Jaron CollisCore ConceptThe study of the abstract organisation of phenomena. A holist rather than a reductionist perspective of systems, i.e. the sum of the parts is greater than the parts added together (2+2=5).levelsboundariesemergenceconvergencelevelsLevels are sub-systems nested within other systems. Levels are differentiated: each has an expert function. Considering a system at a particular level of abstraction is a fundamental mental process (aka chunking)hierarchyheterarchyboundariesThe limits of a system's processes are defined by its boundary. The boundary does not define the limits of a system's influence, but acts as filter for incoming and outgoing effects. Inpenetrable boundaries are impossible, all systems are open.phase spaceemergenceAn epiphenomenon, properties appear as a consequence of the underlying organisation of a system. simplexityconvergenceThe process by which processes from different systems combine to form new features. complicityhierarchyA collection of levels ordered by their inherent complexity. Effects propagate through a hierarchy through adjacent levels.strange loopsheterarchyAn unordered collection of levels, with no root, and no presumed distinctions of complexity. In a heterarchy self-references (strange loops) are not paradoxes, but essential to its recursive nature.strange loopsA tangled hierarchy, where by moving up/down through levels of a hierarchy we unexpectedly find ourselves back where we started. Finding this paradox tends to suggest the system is not a hierarchy at all, but a heterarchy.simplexityCohen & Stewart's term for the emergence of simple features as a direct (though possibly highly intricate) consequence of a system of rules. Example: the ideal gas law complicityCohen & Stewart's term for how systems can change each other, characterised by similar features occuring in unrelated systems with very different rules. Example: parasitism, a convergence in the resource/consumer space, found in biology, economics and sociology. phase spaceThe area inside a boundary: the dynamic internal state of a system. Can be visualised as a Poincaré diagram showing the space of all possible circumstances with attractors and repellers. Within this space feedback causes a periodic cycle (rhythm) to develop.falsescience12002-08-02T12:46:44.123+01:002002-08-27T00:04:30.263+01:00holon