Open Source, Dynamic Systems and Self-Organization

The intention of this article is to explain and compare the ideas of open source with systems theory, particularly regarding self-organized, self-regulating, dynamic systems and strange attractors. In so doing, it is important to first define what the term ‘open source’ means...

...Given these preconditions, many successful open source software projects have arisen in the last 20–30 years. The range of software covers almost every application imaginable, including operating systems like Linux, which is probably one of the most stable. Surprisingly the market share of Linux is only around 1%4. However, this does not mean that it is not important; actually, the opposite is true. Linux is mostly used by governments, organizations and institutions who want to have full access and control of the software they use, also known as the four freedoms...