Attractor
Construct Definition
Almost like a desired or preferred position for the system, such that if the system is started from another state it will evolve until it arrives at the attractor, and will then stay there in the absence of other factors. An attractor can be a point (e.g. the centre of a bowl containing a ball), a regular path (e.g. a planetary orbit), a complex series of states (e.g. the metabolism of a cell) or an infinite sequence (called a strange attractor). All specify a restricted volume of state space (a compression). The larger area of state space that leads to an attractor is called its basin of attraction and comprises all the pre-images of the attractor state. The ratio of the volume of the basin to the volume of the attractor can be used as a measure of the degree of self-organisation present. This Self-Organization Factor (SOF) will vary from the total size of state space (for totally ordered systems - maximum compression) to 1 (for ergodic - zero compression). The illustration below serves to provide a visual expression of various market attractors that impact organisations in any economy.