ComplexSystem

Question 1

What is a system?

Answer 1

An ensemble of situated individual entities interacting with each other.

Question 2

What are examples of individual entities in a system?

Answer 2

Atoms, cells, organs, animals, humans, processes, software agents, robots.

Question 3

What are examples of interactions in a system?

Answer 3

Physical forces, protein diffusion, gestures, words, electric signals, packets, IP datagrams, messages.

Question 4

What does ‘situated’ refer to in the context of systems?

Answer 4

Existence in an ‘environment’.

Question 5

What are the four key features that characterize an entity in a system?

Answer 5

State, transition rules, behavior, and context.

Question 6

What does ‘state’ mean for an entity in a system?

Answer 6

Dimensions fully characterizing the current situation of the individual (e.g., position, speed, mood).

Question 7

What are transition rules?

Answer 7

Events that make an individual change its state.

Question 8

What is ‘context’ in a system?

Answer 8

A ‘position’ in the environment.

Question 9

What is an interaction in a system?

Answer 9

Any event caused by an individual that can affect the state of one or several individuals in the system.

Question 10

What are the two types of interactions in a system?

Answer 10

Direct and indirect interactions.

Question 11

What is an example of a direct interaction?

Answer 11

Communication without the use of the environment, such as particles colliding or humans talking.

Question 12

What is an example of an indirect interaction?

Answer 12

Interaction mediated by the environment, such as pheromone trails left by ants.

Question 13

What is an example of implicit or behavioral interaction?

Answer 13

Observing others in a social system and changing one’s state.

Question 14

What determines the global state of a system?

Answer 14

The collection of all local states of the individuals plus the state of the environment.

Question 15

What is ‘trajectory in state space’?

Answer 15

The evolution of relevant global state indicators over time, represented in an n-dimensional diagram.

Question 16

What are attractors in system dynamics?

Answer 16

Specific regions in the diagram where trajectories converge, such as static equilibrium or chaos.

Question 17

What is adaptivity in a system?

Answer 17

The capability of a system to tune behavior to contingent situations.

Question 18

What are the features of an adaptive system?

Answer 18

Flexible response, robust behavior, observable intelligence, and context-dependent adaptivity.

Question 19

What are two steps to achieve adaptivity in Distributed AI?

Answer 19

Context inspection (perception) and behavior tuning (action).

Question 20

Why is adaptivity mandatory in Distributed AI?

Answer 20

Due to decentralization, ICT system dynamics, environmental dynamics, and social dynamics.

Question 21

What makes a system complex?

Answer 21

Local interactions, nonlinear dynamics, feedbacks, openness, and environmental dynamics.

Question 22

How is a complex system different from a complicated system?

Answer 22

A complicated system has linear interactions, no feedback loops, and predictable behavior.

Question 23

What are examples of complex systems?

Answer 23

Turbo engines (with feedback loops), social networks, and ecosystems.

Question 24

What are examples of complicated systems?

Answer 24

A car engine and a microprocessor.

Question 25

What is self-organization?

Answer 25

A process where patterns at the global level emerge from local interactions among lower-level components.

Question 26

What are examples of self-organizing systems in nature?

Answer 26

Patterns in animal behavior (e.g., bird flocks), social systems (e.g., Mexican waves), and networks.

Question 27

How does self-organization relate to adaptivity?

Answer 27

Self-organizing systems can re-establish global patterns upon changing conditions.