Organismic: No Central Command

An organismic system has no top boss – not even the brain. It isn't that the senses collect data and send them up to the brain, and then the brain analyzes the data and sends the conclusions and orders back down. Nope. Our systems are an example of distributed intelligence, with a lot happening in a loop that never gets close to the brain. Adjustments to your gait or breathing rhythms, release of endocrines by your gut, mysteries of the vagal nerve, intelligence in the heart – these are all examples of 'decision processes' that happen throughout the body. Where decisions get made is important. How they are made – in a constant, bartering and chivying loop – is even more important. It is a matter of perpetual negotiation, not of command and control.

There is no top boss. Nope. Not even the brain. It is almost all done by committee.