Out of Control
feedback, complexity and natural resilience
decentralized
this presentation
Le Moi
Mathijs de Bruin
- Philosophy
- Informatics
- Physics
- …
feedback
networks
graphs
network ecology
graph of feedback loops
complexity
- non-linearity
- multi-scale
- many subsystems (agents)
complexity
- non-linearity
- multi-scale
- many subsystems (agents)
complexity
- non-linearity
- multi-scale
- many subsystems (agents)
complexity
- non-linearity
- multi-scale
- many subsystems (agents)
complexity (2)
- unpredictability (chaos)
- downward causality
- self-organization (emergence)
complexity (2)
- unpredictability (chaos)
- downward causality
- self-organization (emergence)
complexity (2)
- unpredictability (chaos)
- downward causality
- self-organization (emergence)
complexity (2)
- unpredictability (chaos)
- downward causality
- self-organization (emergence)
What does it mean!?
Examples
climate
feedbacks and complexity
cities
emergence
economy
147 companies run the world
brain
downward causality
So what?
Who cares?
no 'control'
why?
- rare, significant perturbations
- feedback energy scales with deviation
- failure cascades
Black Swan
why?
- rare, significant perturbations
- feedback energy scales with deviation
- failure cascades
why?
- rare, significant perturbations
- feedback energy scales with deviation
- failure cascades
but…
what's that mean!?
evolution
needs
death
it requires
collapse
it requires
failure
On a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drop to zero.
death
is
inevitable
(duh)
humanity
will
die
you
will
die
capitalism
will
die
will
die
money
will
die
socialism
will
die
civilization
will
die
Solution?
design for
failure
design like
nature
design like nature
- high diversity populations
- efficient self-preservation
- minimal control requirements
- highly distributed (smallworld networks)
- coopetition
like…
surfing
flying
mycelium
the interwebz
bacteria
“Go with the flow!”
(ugh)
best practises
(in progress)
best practises
- Observe.
- Act minimally (wei wu wei).
- Multi-value optimization.
- Iterate.
or
best practises
Minimize action under minimalist self-preservation.
complex adaptive systems
beautiful slides
now call my bullshit
what did i miss?
- design principles
- formal basis
- examples
- implementation
- edge cases
many thanks
+ workshop tomorrow, 16:00
(Communities of people and trees)