Understanding, episode 9: Systems Behavior
In a network: perception, review, meaning-making, story, tasks, movement and generative review.
Evolving Our Assumptions
“As researchers delve deeper into the behavior of decentralized collective systems, they’re beginning to question some of their initial assumptions.”
Bruce Kunkel :
Ultimately, complexity in nature isn’t simply a story of its emergence from entirely uncorrelated groups of dumb parts — and probing that story could one day yield more universal principles about cooperation, coordination and collective information processing.
Social Fields and Patterning, Aligning
Ron Scroggin :
Stable patterns in a changing social field
In the research study, agents achieved the best collective performance, and optimal decentralization, when the number of their decision outcome memories were relatively few — five or so, depending on the number of agents, was optimal. Seven or more memories were too uncorrelated for good collective performance, while one or two were too correlated.
Understanding the effects of small numbers of elements in a system, and their (simpler) interrelational forms, might have wide application, including in optimizing social collective performance.
In a moving fluid, and perhaps in an evolving social field, number and form are critical factors in determining the nature of what happens, and the pertinent range of numbers is in a similar range to the above study.
In a moving fluid:
A ring arrangement of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 vortices is stable.
A ring of seven vortices is neutrally stable if there is no boundary, but unstable if there is a boundary.
A ring of 8, 9, 10 or more vortices is unstable.
It’s interesting that in this fluid dynamics example, unlike the study, an arrangement of seven elements can still work, if the system is unbounded.
It seems easy to relate the above memory and vortex examples to interpersonal relationships with small numbers of people, or with small numbers of organizations, or with small numbers of nodes in networks, or with small groups of networks, doesn’t it?
John Kellden :
Excellent. Let me get back to this…
Transcontextual Bridging and Weaving
David Mueller :
Ron Scroggin this is really amazing! Can this be used to explain why power seems to consolidate itself towards to a balance between a few (less than 7 agents).
I am thinking, ISPs, Media companies, pharmaceutical companies, oil companies. Etc etc.
Ron Scroggin :
David Mueller that’s what I’m wondering.
Can we gain insight into what’s happening in a given context by exploring the effects of combinations, permutations and configurations of its few most pertinent agents or elements?
And how can we recognize pertinence in the particular context (including ISPs, media groups etc)?
Cybernetics: 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th order
John Kellden :
Yes. Intersects of graphs, circles of close ones, friends, acquaintancies, weak signal transceivers, and, networks of data, information, intelligence, knowledge, ability, wisdom and practice.
Signal processing (1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th order cybernetics):
augment, access, achieve
Ron Scroggin :
Cell, basic structure — nucleus surrounded by cytoplasm bounded by cell membrane.
Cellular function — build intercellular structure, support growth, process nutrients, produce energy, create life-sustaining metabolic reactions, transport raw materials and waste, support reproduction.
David Mueller :
Ron Scroggin a good model for mini guilds.
Boundary Objects and Meaning-Making-Moving-With
John Kellden :
Note to self:
- biosemiotics(understanding biosemiosis as living systems forming and evolving ecosystems)
- nature strategies(millions of years fieldtesting)
- fifteen characteristics of living systems(vibrant responsive boundaries)
