Complexity sciences

“Broadly, self-organized criticality is the tendency of a multi-leveled
system to accumulate tension at lower levels over time until a structural
transformation occurs at the larger levels. Sand piles and avalanches are
prime examples of this phenomenon. … [A] dissipative structure forms when
an open system is pushed far from equilibrium. The new structure reduces
disorder, dissipating entropy. This self-organizing process generates new
structures based on the complex interdependencies of the component parts.”
Glenda Eoyand, “Complexity Sciences: A Summary of Theories, Models and
Tools,” Rotman, Fall 2010