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We discuss key problems of self-organization theory, synergetics, and the prospects of its development for the next decades. We show that the future of this interdisciplinary approach probably is defined by the development of new network paradigm. We consider statements of several fundamental scientific and principle technological problems and concrete results giving rise to these conclusions.

The work outlines the key ideas of Kurdyumov S.P., an outstanding specialist in applied mathematics, self-organization theory, transdisciplinary research. It considers the development of his scientific ideas in the last decade and formulates a set of open problems in synergetics which will probably stimulate the development of this approach. The article is an engaged version of the report made at Xth Kurdyumov readings held in Tver State University in 2015.

Road network infrastructure is the basis of any urban area. This article compares the structural characteristics (meshedness coefficient, clustering coefficient) road networks of Moscow center (Old Moscow), formed as a result of self-organization and roads near Leninsky Prospekt (postwar Moscow), which was result of cetralized planning. Data for the construction of road networks in the form of graphs taken from the Internet resource OpenStreetMap, allowing to accurately identify the coordinates of the intersections. According to the characteristics of the calculated Moscow road networks areas the cities with road network which have a similar structure to the two Moscow areas was found in foreign publications. Using the dual representation of road networks of centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg, studied the information and cognitive features of navigation in these tourist areas of the two capitals. In the construction of the dual graph of the studied areas were not taken into account the different types of roads (unidirectional or bi-directional traffic, etc), that is built dual graphs are undirected. Since the road network in the dual representation are described by a power law distribution of vertices on the number of edges (scale-free networks), exponents of these distributions were calculated. It is shown that the information complexity of the dual graph of the center of Moscow exceeds the cognitive threshold 8.1 bits, and the same feature for the center of St. Petersburg below this threshold, because the center of St. Petersburg road network was created on the basis of planning and therefore more easy to navigate. In conclusion, using the methods of statistical mechanics (the method of calculating the partition functions) for the road network of some Russian cities the Gibbs entropy were calculated. It was found that with the road network size increasing their entropy decreases. We discuss the problem of studying the evolution of urban infrastructure networks of different nature (public transport, supply , communication networks, etc.), which allow us to more deeply explore and understand the fundamental laws of urbanization.

Excitation waves are a prototype of self-organized dynamic patterns in non-equilibrium systems. They develop their own intrinsic dynamics resulting in travelling waves of various forms and shapes. Prominent examples are rotating spirals and scroll waves. It is an interesting and challenging task to find ways to control their behavior by applying external signals, upon which these propagating waves react. We apply external electric fields to such waves in the excitable Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. Remarkable effects include the change of wave speed, reversal of propagation direction, annihilation of counter-rotating spiral waves and reorientation of scroll wave filaments. These effects can be explained in numerical simulations, where the negatively charged inhibitor bromide plays an essential role. Electric field effects have also been investigated in biological excitable media such as the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum. Quite recently we have started to investigate electric field effect in the BZ reaction dissolved in an Aerosol OT water-in-oil microemulsion. A drift of complex patterns can be observed, and also the viscosity and electric conductivity change. We discuss the assumption that this system can act as a model for long range communication between neurons.

In the article is carried out the analysis of historical process with the use of methods of synergetics (science about the nonlinear developing systems in nature and the society), developed in the works of D. S. Chernavskii in connection with to economic and social systems. It is shown that social self-organizing depending on conditions leads to the formation of both the societies with the strong internal competition (Y-structures) and cooperative type societies (X-structures). Y-structures are characteristic for the countries of the West, X-structure are characteristic for the countries of the East. It is shown that in XIX and in XX centuries occurred accelerated shaping and strengthening of Y-structures. However, at present world system entered into the period of serious structural changes in the economic, political, ideological spheres: the domination of Y-structures concludes. Are examined the possible ways of further development of the world system, connected with change in the regimes of self-organizing and limitation of internal competition. This passage will be prolonged and complex. Under these conditions it will objectively grow the value of the civilizational experience of Russia, on basis of which was formed combined type social system. It is shown that ultimately inevitable the passage from the present do-mination of Y-structures to the absolutely new global system, whose stability will be based on the new ideology, the new spirituality (i.e., new “conditional information” according D. S. Chernavskii), which makes a turn from the principles of competition to the principles of collaboration.

The paper presents agent-based model for city formation named Technoscape which is both local and nonlocal. Technoscape can, to a certain degree, be also assumed as a model for emergence of global economy. The current version of the model implements very simple way of agents’ behavior and interaction, still the model provides rather interesting spatio-temporal patterns.

Locality and non-locality mean here the spatial features of the way the agents interact with each other and with geographical space upon which the evolution takes place. Technoscape agent is some conventional artisan, family, or а producing and trading firm, while there is no difference between production and trade. Agents are located upon and move through bounded two-dimensional space divided into square cells. The model demonstrates processes of agents’ concentration in a small set of cells, which is interpreted as «city» formation. Agents are immortal, they don’t mutate and evolve, though this is interesting perspective for the evolution of the model itself.

Technoscape provides some distinctively new type of self-organization. Partially, this type of selforganization resembles the behavior of segregation model by Thomas Shelling, still that model has evolution rules substantially different from Technoscape. In Shelling model there exist avalanches still simple equilibria exist if no new agents are added to the game board, while in Technoscape no such equilibria exist. At best, we can observe quasi-equilibrium, slowly changing global states.

One non-trivial phenomenon Technoscape exhibits, which also contrasts to Shelling segregation model, is the ability of agents to concentrate in local cells (interpreted as cities) even explicitly and totally ignoring local interactions, using non-local interactions only.

At the same time, while the agents tend to concentrate in large one-cell cities, large scale of such cities does not guarantee them from decay: there always exists a process of «enticement» of agents and their flow to new cities.