New research from MIT Sloan and the Santa Fe Institute presents a mathematical model analyzing a variety of complex systems from bacterial cells to corporations to cities — finding, in most cases, the more systems grow, the fewer new functions are added (IMAGE)

MIT Sloan School of Management

New research from MIT Sloan and the Santa Fe Institute presents a mathematical model analyzing a variety of complex systems from bacterial cells to corporations to cities — finding, in most cases, the more systems grow, the fewer new functions are added

Caption

The perspective of the research paper is through a complexity science lens, understanding the interaction between components and how this affects the overall system. Despite a lot of heterogeneity in the different types of systems the researchers studied, their analysis finds that many systems exhibit common patterns of behavior. This work references Heaps’ Law. The research team analyzed data from bacterial and microbial cells, US federal agencies, companies and universities, and metropolitan areas, and explained the commonalities and differences in the data with a mathematical model for function diversity growth.

 

Credit

Jennifer Tapias Derch

Usage Restrictions

Editorial use only.

License

Original content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.