I was thinking more along the lines of complex system research, self-organizing criticality etc. E.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelian_sandpile_model

This can be a scientific rather than an engineering discipline, insofar as it's concerned with understanding the behavior of systems, rather than creating a solution which makes a system behave according to our wishes.

We have a limited understanding of "order" or patterns arising out of systems with many aggregating interactions, and often focusing on relatively idealized and isolated systems.