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I don't know how to ask this question, so I need some help.

System

I don't mean any formal mathematical definition of a system. By system, I mean something like a computer network, AI neural network, the brain, the human body, a machine or factory of machines, etc.

Modularity

By modularity, I mean how clustered, cohesive, or functionally specialized are the constituent parts of any system. For example, let us compare the brain with an automobile:

A brain has neurons that are highly interconnected and has loosely identifiable "modules" - functionally specialized areas - the boundaries of which are really "fuzzy". I'd say this makes the brain LESS modular than something like a car. A car also has modules, and these provide interfaces that interact with a very limited number of other modules (with the exception of cross-cutting concerns like the electrical system). This makes a car MORE modular than a brain.

This has something to do with "interconnectedness", or "clusteryness". The effect is that causality is better managed in a more modular system, but adaptability seems to suffer, etc. What I need to know is:

Question:

Is there an industry word to describe this concept? If so, what is this word, and what is the industry, and where can I learn more?

rcgardne
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  • In computer coding, there is a notion of how connected code is. To many connections makes code less modular. There is an actual metric, but I am forgetting the name of the metric. – Thomas Andrews Feb 16 '23 at 00:18
  • I mean, AI and ML have done a lot of work trying to teach machines how to find the "clusters" in data. It's not exactly what you've asked, but you could start googling with "clustering algorithms" and see where that takes you. – JonathanZ Feb 16 '23 at 00:25
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    Ah, the term I was looking for is "coupling," and there are a lot of metrics to evaluate the degree of coupling between components of code. You could theoretically apply the same sort of thing to measure the coupling of xomponents in a car. – Thomas Andrews Feb 16 '23 at 00:25

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