5
Human CivilizationII
9.4.4Historicalreviewof thecomplexitytransition
If we review history, we can see how the development of hierarchies enabled progressively more complex
behaviors up until thepresenttime,when this process broke down in favor of networks...
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5
Human CivilizationII
9.4.4Historicalreviewof thecomplexitytransition
If we review history, we can see how the development of hierarchies enabled progressively more complex
behaviors up until thepresenttime,when this process broke down in favor of networks (Fig. 9.4.5).Thereare
two complementaryaspectsto thedevelopment,complexity atthescaleof theindividual and atthescaleof the
collective.In general they do not relatedirectly to each other.In the contextof a control hierarchy, however,
there is an association of greater complexity of the individual behaviors with greater complexity of the
collectivebehavior.
Figure 9.4.5 A brief history of human organizations capturing theeffectof increasing collective complexity as
illustratedin Fig. 9.4.4.(a) In thefirst stagea single individual directsthebehavior of a large numberof other
individuals. This coordinates their activities,which are simple when viewed individually and collectively. (b)
As theorganizations becomemorecomplex,intermediatela
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