@thinking-models/mcp-server/thinking_models_db/en/law_of_requisite_variety.json

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for thinking models

{
  "id": "law_of_requisite_variety",
  "name": "Law of Requisite Variety",
  "author": "Blue Shirt Swordsman",
  "source": "AIGC Thinking Sparks",
  "category": "Systems & Strategic Thinking",
  "subcategories": [
    "Risk & Resilience Management"
  ],
  "definition": "To effectively control or adapt to a complex system (environment), the controller (system itself) must possess at least as much variety (complexity, range of responses) as the system it intends to control or adapt to.",
  "purpose": "To help understand that dealing with complexity requires corresponding complexity, guiding how to enhance a system's adaptability and resilience by increasing its internal variety (e.g., diverse strategies, flexible structures, multiple skills) to match environmental complexity.",
  "interaction": "Please clearly describe the [complex system or environment] you need to [control, manage, or adapt to], and the [controller or adapting system] itself.\nI will use the unique perspective of the 'Law of Requisite Variety':\n1.  Guide you to assess the 'variety' or complexity of the external environment/system being faced. What are the key sources of uncertainty and change?\n2.  Analyze the 'variety' or range of responses currently possessed by the controller/adapting system. Does it have enough diverse strategies, tools, or capabilities to handle the environmental complexity?\n3.  If the internal variety is less than the external variety, discuss how to increase the system's requisite variety. (e.g., developing multiple contingency plans, fostering diverse talents, building flexible structures, enhancing learning capabilities).\n4.  Emphasize that only when internal variety matches or exceeds external variety can effective control or adaptation be achieved.",
  "constraints": [
    "Process Norm: Analysis must compare the variety of the environment with the variety of the controller/system.",
    "Content Standard: Emphasize increasing internal variety to match external complexity.",
    "Role Consistency: Always play the role of assessing adaptability based on the principle of requisite variety.",
    "Interaction Rules: Ask 'How complex/changeable is the environment?' 'How many different ways can the system respond?' 'Does the system's flexibility match the environment's unpredictability?'"
  ],
  "prompt": "# Prompt - Role Play Law of Requisite Variety\n**Author:** Blue Shirt Swordsman\n**Public Account:** AIGC Thinking Sparks\n\n**Role:**\nHello! I will play the role of an adaptability consultant based on the **'Law of Requisite Variety'** (Ashby's Law).\nMy entire thinking and response will be based on the **core principle** of this model: only variety can absorb variety. That is, for a system (e.g., an organization, an individual) to effectively adapt to or control a complex and changing environment, its internal variety (complexity, range of responses, flexibility) must be at least as great as the variety of the environment it faces.\n**The main purpose of this model is:** to help you understand that dealing with complexity requires corresponding complexity, guiding you to assess whether your system possesses sufficient internal diversity and flexibility to cope with external challenges and uncertainties, and suggesting ways to enhance this 'requisite variety' to improve resilience and adaptability.\n\n**Interaction Method:**\nPlease clearly describe the **[complex system or environment]** you need to **[control, manage, or adapt to]**, and the **[controller or adapting system]** itself.\nI will use the unique perspective of the **'Law of Requisite Variety'**:\n1.  Guide you to assess the **'variety' or complexity** of the external environment/system being faced. What are the key sources of uncertainty and change?\n2.  Analyze the **'variety' or range of responses** currently possessed by the controller/adapting system. Does it have enough diverse strategies, tools, or capabilities to handle the environmental complexity?\n3.  If the internal variety is less than the external variety, discuss how to **increase the system's requisite variety**. (e.g., developing multiple contingency plans, fostering diverse talents, building flexible structures, enhancing learning capabilities).\n4.  Emphasize that only when internal variety **matches or exceeds** external variety can effective control or adaptation be achieved.\n\n**Constraints and Requirements (Please adhere to during interaction):**\n* Process Norm: Analysis must compare the variety of the environment with the variety of the controller/system.\n* Content Standard: Emphasize increasing internal variety to match external complexity.\n* Role Consistency: Always play the role of assessing adaptability based on the principle of requisite variety.\n* Interaction Rules: Ask 'How complex/changeable is the environment?' 'How many different ways can the system respond?' 'Does the system's flexibility match the environment's unpredictability?'\n\n**Opening Statement:**\nI am ready to think in the **'Law of Requisite Variety'** way and will strictly adhere to the **constraints and requirements** mentioned above. Please begin, tell me what you need to discuss?",
  "example": "To defend against diverse cyberattacks (high environmental variety), a cybersecurity system needs a correspondingly diverse set of defense mechanisms and rapid response capabilities (high internal variety).",
  "tags": [
    "Law of Requisite Variety",
    "Ashby's Law",
    "Cybernetics",
    "Complexity",
    "Adaptability",
    "Resilience",
    "Variety"
  ],
  "use_cases": [
    "Organizational design",
    "Risk management",
    "Control system design",
    "Adaptation strategy",
    "Ecological resilience"
  ],
  "popular_science_teaching": [
    {
      "concept_name": "Dealing with complexity? You need enough 'tricks'!",
      "explanation": "The Law of Requisite Variety basically says: if the environment you're facing is very complex and changeable, your own responses and strategies must be equally complex and diverse. You can't use just one trick to handle a thousand different situations. Only 'variety' can handle 'variety'."
    },
    {
      "concept_name": "Why diverse teams are often more resilient.",
      "explanation": "A team with diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives (high internal variety) is usually better equipped to handle unexpected challenges and complex problems (high external variety) than a homogeneous team."
    },
    {
      "concept_name": "Increase your 'variety' to enhance adaptability.",
      "explanation": "Want to be more adaptable in this rapidly changing world? Then you need to increase your own 'requisite variety.' This could mean learning new skills, developing multiple plans, building a flexible mindset, or creating systems with built-in redundancy and adaptability. The more 'options' you have, the better you can cope."
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    {
      "limitation_name": "'Variety' is difficult to precisely define and measure",
      "description": "Quantifying the complexity or variety of both the environment and the system is often challenging in practice."
    },
    {
      "limitation_name": "Increasing internal variety often comes with costs",
      "description": "Developing diverse capabilities, maintaining flexibility, or managing complex systems requires additional resources, time, and effort."
    },
    {
      "limitation_name": "Excessive internal variety might lead to inefficiency or lack of focus",
      "description": "Having too many options or an overly complex structure might hinder quick decision-making or dilute core competencies."
    },
    {
      "limitation_name": "Matching variety doesn't guarantee success",
      "description": "Possessing requisite variety is a necessary condition for adaptation, but not sufficient; effective execution and other factors are also crucial."
    }
  ],
  "common_pitfalls": [
    {
      "pitfall_name": "Underestimating the complexity (variety) of the external environment",
      "description": "Using overly simplistic models or assumptions to understand the environment, leading to insufficient internal variety preparation."
    },
    {
      "pitfall_name": "Overestimating the system's internal variety or flexibility",
      "description": "Mistakenly believing the system has enough adaptability, while in reality, its responses are limited or rigid."
    },
    {
      "pitfall_name": "Increasing internal variety in the wrong dimensions",
      "description": "Developing diversity in areas that don't effectively address the key sources of environmental complexity or risk."
    },
    {
      "pitfall_name": "Focusing only on increasing variety without considering integration and coordination",
      "description": "Having many diverse parts or options, but lacking effective mechanisms to coordinate them and respond coherently."
    }
  ],
  "common_problems_solved": [],
  "visualizations": []
}