Quora answer: What are the ‘constructive’ principles that explain the growth of complex systems?
What comes to mind is Adrian Bijan’s Constuctal Law. It is a principle concerning how flows “live”, maintain their viability, by evolving their flow architectures over time with respect to volume, surface, or performance moving toward Laminar Flow. If you are looking for a principle to explain the growth of complex systems then the Constructual Law is a good candidate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Bejan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructal_theory
Constuctural Law:
For a finite-size (flow) system to persist in time (to live), its configuration must evolve such that it provides easier access to the imposed currents that flow through it.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/11/15/the-constructal-law-of-flow-systems/