
444 Glossary
model, explain, and understand than complicated ones. Like com-
plexity, simplicity is a relative, graded property. Simplicity can
denote beauty, purity, or clarity.
size (in graph theory): The size of a graph is the total number of its edges. In
CSs, size matters.
societal collapse: A broad term for the syndrome of a downward-spiraling
sociopolitical–economic system. It has many causes and manifesta-
tions. Tainter (1988) described nine attributes that a collapsing society
might exhibit: “(1) a lower degree of stratication and social differ-
entiation; (2) less economic and occupational specialization, of indi-
viduals, gro