Characteristics of a System

Even if we accept that systems of a given level become unstable as they grow beyond a certain point, we still have not established why a higher level of system organization can be more stable. The reason for this stability goes back to the original definition of a system: a collection of things that interact with each other to function as a whole. The key word here is "interact." If one part of has an effect on the rest of the system and the system as a whole has an effect on that one part, then a "circular" relationship or "loop" has been created.

Take a systemic bicycle ride.

It seems that the reason in every case is that a collection of smaller units (a system) is more stable than one large unit.  Yet the number of units in such a collection can only grow so large before the overhead necessary to support it interferes with further growth. For example, consider the maximum size of animals (larger and larger collections of individual organs, muscle groups, and cells). Anything much bigger than a whale or a dinosaur would have a hard time finding enough food to keep going, much less coordinating its entire bulk efficiently.

It is also easy to see how this works with social organizations. A group of five people can work together as a single team, but at group of five thousand people would find it almost impossible to get anything done without dividing into smaller working groups and organizing some way of communicating between those groups. In other words, a group that big is just a disorganized crowd or mob unless one or more higher levels of system organization are created (Kauffman, 1978).

Feedback helps a system maintain stability. In the bicycle example, your brain gets feedback on the bicycle's status and compares it with what that status should be. If there is a difference between the two--whether it is because you made a slight error or because the environment has changed--your brain tells your muscles how to correct your output to bring the system back on course. Because this mechanism acts to cancel or "negate" undesired changes in the system, it is called a "negative feedback" loop.

Also see:

• I thought negative feedback was synonymous with criticism.
  
• Enough change--now give me the systemic summary!
  

Last Modified: 07 November 1999
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