Good fences make good neighbors

understanding systems where it not possible to reduce uncertainty, only to absorb it.

This chapter establishes two typologies, one based on power laws and the other on complex adaptive systems theory, to provide a basis for understanding systems where it not possible to reduce uncertainty, only to absorb it. Those typologies are used to establish a framework within which different approaches to foresight can be distinguished. These range from systems models, through scenario planning to more recent techniques utilizing attractor landscapes and distributed cognition.