Sometimes we say “evolve”, when we probably mean “adapt”
Evolution is based on five principles:
Population - There must exist more than one version, or instance, of a system;
Replication - There must be a mechanism of making new versions from existing instances;
Variation - There must be differences between these versions or instances;
Heredity - The differences must be copied along from existing instances to the new versions;
Selection - The environment must impose selective pressure (some instances disappear, others survive).
A single person does not evolve, because there is no population, only a single instance. There are populations of galaxies, but they don’t evolve, because they do not replicate. Computer programs can be replicated, but they still don’t evolve because the new versions are exact copies, with no variation. And businesses don’t evolve, despite variation and some replication, because they don’t directly inherit properties from the earlier businesses from which they were replicated.
For complex systems there is only one common principle: adaptation. Complex adaptive systems adapt to their changing environments. Though not all complex systems are adaptive (for example, star systems are non-adaptive), from a managerial perspective we are only interested in the systems with adaptive capabilities. A single person is adaptive. Computer systems are adaptive. Businesses are adaptive. In fact, most of the time when people talk about things “evolving”, they usually mean that things are adapting. A design doesn’t evolve. It is adapted to new requirements. And my children’s gameplay doesn’t evolve either. They adapt to my new requirements. Or else…
- Jurgen Appelo
(Source: noop.nl)
