Journal on Policy and Complex Systems
at fitness landscapes , one of the most important tools of complexity analysis , and we have seen that it is profoundly relational , providing a mechanism for conducting searches among “ nearest neighbors .” Fitness landscapes are becoming a generalized optimization tool used across industries from finance to materials science to quality control . Adjacency is the star of the fitness landscape story , and it is a curious circumstance that a mathematical description of the biological process of evolution should find applicability in such diverse arenas .
Networks are another one of nature ’ s favorite ways of operating : ant colonies , circulatory systems , nervous systems , highways , railroads , the Internet .... Yes , these latter are man-made ; but remember we are a part of nature ( ant colonies at a larger scale !). Network theory is also an important tool of complexity analysis , and it is , by definition , relational . It is interesting that the adjacency matrix ( or adjacency list ) is the starting point for the rendering of a network . Networks are maps or graphs of connected relationships . They are garnering much attention lately , and theory has built up around them describing what their structure says about the nature of the underlying relationships being mapped .
Networks consist of connected edges and nodes . Network structures include random , scale-free , smallworld , hierarchical , ... Nodes and links have degree , density , betweeness , centrality , connectivity ... Links can combine through nodes to create paths , distances , and network circumferences ... All of this is the “ stuff ” of network theory and combines to create powerful tools to control the spread of disease , trace terrorist activity , identify and skirt potential network failure , design proteins , and in some cases , just have fun ! Its importance here , though , is that every node in every network is an adjacency , and by Kauffman ’ s model , a place where something evolutionary and developmental can happen . Research can be published ; electricity can flow ; children can be conceived ; treaties can be made ; proposals can be shared ; ideas can go forward ; ... Conversely , without adjacency , nothing can happen . There are even those who have argued that the topology of the network IS the topology of the space it spans . For example , your motivation and behavior is very different in a conflict space that involves your child than in one that does not . The very shape of that space and its force upon you is determined by your relationship to those involved , and that force is something that you physically feel through to your bones .
The Deep Structure of Social Space
Generations of emergence have created an embedded history in the psyches of individuals , the structure and operations of institutions , and the tenets of cultures that play a role in constructing their ability and willingness to participate in new possibilities , even in shaping their perceptions of what new possibilities are ( Holland , 1998 ). Kauffman has shown
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