Complexity Explorer Santa Few Institute

A complex, nonlinear, interactive system which has the ability to adapt to a changing environment. Such systems are characterized by the potential for the emergence of new structure with new properties. Complex adaptive systems (CASs) can evolve by random mutation, self-organization, the transformation of their internal models of the environment, and natural selection. Examples include living organisms, the nervous system, the immune system, the economy, corporations, and societies. In a CAS, semi-autonomous agents interact according to certain rules, evolving to maximize some measure like fitness to their environment.