History refers to the origin and development of a complex system.
Memory is stored within the complex system and can be older than the elements of the system.
The brain, immune system, and colonies can all have memory.
Memory is stored in biological and physical form, and reactivated when necessary.
Memory is a tool that the system uses to its advantage.
In our last episode, we talked about the four conditions of complex systems: numerosity, disorder and diversity, feedback, and non-equilibrium — and we also talked about the concept of emergence. In this episode, which is part two of our two-part series on the features of complex systems, we're joined again by Karoline Wiesner, Professor of Complexity Science in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
In this episode, Karoline explains the six emergent features of complex systems:
Spontaneous order and self-organisation
Non-linearity
Robustness
Nested structure and modularity
History and memory
Adaptive behaviour
By the time you've finished this episode, you'll understand the underlying principles of complex systems that hold together the wide variety of topics we talk about in this series.