TABLE OF CONTENTS A new technological system is often developed to solve a specific problem, i.e., to perform one function. This system performs in a particular environment, at specified regimes, etc. Its design reflects, accordingly, the specific needs the system has to satisfy. The system usually features rigidly defined connections between its constitutive parts which may prevent it from adapting to the changing environment. Such a system demonstrates the feasibility of the main design concept. It satisfactorily performs the primary task for which it was developed, but its application environments, as well as performance potential, are limited. Studies of the evolution of numerous systems have demonstrated that a typical process of evolution involves dynamization (flexibility) phases, during which the structure of the system becomes more adaptable to the changing environment and, in many cases, also becomes multi-functional.
Law of increasing dynamism
Technological systems evolve in the direction to more flexible structures capable of adaptation to varying performance regimes, changing environmental conditions, and of multifunctionality.
This universal trend can be easily recognized in many commonly used systems.
The long history of bedding is a tale of increasing adaptability. In the beginning, our ancestors slumbered on the hard ground. Then came furs and tree branches, and later still there were mattresses made by stitching hides or fabrics together and filling them with such cushioning materials as straw, animal hair, or feathers. But those mattresses were not very accommodating. Then (relatively recently) steel coil...
