Systems

Although only 6 letters long, the word 'System' is bloody complicating.

The definition of 'System', as taken from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/system
I only like the definitions in red. I will ignore the rest.

1. A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole.

2. A functionally related group of elements, especially:

a. The human body regarded as a functional physiological unit.

b. An organism as a whole, especially with regard to its vital processes or functions.

c. A group of physiologically or anatomically complementary organs or parts: the nervous system; the skeletal system.

d. A group of interacting mechanical or electrical components.

e. A network of structures and channels, as for communication, travel, or distribution.

f. A network of related computer software, hardware, and data transmission devices.

3. An organized set of interrelated ideas or principles.

4. A social, economic, or political organizational form.

5. A naturally occurring group of objects or phenomena: the solar system.

6. A set of objects or phenomena grouped together for classification or analysis.

7. A condition of harmonious, orderly interaction.

8. An organized and coordinated method; a procedure.

9. The prevailing social order; the establishment.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System

The concept of an "integrated whole" can also be stated in terms of a system embodying a set of relationships which are differentiated from relationships of the set to other elements, and from relationships between an element of the set and elements not a part of the relational regime.

Natural and man-made systems

There are natural and man-made (designed) systems. Natural systems may not have an apparent objective but their outputs can be interpreted as purposes. Man-made systems are made with purposes that are achieved by the delivery of outputs. Their parts must be related; they must be “designed to work as a coherent entity” - else they would be two or more distinct systems

I think natural systems do have an apparent objective. Of course they do. Their objectives are far more apparent then man-made system's objectives. Man-man things always have hidden objectives. With nature, what you see is what you get.

Open system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_system_(systems_theory)
-An open system usually interacts with some entities in their environment.
-A state of a system, in which a system continuously interacts with its environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basic_Open_System_Model.gif

It seems like every system would be open. Even if it was supposed to be a closed system, there would still be some instances where something could interfere. I can't really see a situation where a system could be completely closed. Everything and anything will always be affected by it's environment.... Nothing ever stays the same. The world is not a still place.

Chaos Theory
Systems whose states evolve with time – that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect).
As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

Butterfly Effect The butterfly effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. Small variations of the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. This is sometimes presented as esoteric behavior, but can be exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position.

I like things that evolve over time. It's like a living thing. Like a Tamagotchi, they are cool.


I am having a system overload. Too much information for my poor brain.
Looking at those definitions for 'System' above, I have narrowed my field of research down to a few things that I find interesting within the concept of systems.

- The prevailing social order; the establishment.
- A social, economic, or political organizational form.
- The human body regarded as a functional physiological unit.
- An organized set of interrelated ideas or principles.

http://www.albumoftheday.com/facebook/
http://www.theyrule.net/2004/tr2.php
These two sites are rather similar in their content. They both talk about how big companies are often somehow connected to each other. They are all after one thing - our money.
They both show how systems large and diverse a system can be. Two completely different companies can be part of the same big money making system. Gross.

http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp
This is an interactive website about the human body and how systems in it, work. Good example of how one big system can have many other smaller systems within it.
The human body is such a complex system. It is amazing how we can adapt to different situations and environments. Our bodies can actually handle much more then we think it can. Once it hits survival mode we become super humans. If we could switch our 'survival modes' on and off when ever we please it would be totally sweet!

- An organized set of interrelated ideas or principles.
This is the one I am most interested by. The best example of this is Religion. I would love to base my work on religion because I am fascinated by it. Christianity in particular. There seems to be a definite organised set of interrelated ideas and principles within Christianity.

When I search "An organized set of interrelated ideas or principles", I come up with a few interesting things....

- I find a book about Game design fundamentals [here]
- An E-zine article about 'Reducing Staff Turnover in Small Businesses' [here]
- I find myslef a very interesting blog entry by somebody, 'Our beliefs and their support systems'........ This is totally what I am talking about above. Reading this makes me excited and make me want to pursure this idea of religion being a system.