Kinds of complexity

Posted by Louis Macovsky, Dynamic BioSystems on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Kinds-of-complexity-tp522384p522390.html

How would you differentiate between complicated and complex?

Lou



----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Guerin" <[hidden email]>
To: "'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group'"
<friam at redfish.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Kinds of complexity


> Robert writes:
> > At least those scientists had the good sense to give these
> > quantities different names. We just call each of our
> > disparate quantites 'complexity' and then wonder why we can't
> > get any equations to work.
>
> The history of thermodynamics was interesting when folks had many
defintions for
> the concept of "heat" and later "work". Early definitions struggled when
these
> terms were defined as things that flow instead of defined as processes. I
> speculate that Complexity, if it is ever defined, will also be a
closely-related

> process definition.
>
> -Steve
>
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Robert Holmes [mailto:robert at holmesacosta.com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 2:14 PM
> > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Kinds of complexity
> >
> >
> >
> > On 8/9/06, Pamela McCorduck <pamela at well.com> wrote:
> >
> > <snip>
> > ...In fact, asking for the true mathematical definition
> > of complexity today is like asking for the true mathematical
> > definition of electricity in 1800: to understand electricity,
> > it turned out to be much more productive to define several
> > quantities, such as charge, current, voltage, inductance, etc.
> >
> >
> > At least those scientists had the good sense to give these
> > quantities different names. We just call each of our
> > disparate quantites 'complexity' and then wonder why we can't
> > get any equations to work.
> >
> > Robert
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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