System crash as dynamics of complex networks #MMPMID27698137
Yu Y; Xiao G; Zhou J; Wang Y; Wang Z; Kurths J; Schellnhuber HJ
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016[Oct]; 113 (42): 11726-31 PMID27698137show ga
System crash, as an essential part of system evolution, sometimes happens in peculiar manners: Weakened systems may survive for a surprisingly long time before suddenly meeting their final ends, whereas seemingly unbeatable giants may drastically crash to virtual nonexistence. We propose a model that describes system crash as a consequence of some relatively simple local information-based individual behaviors: Individuals leave networks according to some most straightforward assessment of current and future benefits/risks. Of note, such a simple rule may enable a single push/mistake to cause multistage-style system crash. Our study helps to make sense of the process where complex systems go into unstoppable cascading declines and provides a viewpoint of predicting the fate of some social/natural systems.