Читать книгу General system theory of aging. Special role of the immune system - V. I. Dontsov - Страница 20

3.1.1. An example of a mechanical model of aging systems

Aging is a common property of both living and non-living systems and is the wear, degradation, reduction of the order, structure, and function of a complex system. The aging phenomenon is easily amenable to theoretical analysis using modern scientific methodology – the theory of systems (Checkland, 1986; Nicolis, 1989; Prigogine, 1960, etc.).

The basic patterns and the very cause of aging are clearly seen in the example of a mechanical model, for which it suffices to take an auto-car as a specific example of a mechanical system. In this case, it is quite clear that the general reason for the system’s self-change from order to chaos is known; it is one – the natural direction of change sets the law of increasing entropy for naturally occurring reactions in nature for any systems.

This is the reason, as well as the main mechanism – the stochastic aging of the system.

Many different natural influences on such a mechanical system in a random way (guided by the law of increasing entropy) lead to the same thing – a decrease in its stability, order, an increase in chaos, that is, an aging system.

It is also easy to see on this model that the aging mechanisms of even such a simple system are multiple and probabilistic in nature: mechanical (tires, brakes), physical (metal fatigue), physical and chemical (burning out candles), chemical (rusting), biological (fungus), socio-psychological, etc.