Will a Large Complex System be Stable?
NaturePublished 1 August 1972
Robert M. May
Citations2,895
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score18.29
SNIP10.16
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TL;DR
It is suggested that large complex systems which are assembled (connected) at random may be expected to be stable up to a certain critical level of connectance, and then, as this increases, to suddenly become unstable.
Abstract
Gardner and Ashby1 have suggested that large complex systems which are assembled (connected) at random may be expected to be stable up to a certain critical level of connectance, and then, as this increases, to suddenly become unstable. Their conclusions were based on the trend of computer studies of systems with 4, 7 and 10 variables.
Keywords
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