Complexity is determined by the amount of information in a pattern. Increasing and decreasing information cause growth and decay, creation and destruction. Their equilibrium is maintenance. The maintenance of a pattern also requires the maintenance of patterns within it. This involves complex patterns of control and limitation.
Control is when change in one pattern consistently initiates change in another.
Harmony is the growth or maintenance of a pattern with minimum destruction of its component patterns or surrounding pattern. Information may increase or decrease harmony. Information which decreases harmony may be called disinformation. Disinformation is dependent on context. A pattern which grows or maintains itself with minimal disinformation is functional.