Complexity and Robustness

Prof. John Doyle, California Institute of Technology

A mechanism for generating power law distributions is introduced and referred to as highly optimized tolerance (HOT), which is motivated by biological organisms and advanced engineering technologies. The focus is on systems which are optimized, either through natural selection or engineering design, to provide robust performance despite uncertain environments. It is suggested that power laws in these complex systems are due to tradeoffs between yield, cost of resources and tolerance to risks. These trade-offs lead to highly optimized design that allow for occasional large events. This mechanism of generating power law distributions is in complete contrast to notions of self organised criticality. Examples can be taken from power systems, the internet, percolation and many others.

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