Accepted:
December 2004
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/vol12/msid48/ | © Copyright 2008 | |||
| Volume 12 | Received: Accepted: |
November 2004 December 2004 |
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The lognormal as universal descriptor of unconstrained complex systems: a unifying theory for complexity
Stephan Halloy, Peter Whigham |
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| Abstract | |
| Most observed unconstrained complex systems tend to a class of distributions characterized by the lognormal. Complex systems differing substantially from the lognormal can be subject to external constraints or forces stronger than their internal self-organization. Systems presently unconstrained but away from the lognormal are usually in a state of transit toward the lognormal. The lognormal constitutes a pattern attractor towards which such systems inevitably tend. The mechanism leading to lognormal distribution has been modelled with resource attraction algorithms based on a gravity equation. In addition to mechanistic explanations, analysis of complex systems data using the lognormal pattern as a benchmark provides useful practical insights into system status, disturbance, successional phase, diagnosis of thresholds and boundaries between systems, etc. The relations of the lognormal distribution to diversity, stability, competition, scaling, multiple level systems, extinction, redundancy, poverty, social equity, sustainable agroecosystems, etc, have important implications for the fields of ecosystem function, conservation biology, ecological economics, wealth distribution, threshold calculations and many more areas where unconstrained adaptive complex systems working through interacting (connected) competing agents are at work. By providing insights into these systems, resource attraction and abundance/morphology patterns should help to approach sustainable management in a more balanced, equitable and effective way. Keywords: unconstrained complex systems, resource attraction principle, lognormal, power distributions, polo distributions, pattern attractors. | |
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Multimedia Links (none) Reference Links (none) Citation Reference Stephan Halloy, Peter Whigham 2008, The lognormal as universal descriptor of unconstrained complex systems: a unifying theory for complexity, Complexity International, Volume 12, Paper ID: msid48, URL: http://www.complexity.org.au/vol12/msid48/ |
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