> [!abstract] Not simple and never fully knowable. Just too many variables interact ## Attributes - Has interconnecting parts - Has a none linear effect, meaning you change something somewhere it will have unpredictable effects elsewhere in the system - Has components that interact in varied and sometimes unpredictable ways This can stems from the ability to dynamically configure which components interacts with each other even when the system is active ## Notes Complexity is often associated with the concept of emergence, where new properties or behaviors arise from the interactions of the parts, and are not present in any single element. Complex systems can not be fully controlled because of their hard to predict behavior. A better approach is to intelligently/deliberately influence them. ## Quotes > Complex’ is a synonym for ‘unpredictable’—or at least ’not easily predictable’. > -- Jeffrey O’Brien >A perfect regulator must have at least as many distinguishable states as the phenomenon it is intended to regulate -- [Law of Requisite Variety by W. Ross Ashby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_(cybernetics)#Law_of_requisite_variety) The control mechanism of a thing will always be complicated than the thing being controlled. This means we must be mindful of how much control we desire, because the the more control the more complicated the control system becomes. ## Sources [Managing the Complicated vs. the Complex PDF](https://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/files/JohnKamensky.pdf) [Complex versus Complicated by Maikel Mardjan](https://nocomplexity.com/complex-vs-complicated/)