From Through a Glass Darkly - A complex systems approach to Futures
“In a CAS there is no material linear causality – the three body problem
The Latin root of ‘complicated’ lies the idea of something that is folded, and by implication can be unfolded while remaining largely unchanged. Complex, on the the other hand, has a Greek origin in the idea of entanglement and any attempt to untangle it will create something different and the entanglement will never happen quite the same way twice, although there will be discernible patterns.
In seeking to manage a CAS all we can do is create or influence actants and their interactions and rapidly deploy energy to emergent patterns we consider beneficial while withdrawing it from those that could be harmful.”