Complexity: Some general observations

Abstract

Abstract An attempt is made in this article to develop a general framework for dealing with the various issues associated with the notion of complexity. It is argued that complexity, in the epistemological and methodological sense, is associated with systems defined on objects of interest rather than the objects themselves. Basic types of systems are outlined in the article. It is shown that systems complexity has different meanings for different types of systems while, at the same time, it possesses some general features that are invariant of systems types. Two general kinds of complexity of a system are proposed, which are connected with the amounts of information required to describe the system and to resolve uncertainty associated with it. A general simplification problem, which is applicable to systems of any type, is formulated, and some fundamental simplification strategies are overviewed.