Criticisms of communication theory linearity You may recall that one of the criticisms we have made of much communication theory is that the models are unrealistically linear. Indeed, I think one of the great contributions of cybernetics to our understanding has been to increase our awareness of the importance of such circular processes. I'm not sure that that's an entirely acceptable criticism either. There is primarily a concern with restoring a system's equilibrium whenever it is disturbed by external influences and there is thus a greater emphasis on negative than on positive feedback. Some cultural studies theorists, oversimplifying greatly, claim that this form of cybernetics has in common with the Newtonian conception of an orderly universe that it seeks mastery of the environment and relies on the assumption that, though it may be difficult to achieve, such mastery is obtainable.
Complexity is the science of 'non-linear dynamics' .
I have been able to find some examples of its application to information theory, but I am as yet unclear about its application to communication studies. What follows, therefore, is stuff I don't know much about and don't understand very well. All I have done is to single out from complexity theory some of the features which seem relevant to us. I hope it will be of some help to you when dealing with questions on the relevance, suitability and applicability of communication theory. If you're beginning to feel at this point that this is all becoming a bit confusing, well, you're not alone.