Systems & Complexity Vocabulary

the process where complex patterns arise from simple interactions

“Consciousness is often cited as an example of emergence from neural activity.”

a system structure where outputs circle back as inputs

“The microphone created a screeching feedback loop.”

a relationship where output is not directly proportional to input

“Climate change exhibits nonlinearity, where small changes can have massive effects.”

the property of systems that benefit from shocks and volatility

“Muscles show antifragility by getting stronger after the stress of exercise.”

the minimum amount required to start or maintain a venture

“The social network reached critical mass and grew exponentially.”

the point at which a series of small changes becomes significant enough to cause a larger change

“We have reached a tipping point in the adoption of electric vehicles.”

a measure of disorder or randomness in a system

“Organizations naturally tend toward entropy without active management.”

the tendency toward a stable equilibrium

“The thermostat maintains the building's thermal homeostasis.”

the inclusion of extra components for reliability

“The aircraft has triple redundancy in its flight control systems.”

a point of congestion in a system that slows down the overall process

“The approval process became a bottleneck for the entire project.”

an agent that provokes or speeds up significant change or action

“The crisis served as a catalyst for regulatory reform.”

interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect greater than the sum of individual elements

“The merger aimed to create synergy between the two departments.”

dependence of the state of a system on its history

“Unemployment shows hysteresis; it stays high even after the economy recovers.”

phenomenon where a product gains value as more people use it

“The telephone is a classic example of the network effect.”

the consequence of a consequence

“We considered the immediate result, but missed the second-order effect on employee morale.”

the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties

“The system's resilience was tested by the sudden traffic spike.”

a complex pattern where the same pattern occurs at every scale

“The coastline is fractal; it looks similar whether viewed from space or up close.”

an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected and has potentially severe consequences

“The 2008 financial crisis was described by some as a black swan event.”