What is a system?

This page is on the general concept of systems and associated ones as well as the use of systems in the context of Cynefin.

Definitions

• system: any network of interactions that has dynamic coherence, - systems may have fuzzy boundaries and shifting patterns
• agent: anything that acts within the system - may be a person, a community, a dominant narrative, a process, or a rule

The use of systems in the context of Cynefin

In the world, we find three fundamental types of systems - ordered, chaotic, and complex. At Cognitive Edge, we apply a constraint-based definition of these systems: 

• Chaos no effective constraints
• Complex has enabling constraints - in general is connected
• Order has Governing constraints - in general is contained

Cynefin then splits order into complicated and clear but the distinction there is not a phase shift - while it is between the three main systems

• Confused is in effect a triple point from which vantage, if you are in the aporetic aspect you can, at very low energy cost, make a move into any of the three main types of system (think metaphor of pressure and temperatue); if just confused you will slip into the one you are most comfortable with.

Systems are defined by the nature of the relationships between the system and the agents acting within it: 

• Ordered systems: Here the nature of the system constrains the behaviour of agents to make that behaviour predictable. There are repeating relationships between cause and effect that can be discovered by empirical observation, analysis, and other investigatory techniques. Once those relationships are discovered,  we can use our understanding of them to predict the future behaviour of the system and to manipulate it toward the desired end state.
• Chaotic systems: These are sometimes called random systems, in which the agents are unconstrained and present in large numbers. For this reason, we can gain insight into the operation of such systems by the application of statistic, probability distributions, and the like. The number and the independence of the agents allow large number mathematics to come into play.
• Complex systems: While these systems are constrained, the constraints are loose, partial, and the nature of the constraints (and thereby the system) is constantly modified by the interaction of the agents with the system and each other; they co-evolve."

References

Link to other articles on this wiki if they are relevant.

Articles

Specific articles can be referenced here:

Prigogine, I. (1986). Science, civilization and democracy. Futures, 18(4), 493–507.

Blog posts

Link with commentary