Engineering complex systems

摘要

Complex systems can be identified by what they do (display organization without a central organizing authority ― emergence), and also by how they may or may not be analysed (as decomposing the system and analysing sub-parts do not necessarily give a clue as to the behaviour of the whole). Systems that fall within the scope of complex systems include metabolic pathways, ecosystems, the web, the US power grid and the propagation of HIV infections. Complex systems have captured the attention of physicists, biologists, ecologists, economists and social scientists. Ideas about complex systems are making inroads in anthropology, political science and finance. Many examples of complex networks that have greatly impacted our lives ― such as highways, electrification and the Internet―derive from engineering. But although engineers may have developed the components, they did not plan their connection.