Organizational Extinction and Complex Systems

December 30, 1999 · Research Article Russ Marion, Josh Bacon, Dr Kurt Richardson1 1 Emergent Publications Marion R, Bacon J, Richardson K. Organizational Extinction and Complex Systems. Emergence: Complexity and Organization. 1999 Dec 30 [last modified: 2014 Nov 15]. Edition 1. The Lost World, Michael Crichton’s sequel to the dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park, is structured around complexity theory. Briefly defined, complexity theory examines emergent order in large, interactive, adaptive networks, such as neural networks or ecosystems. In The Lost World, Crichton’s characters investigate the emergent nature of complex ecosystems and seek to understand how extinctions occur in such robust networks. In this article, we ask the same questions about extinction among formal social systems.

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