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Complex adaptive systems
Article By:
Sage, Andrew P. School of Information Technology and Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.
Last reviewed:2002
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB020185
Complex adaptive systems (CAS) constitute an emerging field of study in science, technology, the behavioral sciences, and management. This field has evolved from major knowledge areas, including mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, organizational science, computer science, and engineering. Fundamentally, a system is complex when it is not amenable to linear understanding, simple cause-and-effect relationships, or other standard methods of systems analysis. Complex systems are ones in which patterns can be seen and understood, but the interplay of individual elements cannot be reduced to the study of such elements considered in isolation from one another.
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