Introduction:
This is not science, these are my thoughts presented in what I think is the clearest possible form, which is a framework derived from axioms resulting in conclusions.
What I seek to convey in this article is a small niche of thought I have developed for myself around systems, and why I think systems collapse. In later articles, I may seek to give some expansion on these principles in terms of other topics, such as the Fermi Paradox, but suffice to say when I discuss systems, this is what I’m talking about. All of these ideas came to me from reading about and studying international affairs theory, history, and biological life, but I am sure I’m far from the first to think along these lines. I simply think this is a useful framework to apply to problems and questions about many real world processes.
Axioms:
A system that can be defined as following conventional logic is composed of more than one entity and is bounded by the order the entities create through their behavior.
Definition: An entity is an element of a system, which can include individual actors with or without human consciousness, forces such as the environment, or groups of other entities.
Entities in the real world contain infinite systems within themselves, down to the level of the fundamental laws of the universe and interactions between particles.
Definition: The order operates as an invisible entity within the system which can inform interactions as well as the logic of the system itself. Therefore, the order is the means through which the entities create and change the system. Orders can affect their own change.
Entities in a system interact with each other.
A system has collapsed when axioms 1, 2, or 3 are violated.
Systems in the real world are almost always parts of the entities of larger systems, and their own entities contain infinite systems. Systems on a higher level are dubbed “supersystems”, systems on a lower level are dubbed “subsystems”.
System:
So, what is a system? As defined by my axioms, it is when things interact to create something that can be identified as an order, i.e., rules or modes of interaction. Very large things are systems, of course, like governments and solar systems, but small things like offices, friend groups, relationship dynamics, and individuals’ circulatory systems are systems in the most conventional definition. Slightly less conventionally, things such as your weekly laundry chore, a lego spaceship, and a living language (and in fact all memetic ideas) can be considered systems under this framework.
The key to making all these very obvious if hard to follow statements work for how you see things is to be able to define a system and observe its collapse. What follows are three examples on the micro, unconventional, and macro levels.
Micro Example: Shrimp Tank
Order: Shrimp (a collective entity of more than one shrimp) live within the environment of my tank.
Notes: The environment as a whole is an entity, it can act on the shrimp and the shrimp can act on it.
Interaction: The environment acts on the shrimp by being unsuitable for shrimp development, killing them.
System Collapse: There are no longer shrimp who live within my tank.
Unconventional Example: Laundry
Order: I (an entity) do laundry on a regular basis.
Notes: Here laundry itself is an entity—it is a commonly accepted idea of taking one’s clothes and washing them. Putting my clothes in the oven is not “doing laundry”, because laundry has a specific definition and is in fact a system of several systems within itself, just like me.
Interaction: I forget to do my laundry for a long period of time.
System Collapse: I no longer do laundry on a regular basis.
Notes: “Regular basis” is perhaps a separate entity with a individualized, cultural, and fuzzy order.
Macro Example: The Byzantine Empire
Order: A specific regime (collective entity that you could spend all day deciding what it could mean) rules over (see Notes) a specific populace (collective entity of collective entities).
Notes: By rules over, I mean has some sort of dominant interaction with the infinite subsystems of a group of people. These relational subsystems include the level of parent-child, citizen-tax collector, and sewer cleaner-manager of sewer cleaner, among others.
Interaction (One among trillions): Another regime within the supersystem (15th century Anatolia) interacts with the Byzantines using blades, guns, and cannons.
System Collapse: A specific regime no longer rules over a specific populace.
Conclusions Derived From Axioms:
These are what naturally come from what I have laid out here, as I see it.
Systems themselves impose their own interactions on entities through their orders; therefore,
Systems can create suborders and entities sui generis or via interaction with another system (including a supersystem); therefore,
Systems themselves are an act of creation, creating more than the sum of their parts; therefore,
The infinite subsystems within any real given system cause infinite interactions which are by definition not able to be predicted; therefore,
Infinite interactions mean the system collapse of all systems is only a matter of time.