complexity theory

noun

1. the study of complex and chaotic systems and how order, pattern, and structure can arise from them.
2. the theory that processes having a large number of seemingly independent agents can spontaneously order themselves into a coherent system.

noun

1. maths the study of complex systems, including subjects such as chaos theory and genetic algorithms
2. computing a field in theoretical computer science dealing with the resources required during computation to solve a given problem

1. See computational complexity.
2. Any of various branches of mathematics, physics, computer science, and other fields, concerned with the emergence of order and structure in complex and apparently chaotic systems. See also chaos.