# Complexity
> **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] places this node within the history and governance of substrate-independent evolution.
**Domain:** Complex Systems / Evolution
**Doc Type:** Canonical Wiki Node
**Maturity:** Developed
## Definition
Complexity refers to organized differentiation, interdependence or information that cannot be captured by size alone; its meaning depends on the chosen measure.
## Nexus Context
Evolution can generate complex features without foresight, as Avida’s logged lineages demonstrate. Self-organization and selection are distinct routes that can interact.
## Evidence Boundary
Complexity does not imply progress, intelligence, consciousness or moral superiority. Metrics must be explicit and environment-relative.
## Relationships
[[wiki/Genomic Complexity|Genomic Complexity]], [[wiki/Self-Organization|Self-Organization]], [[wiki/Evolutionary Dynamics|Evolutionary Dynamics]], [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]]
## Sources / Provenance
- Complex-systems and evolutionary literature; Lenski et al. (2003).