Complexity and hierarchy: A level rule

✍ Scribed by Gad Yagil

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 515 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1076-2787
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0526(199907/08)4:6<22::aid-cplx4>3.0.co;2-o

✦ Synopsis

n this article, the connection between structural complexity and hierarchical organization is examined. The following quantitative rule, connecting complexities evaluated at different hierarchical levels, is offered:

C A/C is the complexity of an A-level structure evaluated in terms of its C-sublevel components. This level rule is used to evaluate the complexity of the insulin A-chain at two different levels. The complexity of the insulin chain at the C (atomic)-sublevel is derived from its complexity on the B (amino acid)-sublevel and the complexities of the j component amino acids in terms of their C-level elements. The result obtained is the same as that previously evaluated by a direct approach not using the level rule. It is proposed that this level rule is applicable to a wide range of actual and virtual hierarchical systems.