Flerstrenget

Flerstrenget is a theoretical metric used in systems theory to quantify the overall resilience of a multi-layer, interconnected system. It seeks to capture both the reliability of individual layers and the strength of their interdependencies, such as how failures in one layer propagate to others. The concept is primarily discussed in thought experiments and speculative literature rather than as an established engineering standard.

The term was coined in contemporary speculative discourse and is not widely adopted by mainstream researchers. It combines fictional roots intended to evoke multi-layered strength: “fler” signaling multiplicity of layers, and “strenget” indicating resilience.

In typical formulations, flerstrenget is described as a function of per-layer reliability measures Li and an interlayer coupling factor C, written F = F(L1,...,Ln; C). Higher values indicate greater joint resilience, but results are highly sensitive to how coupling is modeled; stronger coupling can amplify both risk and protection.

Applications of the idea include design deliberations for critical infrastructure, software ecosystems, and organizational processes, where it is used to illustrate the trade-offs between redundancy, modularity, and cross-layer coordination. Critics argue that, without standardized definitions or empirical validation, flerstrenget remains a heuristic tool rather than a grounded metric.

See also: resilience, complex systems, network theory, reliability engineering.