Organized and Disorganized Complexity

Introduction
1)How we can understand complex systems? ( by discovering common
abstractions and mechanisms)

A)We can understand complex systems by the discovery of common abstractions

and mechanisms

2)Example ? (few minutes of orientation an experienced pilot can step into a

multiengine jet aircraft he or she has never flown before)

A)With just a few minutes of orientation , an experienced pilot can step into a
multiengine jet aircraft he or she never flown before and safely fly the vehicle.

The Canonical Form of a Complex System

1)what more interesting systems contains? (different hierarchies rather than a

single hierarchy)
A)Most interesting systems do not embody a single hierarchy , instead they may
contain many different hierarchies.

2)Example of such hierarchies? (aircraft may be decomposed into 1)propulsion

system 2)flight control system.)

A)An aircraft system may be decomposed into 1)propulsion system 2)flight-

control system .

3)What is propulsion system? (It is a machine that produces thrust )

A) A propulsion system is a machine that produces thrust to push an object
forward

4)What this decomposition represents? (a part of hierarchy)

A)This decomposition represents a structural or part of hierarchy.

5)what is the alternative way? (we can cut across the system in an orthogonal
way)
A)Alternatively we can cut across the system in an entirely orthogonal way.

6)How a system can be viewed ? (is a hierarchy and part of hierarchy)

A)A system can be viewed from both perspectives 1)is a hierarchy 2) part of
hierarchy and we call these hierarchies as as "class structures" and the "object
structure" of the system

7) are class structures and object structures are similar to classes and objects?(no ,
we are referring to classes and objects at higher level of
abstraction)

A)class structures and object structures are entirely different from classes or
objects which we use in coding the software but we are referring to classes and
objects at highest level of abstraction that can make up complex systems.

8)Diagram

9)what above diagram shows? (two orthogonal hierarchies class and object
structures)
A)The above diagram shows two orthogonal hierarchies of the system , its class
structure and its object structure

10)How each hierarchy is organized? ( layered fashion, with abstract classes and
objects built on primitive ones)
A)Each hierarchy is organized in layered fashion with the more abstract classes
and objects built on more primitive ones.which describes the relationships among
the system's dynamic components.

11)which class or object should be chosen as primitive? ( depends on problem at

hand)
A)Which class or object is chosen as primitive is relative to the problem at hand.

12)nesting of levels? (another level of complexity)

A)Looking inside any given level reveals yet another level of complexity ,
especially among the parts of object structure, there are close collaborations among
objects at the same level of abstraction.

13) How all complex systems take on same canonical form? ( class structures +
object structures + five attributes of complex systems)

A)Combining the concept of the class and object structures together with the five
attributes of a complex system , we find that virtually all complex systems take on
the same (canonical) form as shown below.

14)Diagram