2. Evolutionary Systems

Throughout these posts I will be using the term "system" periodically. A definition of the word system is as such; A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole. This is not just a good definition for a word, but for an idea as well. Evolution is not something which only affects Biological Systems, but all systems of interrelated complex groupings. More importantly, no matter how unrelated one system is from the next, they evolve according to the same set of rules. This means that whether your system is biological, some social construct, or even an abstraction from society, it evolves.

Do you believe that all Human Beings are the same? Diversity within system brings about evolutionary changes. How can a steady state system ever evolve? The answer is simple, It can not. The very characteristic of a steady state system is that it does not change, that it is in fact at equilibrium. So an Evolutionary System must be a non-homogeneous system. Furthermore, if an Evolutionary System is non-homogeneous, then what system exists which does not evolve?

All systems have some degree of diversity. What makes this interesting is what governs that distribution of diversity. To answer this, we must understand why diversity is an integrable part of Evolution. Why must a system be diverse for it to evolve? While it is rather easy to say that reason being is that it is not a steady state system, no further argument can be made as to why. Diversity in a system represents the system's response to a given problem. The more diverse a system is, the more adaptable it is. This is not so much an argument for evolution, as it is an argument for basic survival. Now it can be said that the portions of a system which survive are the portions of a system in it's next evolutionary step. Still we are missing the trigger for which a system is forced to survive. So the diversity of a system is the potential for it evolve, given some triggering mechanism. This really is the long way of saying, Diversity in a system is the means of "Survival of the Fittest".

Another defining characteristic of a system is its population size. Without a given population size, diversity within a system is limited. What does this mean? As a population size grows, it allows for the existence of more diversity within a system. Furthermore, as a system's population grows to even higher degrees, the diversity within that system will bring about sub-systems. These sub-systems will be largely in part the same as it's parent system, except for some interrelated characteristics that it only shares with other members of the same sub-system. For example, the Human race is an evolutionary system which contains many sub-systems. Race, culture, preference in religion or politics. The members of all those sub-systems all have something in common. They are human. However, they have more in common with other members of their sub-system than they do with all members of their parent system. Let's take a look at another seemingly unrelated example. Ball-point pens, Felt-tip pens, pens with reservoirs are all sub-systems of Pens. Each has it's own solution to the same problem.

The next time you leave your house, or disconnect yourself from your cellphone, take a look around. Observe and define a grouping. Is it non-homogeneous (diverse)? Does it have a population size? If it's population size is small, how diverse is it? Is it contained in, or does it contain a sub-system?

Until next time, Safe Travels