Adaptive systems are designed to adjust their behavior in response to changes in their environment or internal state, allowing them to maintain functionality and improve performance over time. These systems are characterized by their ability to learn from experience, self-organize, and evolve, making them highly resilient and efficient in dynamic and complex settings.
Emergent behavior refers to complex patterns and properties that arise from the interactions of simpler components within a system, which cannot be predicted solely by analyzing the individual components. This phenomenon is crucial in understanding systems in fields such as biology, sociology, and computer science, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Stochastic processes are mathematical objects used to model systems that evolve over time with inherent randomness. They are essential in various fields such as finance, physics, and biology for predicting and understanding complex systems where outcomes are uncertain.