When there are many control systems, there are many ways each may influence others, most of them by disturbing the perceptions of the others, but some in a beneficial way.
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If there is a probability P that one specific control system's actions
will benefit a specific other, then the probability that it will benefit
at least one other in a group of N is  ,
and the probability that at least one of them will benefit at least one
other is 1 - (1-P)^(N*(N-1)). To see how rapidly the probability approaches
unity, if P is 10^-5, the probability that there is at least one such link
is 0.5 if there are 250 control units, 0.9 if there are 480 units, and over
0.9999 if there are 1000 units. |
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There is, of course, a much higher probability that any two units will interfere with each other than that one will benefit the other. However, when control is poor, reorganization tends to change control systems and their linkages more than when it is good. This means that beneficial links tend to stay, and even to grow in number, as a consequence of reorganization, whereas interfering relationships tend to be eliminated.
If with N units there is a better than even chance that there will be at least one beneficial relationship, with a very few more units there will very probably be a lot of them. The number of possible relationships increases as N^2. The more links there are, the more likely it is that somewhere there will be a control unit A that benefits control unit B while B benefits C. and with only a few more units, it becomes practically guaranteed that there will be at least one loop, in which A benefits B, B benefits C, ... Z, and Z benefits A.
Reorganization tends to alter relationships, but less so when control is good. Mutually supportive loops enhance the ability of each memeber of the loop to control. Loop members are theefore more likely to retain their characteristics than are control units that "fly solo." In a large structure undergoing continual reorganization, the dominant feature is likely to be sets of mutually supporting control units, and some of those sets will be loops.
