Self-Organizing Evolutionary Complexity: Implications for Systems Engineering

While we have all experienced the increasing complexity in the systems in which we live, there are no physical laws that predict such behavior. In fact, the second law of thermodynamics is the only physical law with an “arrow” of time, and it points the way to increasing disorder. This paper discusses complexity, its definitions, and how they relate to systems engineering. It reviews two separate approaches to creating a natural law of self-organization evolutionary complexity: one that uses energy rate density as the state variable and the other that uses the notion of functionality information. The implications of these two approaches are discussed with respect to its impact on systems engineering. In particular, the impacts on the focus of systems engineering for adaptivity, evolvability, and sustainability are presented. Finally, a strategy for ethical sustainability is described along with some critical areas of research.