3min chapter

Simplifying Complexity cover image

Can you tell when a system is about to tip?

Simplifying Complexity

CHAPTER

The Ball and a Cup Analogy

The classic picture of these kinds of tipping points is the ball and a cup. The idea here is to imagine some sort of flat surface that maybe has two divots in it. When you have homogeneous elements connected with each other, so you can get a lot of positive feedback between them, you can get incredible resilience. That's a fantastic example of the kind of resilience that complex systems can have.

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