# Heterarchy
## MicroSim spec
- **Recommended sim type:** network dynamics
- **Microsimmability score:** 63/100
- **Layout:** drawing region (canvas) on top; control region (sliders/buttons) below.
### Parameters (tunable controls)
- `Number of nodes`
- `Cross-links`
- `Layout spread`
### What animates
Nodes link sideways as well as up and down, forming an overlapping heterarchy as cross-links rise.
### Learning objective
Contrast a heterarchy's overlapping links with a strict [[Hierarchy|hierarchy]].
## Links (Wikipedia order)
<!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Heterarchy.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) -->
`Adhocracy` · `Andrey_Korotayev` · `Anthropologist` · `Archaeology` · [[Artificial_intelligence]] · `Body_without_organs` · `Cognition` · [[Cybernetics]] · `David_C._Stark` · `Deterritorialization` · `Directed_set` · `Dmitri_Bondarenko` · `Family_(taxonomy)` · `Folksonomy` · `Félix_Guattari` · `Gilles_Deleuze` · `Heterosexism` · `Hierarchical_organization` · [[Hierarchy]] · `Holon_(philosophy)` · `Homoarchy` · `Horizontal_gene_transfer` · `Leonid_Grinin` · [[Network_theory]] · `Neuron` · `Node_(networking)` · `Nupedia` · `Paul_Cilliers` · `Relational_models_theory` · `Rhizome_(philosophy)` · `Social_Evolution_&_History` · `Social_privilege` · [[System]] · `Tree_structure` · `Warren_Sturgis_McCulloch` · [[Wayback_Machine]] · `Wikipedia`
> p5.js MicroSim stub · part of Systems Thinking · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterarchy)
> Relation: subfield of systems thinking.
## Concept summary
A heterarchy is a [[System|system]] of organization where the elements of the organization are unranked (non-hierarchical) or where they possess the potential to be ranked a number of different ways. Definitions of the term vary among the disciplines: in social and [[Information|information]] sciences, heterarchies are ...
## Build checklist
- [ ] Claim it: set `status: in-progress` + `lease` + `leased_at`
- [ ] Write the child page explaining the concept (tie it back to systems thinking)
- [ ] Finalize parameter ranges and defaults
- [ ] Implement the p5.js sketch (drawing + control regions)
- [ ] Add caption + the learning objective on the page
- [ ] Set `status: done`
## p5.js sketch
```javascript
// MicroSim: Heterarchy
let controls = {};
function setup() {
// createCanvas(...); create sliders for the parameters above.
}
function draw() {
// background(...); read controls; render network dynamics; respond live.
}
```
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Back to Systems Thinking · Wikipedia: [Heterarchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterarchy)
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<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:START -->
## Semiotic profile
> *The semiotic universals this article invokes, machine-derived from the crossref — **unverified** (born so). Populated 2026-07-06 for the Systems room.*
**Universals (5):** 🟡 system (7) · 🟢 network (3) · 🟢 tree hierarchy (3) · 🟡 information (2) · 🟡 science (1)
**Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:END -->
## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterarchy) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Heterarchy)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Cybernetics]] · [[Systems_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*