Self-organized criticality

Self-organized criticality (SOC) is a concept in physics and complex systems theory that describes how certain systems spontaneously organize themselves into a critical state where minor events can lead to significant consequences. This concept is often illustrated using the example of sand piles: as sand grains are added to a pile, they eventually reach a state where a single grain can cause an avalanche, a phenomenon that is difficult to predict in terms of timing and size.