Reflexivity and Self-Reference in Complex Systems
A prime example is in economics: models predicting market behavior can influence investor actions, thereby altering the market’s dynamics and validating—or invalidating—the original predictions. In this sense, the model becomes part of the system it seeks to describe. Another instance is found in social systems where public policies, based on theoretical models, shape individual behavior; as people adjust their actions in response, they modify the very context the models attempt to capture. These cases demonstrate the reflexivity and self-referentiality inherent in complex systems, where boundaries between the model and its subject blur.