Early systems thinkers were still ultimately aiming to improve their ability to better predict and control a system. The introduction of insights from chaos theory and non-linear mathematics into systems science sparked the development of complexity theory. A set of key characteristics such Interconnectedness, unpredictability, and uncontrollability are part of all complex dynamic systems.
The sciences of complexity are a variety of process-oriented areas of research exploring non-linear dynamics within complex systems. The simplest definition for a complex system is any system with more than three interacting variables. Complexity is thus a common feature of the world we inhabit. In dealing with complexity rather than mechanisms, the aim of science shifts from improving our ability to predict and control to aiming to better understand the dynamics and relationships of the systems we participate in so that our participation can be more appropriate.
One of the more present in the public domain is the chaos theory. It is important to understand that chaos does not refer to a state of absolutely incoherent disorder, rather the term chaos refers to an underlying interconnectedness that exists in apparently random events. Chaos science focuses on hidden patterns, nuance, the sensitivity of things, and the rules for how the unpredictable leads to the new. Chaos theory provides a radically different framework for studying complex dynamics. It highlights the limitations that are inherent in a reductionistic and mechanistic — linear cause and effect based — analysis of complex systems.
Understanding complexity is a prerequisite for sustainable design. Sustainable, means the reduction of all impacts that a new system or a system-of-systems will generate, in its design, deployments, operation and decommissioning. For the correct mindset to tackle the chalenge some connections with structured theories can be established. In certain moments the complexity rises to a level that we need to embrace some deeper insights of chaos theory in our daily activities:
- Be Creative: engage with chaos to find imaginative new solutions and live more dynamically.
- Use Butterfly Power: let chaos grow local efforts into global results
- Go with the Flow: use chaos to work collectively with others
- Explore What’s Between: discover life’s rich subtleties and avoid the traps of stereotypes
- See the Art of the World: appreciate the beauty of life’s chaos
- Live Within Time: utilize time’s hidden depths
- Rejoin the Whole: realize our fractal connectedness to each other and the world.
Stratosphere S.A. applies these concepts to all the programs involved, enabling a beyond state of art approach to systems engineering, with the right mix of advanced materials systems, electronics, integration and interoperability.
Stratosphere S.A. is a global provider of integrated health management solutions. The robustness and integration of its solutions are the pinnacle of SHM systems.
bizdev@stratosphere-tech.com
