Socio-Ecological Networks: A Lens That Focuses Beyond Physics

Abstract

Contemporary systems ecology has long been occupied with mechanical explanations of behavior; however, the physical theory that undergirds such explanations has certain limits. It’s not that the physical force laws are ever violated, but with heterogeneous, irreversible relationships subject to aleatoric influences, physical laws can only constrain, but not determine, outcomes. Such complex systems are better treated in the framework of quantified networks of interrelations. The application of simple information theory to networks reveals that ecosystems cannot achieve maximal efficiency without growing vulnerable to novel disturbances. A degree of inefficient redundancies is always necessary to sustain ecological and social functioning; and, if they are to function reliably, such non-optimal features become requisite in the design of infrastructures like power grids, water distribution networks, traffic patterns, and supply chains. In particular, the postulate that economic market efficiency should never be compromised must be re-examined if society is to remain sustainable. Furthermore, the capability of networks to represent distributed causalities allows one to rationalize behaviors like endogenous selection, centripetal acquisition of resources, and the precedence of indirect mutualism over competition in living systems–all phenomena that challenge conventional evolutionary dogma.