System complexity as its ability to transmit information

There are different concepts of what complex systems are, and as a result, there are also many approaches for how to define and measure their complexity. The current paper argues that the very representation of a system can indicate what its complexity is, and how to measure it. The paper represents systems from a communication perspective. From this perspective, a system interacting with its environment is considered to be communicating with it through its input and output. During this communication, the system acts as a channel that transmits information between the system´s input and output. In terms of communication theory, information refers to the available options (different ways) for the system to interact with its environment. Accordingly, system complexity is considered to be the ability of a system to transmit information as it interacts with its environment. From this perspective, complexity is a property of the system only when interacting or with its environment and not a characteristic of the system by itself.