Self-organized_criticality

# Self-organized criticality ## MicroSim spec - **Recommended sim type:** [[Cellular_automaton|cellular automaton]] - **Microsimmability score:** 84/100 - **Layout:** drawing region (canvas) on top; control region (sliders/buttons) below. ### Parameters (tunable controls) - `Drop rate` - `Slope threshold` - `Grid size` ### What animates Sand is dropped on a pile and avalanches of all sizes keep it poised at criticality. ### Learning objective Show how a [[System|system]] self-tunes to a critical state with power-law avalanches. ## Links (Wikipedia order)  `Abelian_sandpile_model` · [[Adaptation]] · `Aftershock` · [[Agent-based_model]] · `Alessandro_Vespignani` · [[Algorithm]] · [[Ant_colony_optimization_algorithms]] · [[Artificial_intelligence]] · [[Artificial_life]] · [[Attractor]] · [[Autopoiesis]] · [[Bifurcation_theory]] · `Bio-inspired_computing` · [[Bounded_rationality]] · `Cambridge_University_Press` · `Cell_(biology)` · [[Cellular_automaton]] · [[Centrality]] · [[Chaos_theory]] · [[Collective_action]] · [[Collective_behavior]] · [[Collective_consciousness]] · [[Collective_intelligence]] · [[Complex_adaptive_system]] · [[Complex_system]] · [[Complexity]] · `Conservation_of_energy` · `Convergence_of_random_variables` · [[Conversation_theory]] · `Conway's_Game_of_Life` · [[Coupled_map_lattice]] · `Critical_brain_hypothesis` · `Critical_exponent` · `Critical_phenomena` · [[Cybernetics]] · `Degrees_of_freedom_(physics_and_chemistry)` · [[Dissipative_system]] · `Donald_L._Turcotte` · `Dual-phase_evolution` · [[Dynamic_network_analysis]] · [[Dynamical_system]] · [[Ecology]] · `Economics` · `Econophysics` · [[Emergence]] · [[Entropy]] · [[Evolution]] · `Evolutionary_biology` · [[Evolutionary_computation]] · [[Evolutionary_developmental_biology]] · [[Evolutionary_game_theory]] · [[Evolutionary_robotics]] · [[Evolvability]] · `Extremal_optimization` · [[Feedback]] · [[Fractal]] · [[Game_theory]] · [[Genetic_algorithm]] · [[Genetic_programming]] · [[Geomorphology]] · `Geophysics` · [[Goal_orientation]] · `Graph_coloring` · [[Graph_theory]] · `Gutenberg–Richter_law` · [[Herd_mentality]] · [[Homeostasis]] · [[Ilya_Prigogine]] · [[Information_theory]] · `Invasion_percolation` · `John_Horton_Conway` · [[John_von_Neumann]] · `Journal_of_Statistical_Physics` · `Kurt_Wiesenfeld` · [[Machine_learning]] · [[Multistability]] · `Nature_(journal)` · [[Network_motif]] · [[Network_science]] · [[Neural_network]] · [[Neural_network_(machine_learning)]] · `Non-equilibrium_thermodynamics` · [[Nonlinear_system]] · `Olami–Feder–Christensen_model` · [[Operationalization]] · [[Ordinary_differential_equation]] · [[Partial_differential_equation]] · [[Particle_swarm_optimization]] · [[Pattern_formation]] · `Per_Bak` · [[Percolation]] · [[Phase_space]] · [[Phase_transition]] · `Physical_Review_Letters` · `Physical_cosmology` · `Pink_noise` · [[Population_dynamics]] · `Power_law` · [[Prisoner's_dilemma]] · `Protein` · `Quantum_gravity` · [[Rational_choice_model]] · [[Reaction–diffusion_system]] · `Red_Queen_hypothesis` · `Reports_on_Progress_in_Physics` · [[Robustness_(computer_science)]] · `Sara_Solla` · [[Scalability]] · [[Scale-free_network]] · `Scale_invariance` · [[Second-order_cybernetics]] · [[Self-organization]] · `Self-organized_criticality_control` · [[Self-reference]] · [[Self-replication]] · [[Sensemaking]] · `Simulated_annealing` · [[Small-world_network]] · [[Social_dynamics]] · [[Social_network_analysis]] · `Sociology` · `Solar_physics` · [[Spatial_ecology]] · `Stephen_Wolfram` · [[Swarm_behaviour]] · [[Synchronization]] · `Synthetic_biology` · [[System_dynamics]] · [[Systems_biology]] · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]] · [[Systems_thinking]] · `Theory_of_computation` · [[Time_series]] · `Tropical_geometry` · `Universality_class` · [[Variety_(cybernetics)]] > p5.js MicroSim stub · part of Systems Science · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organized_criticality) > Relation: subfield of systems science. ## Concept summary Self-organized criticality describes systems that naturally evolve toward a critical state where events occur in power-law-distributed avalanches. ## Build checklist - [ ] Claim it: set `status: in-progress` + `lease` + `leased_at` - [ ] Write the child page explaining the concept (tie it back to systems science) - [ ] 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: Self-organized criticality let controls = {}; function setup() { // createCanvas(...); create sliders for the parameters above. } function draw() { // background(...); read controls; render cellular automaton; respond live. } ``` --- Back to Systems Science · Wikipedia: [Self-organized criticality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organized_criticality) ---  ## 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 (18) · 🟢 emergence (14) · 🟡 science (5) · 🟢 threshold (2) · 🟢 phase transition (1) **Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal  ## Wikipedia : Wikitube **Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organized_criticality) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Self-organized_criticality) ## Previous hub tags Tree parents: [[Complex_system]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Dynamical_system]] · [[Emergence]] · [[Feedback]] · [[Self-organization]] · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]]. Legacy hubs: none. --- *Sources: 2 legacy notes. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*