Jim Rutt, a thought leader in complexity science, might define the 'edge of chaos' as the critical transitional space between order and disorder within a complex adaptive system. This zone encapsulates the emergent dynamics where innovation and adaptability are maximized, balancing the stability needed to preserve critical structures with the unpredictability necessary for transformation. It's in this delicate threshold that systems exhibit behaviors rich enough to be flexible but structured enough to be coherent. Rutt would emphasize that operating at the edge of chaos fosters creativity, resilience, and evolutionary potential, making it a sweet spot for harnessing complexity to achieve sustainable and adaptive organizational and systemic growth.

See also: emergence, evolutionary computing, prigogine, self-organization