# Variety (cybernetics)
## MicroSim spec
- **Recommended sim type:** feedback loop
- **Microsimmability score:** 68/100
- **Layout:** drawing region (canvas) on top; control region (sliders/buttons) below.
### Parameters (tunable controls)
- `System states`
- `Controller states`
- `Disturbance variety`
### What animates
A regulator's set of responses is matched against the disturbances it must absorb.
### Learning objective
Illustrate requisite variety: a regulator needs as many responses as disturbances.
## Links (Wikipedia order)
<!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Variety_(cybernetics).json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) -->
`Algorithmic_information_theory` · [[Allenna_Leonard]] · `Amplifier` · `Analog-to-digital_converter` · `Attenuation` · [[Attractor]] · `Automata_theory` · `B-tree` · `Bandwidth_(computing)` · `Bit` · `Butterfly_effect` · `Cardinality` · [[Cellular_automaton]] · [[Complexity]] · [[Computer_hardware]] · [[Control_system]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Data_compression]] · `Degrees_of_freedom_(physics_and_chemistry)` · `Dynamic_equilibrium` · `Excited_state` · [[Finite-state_machine]] · `Formal_language` · `Frank_Honywill_George` · [[Game_theory]] · [[Gordon_Pask]] · [[Homeostasis]] · [[Information_theory]] · `Injective_function` · `Management_cybernetics` · `Mechanism_design` · `Multiset` · `Myhill–Nerode_theorem` · [[Negative_feedback]] · `Nyquist_stability_criterion` · [[Operations_research]] · `Order_(group_theory)` · `Power_set` · `Project_complexity` · [[Project_management]] · `Redundant_code` · `Regulation` · [[Sequence]] · `Set_(mathematics)` · `Software_bloat` · `Space_complexity` · [[Stafford_Beer]] · `State_(computer_science)` · `State_pattern` · `Synchronizing_word` · `Transformation_(function)` · `Uncertainty` · `Viable_system_model` · `W._Ross_Ashby` · [[Wayback_Machine]] · `YouTube`
## From the Real GENERATIVE library
*Variety (cybernetics) — placed from the Real G.E.N.E.R.A.T.I.V.E. course library (Information room). Source: Wikimedia Commons (via Wikipedia article media). [Details & license](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LRV_game.svg).*
> In cybernetics, the term variety denotes the total number of distinguishable elements of a set, most often the set of states, inputs, or outputs of a finite-state machine or transformation, or the binary logarithm of the same quantity.[1] Variety is used in cybernetics as an information theory that is easily related to deterministic finite automata, and less ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_%28cybernetics%29))
<!-- REAL-GENERATIVE-MEDIA:END -->
> p5.js MicroSim stub · part of Systems Science · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_%28cybernetics%29)
> Relation: subfield of systems science.
## Concept summary
In [[Cybernetics|cybernetics]], the term variety denotes the total number of distinguishable elements of a set, most often the set of states, inputs, or outputs of a finite-state machine or transformation, or the binary logarithm of the same quantity. Variety is used in cybernetics as an [[Information_theory|information theory]] that is easily related to deterministic finite automata, and less formally as a conceptual tool for thinking about organization, regulation, and stability.
## 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: Variety (cybernetics)
let controls = {};
function setup() {
// createCanvas(...); create sliders for the parameters above.
}
function draw() {
// background(...); read controls; render feedback loop; respond live.
}
```
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Back to Systems Science · Wikipedia: [Variety (cybernetics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_%28cybernetics%29)
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## 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 (8):** 🟡 system (6) · 🟡 science (5) · 🟢 feedback (4) · 🟢 control loop (1) · 🟢 exponential (1) · 🟡 information (1) · 🟢 stability (1) · 🟢 state (1)
**Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal
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## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_%28cybernetics%29) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Variety_%28cybernetics%29)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Complex_system]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Emergence]] · [[Feedback]] · [[Information_theory]] · [[Self-organization]] · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*