definitions

complexity theory

noun

the study of complex and chaotic systems and how order, pattern, and structure can arise from them.
the theory that processes having a large number of seemingly independent agents can spontaneously order themselves into a coherent system.

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Nearby words

complexing agent, complexion, complexioned, complexionless, complexity, complexity theory, complexometric titration, complexometry, complexone, compliable, compliance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for complexity theory

complexity theory

noun

maths the study of complex systems, including subjects such as chaos theory and genetic algorithms
computing a field in theoretical computer science dealing with the resources required during computation to solve a given problem
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for complexity theory

complexity theory

[ kəm-plĕk′sĭ-tē ]

See computational complexity.
Any of various branches of mathematics, physics, computer science, and other fields, concerned with the emergence of order and structure in complex and apparently chaotic systems. See also chaos.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.