Difference between revisions of "Variety (glossary)"
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Revision as of 08:56, 3 May 2012
(1) A measure of the connectivity betwen system elements
(2) Interacting systems stability increases with variety, and with the degree of connectivity of that variety within the environment
Source(s)
(1) Ashby, W R. 1956. Introduction to Cybernetics London; Wiley
(2) Hitchins, D. (2007) Systems Engineering: A 21st Century Systems Methodology: Wiley
Discussion
(1) is a cybernetic term used to define the number of available connections between elements, and thus the potential routes for control actions.
(2) is a systems engineering definition, in which variety of connections between elements is used as a way to increase the stability and potential of a system to achieve is goals. Hitchins refers to this as Connected Variety, and also discussed the limits on this conectivity applied by availability of time, space, resource.