Complex adaptive theory in human systems is different from in the physical world
In respect of the individual human complex systems are differentiated by:
- Intention, in that humans can choose to do things for a range of reasons, many of which may not make sense for the individual. This includes altruism and sadism alike, its not a matter of some simple rule or primitive darwinism
- Identity is fluid for humans, we move between them with ease, often triggered by ritual and are capable of acting in several simultaneously.
- Intuition or as Prusak calls it compressed experience, references the way the human brain builds patterns of actual and vicarious (stories) experiences to allow rapid decision making under conditions of uncertainty.
In respect of the collective aspects of human interaction with other humans, their environments and ideas, complex adaptive systems are distinguished by:
- Cognition in this aspect means the distributed aspects of human intelligence and consciousness, our ability to interact with others to create entities that are more than the sum of the parts, and critically to formalise that capability (wisdom of crowds, crews etc.)
- Constraints references the ability to create/evolve social systems that provide constrains on actions, and also (through myths etc) on the way we think and act.
- Coherence is not only an important new concept in the area of evidence based strategy, but it relates to the human capacity to collectively reason about reason.
I do want to break away from having complexity theory interpreted solely in the lights of post-Shannon information theory and/or models that work for termites nests but are contextually inappropriate for human systems.
