Holonic Solutions

A privately-funded research and development organisation dedicated to the production of techniques and tools for the analysis and design of dynamic holonic systems. Such systems evolve and self-organise over time to optimise survivability, adaptability, flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness.

Three key observations have guided efforts thus far:

1. The processes of evolution and self-organisation demonstrated in nature are responsible for the development of the most complex holonic systems in operation today. One can learn from and adapt these processes;
2. System size and complexity are on the increase in all areas of systems engineering. Some understanding of upward and downward causation (and emergence, chaos, stability etc.) is essential if we wish to predict or exploit - and so design for - desirable complex system behaviour;
3. In The Ghost in the Machine [1], Arthur Koestler presents a set of principles that he claims account for the structural, behavioural, and communication properties of complex Open Hierarchical Systems. These principles amount to an informal attempt at unifying the theories of complex systems, multi-agent systems and distributed intelligence, and are worthy of investigation.

References

1. Koestler, A., The Ghost in the Machine, Hutchinson & Co, 1967.