Systems theory & class statement

Complexification and the design process

From Mutual Causality:

The processes by which the system sustains and creates order in Fleiss-Gleichgewicht are seen as twofold. One is homeostatic, whereby the continuity of structure or pattern is maintained. The other is self-organizing, whereby the structure is modified, its organization increased. In this complexification the system moves toward greater improbability and variety. This involves a decrease in structural stability: The system, more finely tuned, is more vulnerable to physical disorganization, but this in turn is counterbalanced by a greater flexibility and capacity to adapt, process information, and cope.

Systems research shows that, starting anywhere except the thermodynamically most probable equilibrium, an open system will complexify in response to inputs from the environment. This finding has led W.R. Ashby to say that in such a system “life and intelligence inevitably develop.”

Behaviorism presents the person as motivated by tension reduction and primarily reactive; it postulates a homeostatic type of equilibrium in which rest or inactivity is the goal. If this were indeed the case, says von Bertalanffy, “life would never have progressed beyond the amoeba which, after all, is the best adapted creature in the world…[and] Michelangelo should have followed his father’s request and gone in the wool trade, thus sparing himself lifelong anguish.” In contrast to the stimulus-response (S-R) model, systems theory sees the individual as primarily active, seeking not rest but that steady state maintained by the tension of interaction, as evident in spontaneous, exploratory, and playful behavior.

Our task:

Defining design research process and the creative process

+ Tracking evolution of products/communications that we consider classic

+ Developing a process by which we can analyze examples

+ Using/seeking transdisciplinary resources and problem-solving techniques

+ Surveying answers to past problems and utilizing findings as toolkit in projecting future solutions

+ Determining elemental forms/ideas/intentions

+ Creating complexified systems by adding inputs to challenge classic constructs—examining hybrids

+ Seeking new holons from complexified systems

+ Cataloging/re-cataloging as a tool to explore systems from multiple perspectives

+ Seeking points where tension of interaction occurs, and applying those points to new systems