What Are Islands of Coherence?

One of Prigogine's most intriguing ideas is problem-solving arises from understanding the problem in a new way.

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Last week I ended the Musings with this reference to Islands of Coherence:

"Much of what is considered valuable today will be revealed as valueless as these extremes unwind in a disorderly rebalancing. Islands of Coherence in a sea of incoherence will become valuable."

The phrase originated with complexity scientist Ilya Prigogine, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1977 for his work on nonequilibrium thermodynamics.  Here is his quote containing the phrase: "When a system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence have the capacity to shift the entire system." 

I don't claim to understand Prigogine's vast body of work, which is both varied and nuanced, but I can sketch out his insights into complex systems, largely drawn from his co-authored 1984 book Order Out of Chaos. (new:  used)

Classical physics operates in a closed system, a mechanistic model like a clock. Nature is what Prigogine calls an Open System, constantly impacted by stimuli and inputs from the chaotic world outside and feedback inside the system. Open systems are in constant motion as inputs and mechanisms generate feedback loops that influence every aspect of the system.

In his words, "Nature is change, the continual elaboration of the new, a totality being created in an essentially open process of development without any preestablished model." 

The 12 key attributes of open systems are:
1. They have the potential to self-organize, that is, establish order out of chaos.
2. They establish order through what he calls fluctuations, which can have multiple sources.