Decentralization
EDIT: After reading this essay, I learned the difference between decentralized and distributed networks. I have used the two terms as if they are inter-changeable below. I chose not to edit, since it doesn't change the overall theme of this piece.
Pondering on the concept of decentralization, as it has come up in diverse concepts during my reading recently.
Decentralization at its core is the distribution of the central to the masses, in a manner of speaking. The study of decentralized properties of certain concepts has permeated almost all fields of academia, and seems to be a very fundamental aspect of a lot of systems.
Without further ado, I'll try my best to list down some cases below:
Distributed systems in computer science. There are major sub-branches within this one, as dist sys is itself a generalized concept. To list a few:
Distributed databases. Modern databases are almost always distributed, as the need for storage and speed has exceeded the limits of what a single machine can handle. Taken to the global extreme, we get Blockchain (which is essentially a globally immutable append-only distributed database).
Distributed training for large language models. The current paradigm of AI is backed by an equally fascinating training procedure to train these internet scale models, with complex distributed learning algorithms making it feasible.
The internet. The prime example of a distributed system is the internet itself, where every machine that connects to it becomes a part of the whole, and contributes to it.
The price systems. One aspect of economics is how we deal with vast information asymmetries, and how the market responds to actions taken by people with incomplete information, and how we can mitigate this problem. One thought is that we already do have such a system: the pricing system. Prices incorporate relevant information, and given a person's immediate context, provides just the right amount of information that they can make rational decisions. This is also a prime example of a distributed system, where the prices of goods are inter-dependent in extremely non-trivial ways, but provide a decent view of the current market sentiments for an asset.
A recent view that I read on psychiatric disorders put forth an ontology for the same: that of a dynamical system with attractor basins for stable states. The dynamical system, or rather a network of inter connected nodes (the definition of node being certain behaviours) is an example of a distributed system with emergent properties, where the emergent phenomenon are psychiatric disorders. This also suggests a decentralized view of looking at our behaviour, something that has been neglected in the field of psychology in favour of a centralized worldview.
Democracy is more or less a decentralized way of making decisions, and has been thus far the most successful one. Although there are opposing views which claim that democracy has downfalls, it is still the lesser of many evils.