sufficient participation, in number of persons (or adopters of an innovation in a social system), that triggers a new behaviour, or where the rate of adoption becomes self-sustaining and creates further growth

approaches to the study of language that see functionality of language and its elements to be the key to understanding linguistic processes and structures

dynamical system that exhibits both continuous and discrete dynamic behavior

Antifragility is a property of systems in which they increase in capability to thrive as a result of stressors, shocks, volatility, noise, mistakes, faults, attacks, or failures. The concept was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book, Antifragile, and in technical papers. As Taleb explains in his book, antifragility is fundamentally different from the concepts of resiliency (i.e. the ability to recover from failure) and robustness (that is, the ability to resist failure). The concept has been applied in risk analysis, physics, molecular biology, transportation planning, engineering, ae

in economics and finance, a quantity measured over an interval of time

The World3 model is a system dynamics model for computer simulation of interactions between population, industrial growth, food production and limits in the ecosystems of the earth. It was originally produced and used by a Club of Rome study that produced the model and the book The Limits to Growth (1972). The creators of the model were Dennis Meadows, project manager, and a team of 16 researchers.

Sociotechnology (short for "social technology") is the study of processes on the intersection of society and technology. Vojinović and Abbott define it as "the study of processes in which the social and the technical are indivisibly combined". Sociotechnology is an important part of socio-technical design, which is defined as "designing things that participate in complex systems that have both social and technical aspects".

Homeorhesis, derived from the Greek for "similar flow", is a concept encompassing dynamical systems which return to a trajectory, as opposed to systems which return to a particular state, which is termed homeostasis.

system where the output depends only on past and current inputs

system when a process variable or variables have been changed and the system has not yet reached a steady state

right|thumb|Alexander Bogdanov, founder of tektology Tektology (sometimes transliterated as tectology) is a term used by Alexander Bogdanov to describe a new universal science that consisted of unifying all social, biological and physical sciences by considering them as systems of relationships and by seeking the organizational principles that underlie all systems. Tektology is now regarded as a precursor of systems theory and related aspects of synergetics. The word "tectology" was introduced by Ernst Haeckel, but Bogdanov used it for a different purpose.

Sociocybernetics is an interdisciplinary science between sociology and general systems theory and cybernetics. The International Sociological Association has a specialist research committee in the area – RC51 – which publishes the (electronic) Journal of Sociocybernetics.

Systems Dynamics concept

term

holistic approach to the study of ecological systems

open self-organizing living things that interact with their environment

Emergy is the amount of energy consumed in direct and indirect transformations to make a product or service. Emergy is a measure of quality differences between different forms of energy. Emergy is an expression of all the energy used in the work processes that generate a product or service in units of one type of energy. Emergy is measured in units of emjoules, a unit referring to the available energy consumed in transformations. Emergy accounts for different forms of energy and resources (e.g. sunlight, water, fossil fuels, minerals, etc.) Each form is generated by transformation processes in

model of the organizational structure of any autonomous system capable of producing itself

problem-solving method

art influenced by cybernetics and systems theory

time required for the output of an amplifier to stabilize