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After serious consideration I feel a
proposal necessary, even if it hurts emotional vibes. Now that Robert
Rosen's ideas start to catch momentum, more and more objections arise on the
basis of other 'complex' named theories, systems, teachings,
publications.
We should phase out the words complex and
complexity from the Rosen-based teachings, although he had to
use them to get "in".
On another list (Complex-M) a list of
'complexity-related books' has been submitted (no Rosen ideas (books) among
them):
A couple of people have asked lately,
both on this list and privately, for a list of suggested "Top 10" Complexity
books to learn more about the field. Here just for fun is my Top 10, in no
particular order; the next Top 11-25 in no order; and some other books on chaos,
systems and related topics which I would also recommend. If anyone has other
books they would put in their top 10 or top 25, I would be very interested to
know:
COMPLEXITY BOOKS – A non-hierarchical list by
Buck Lawrimore
NO PARTICULAR ORDER
The Soul At Work – Roger Lewin and Birute Regine
Navigating Complexity – Arthur Battram
The Intelligence Advantage – Organising for
Complexity – Michael D. McMaster
The Web of Life – Fritjof Capra
At Home in the Universe – Stuart Kauffman
Complexity – Life at the Edge of Chaos – Roger
Lewin
Complexity – The Emerging Science at the Edge of
Chaos – M. M.Waldrop
Facilitating Organization Change – Edwin Olson
and Glenda Eoyang
Wholeness and the Implicate Order – David Bohm
Complexity and Creativity in Organizations –
Ralph D. Stacey
TOP 11-25 – NO PARTICULAR ORDER
The Tree of Knowledge – Humberto Maturana and
Francesco Varela
The Living Company – Arie de Geus
Leadership and the New Science – Margaret
Whetley
The Complexity Advantage – Susanne Kelly and
Mary Ann Allison
Hidden Order – How Adaptation Builds Complexity
– John H. Holland
Emergence – From Chaos To Order – John H.
Holland
Emergence – The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains,
Cities and Software –
Steven Johnson
Systems Thinking – Managing Chaos and Complexity
– Jamshid Gharajedaghi
Re-Creating the Corporation – Russell Ackoff
Open Boundaries – Howard Sherman and Ron Schultz
Edgeware – Brenda Zimmerman, Curt Lindberg and
Paul Plsek
Complex Responsive Processes in Organizations –
Ralph D. Stacey
The Leadership Dance – Richard N. Knowles
Harnessing Complexity – Robert Axelrod and
Michael D. Cohen
The Emergence of Leadership – Linking
Self-Organization and Ethics –
Douglas Griffin
Linked – The New Science of Networks –
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
The Art of System Thinking – Joseph O’Connor and
Ian McDermott
General System Theory – Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Coping with Chaos – Glenda Eoyang
Chaos – James Gleick
The Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge
Shaping the Adaptive Organization – William E.
Fulmer
Strategic Thinking and the New Science – T.
Irene Sanders
Chaos and the Evolving Ecological Universe –
Sally J. Goerner
Leading Systems – Barry Oshry
Chaos and Order – N. Katherine Hayles
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
Synchronicity – The Inner Path of Leadership –
Joseph Jaworski
The Collapse of Chaos – Jack Cohen and Ian
Stewart--------
(and of course the Figments of Reality, my favorite)
and
Ian Smuts, Klaus Mainzer, George Kampis, etc.
etc.
The above mentioned list focusses on 'complexity in management', mostly
business consulting. The discussions go into 'complexity' galore. Then there is
the "complex-science' list, etc. etc.
There was a Complexity Conference (in healthcare) at the Mayo,
reported by the "Professor of Complexity Science" Ann Arbor Univ.
All AI and AL computer scientists speak about 'complex systems',
an MIT professor stated that the 'complexity' of a 747 can be
measured by the number of blueprints in its design.
People do not understand what WE are talking about, so
"we are the bums, the ignoramus ones".
"Complexity of..." is the motto. Thousands publish such ideas and
hundredthousands use the term in this sense all over the world.
I was urged many times by "technical and
scientific potentates"<G>
to use the terms in their "habitual" meaning.
(Not in Rosen's ways).
It is not an easy decision and not easy to find
"the word", but IMO
if we want to stay 'in' the intellectual
(main?)stream we have to change the buzzword. The world will not change the
usage.
John Mikes
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