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How Complex are Complex Systems?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

Herbert A. Simon
Herbert A. Simon*
Affiliation:
Carnegie-Mellon University
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Extract

As it has turned out—and not, I think, by conscious design—this symposium has a truly Hegelian structure. The thesis and antithesis are provided by the themes of complexity and simplicity, respectively. Professor Nelson pleads the case for complexity, and I for simplicity; and we both count on Professor Suppes to propose the synthesis.

Methods of characterizing the simplicity or complexity of systems are many. Let me mention some of them:

  • (1) Systems that have many components may be considered complex relative to systems that have few. Hence the cardinality of a set may be taken as one measure of its complexity.

  • (2) Systems in which there is much interdependence among the components are generally regarded as more complex than systems with less interdependence among components.

  • (3) Systems that are undecidable may be regarded as complex in comparison with those that are decidable.

Type
Part IX. Complex Fuzzy Systems
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1976 , Issue 2: Volume Two: Symposia and Invited Papers 1976 , 1976 , pp. 507 - 522
Copyright
Copyright © 1977 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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References

[1] May, Rober M. “Will a Large Complex System be Stable?” Nature 238(1972): 413–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[2] Nelson, R.J. “Structure of Complex Systems.” In PSA 1976, Volume Two. Edited by Suppe, F. and Asquith, P.D.. East Lansing: Philosophy of Science Association, 1977. Pages 523–542.Google Scholar
[3] Ramsey, Dian M. (ed.). Information and Control Processes in Living Systems. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1967.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
[4] Simon, H.A. The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.Google Scholar
[5] Simon, H.A. and Ando, A. “Aggregation of Variables in Dynamic Systems.” Econometrica 29(1961): 111–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[6] Suppes, P. “Some Remarks About Complexity.” In PSA 1976, Volume Two. Edited by Suppe, F. and Asquith, P.D.. East Lansing: Philosophy of Science Association, 1977. Pages 543–547.Google Scholar