With the adjective holistic we indicate the property that a system has of not being traceable to the sum of its parts, in other words that the everything is greater than the sum of the elements of which it is composed; principle which is the foundation of all modern theories of complexity that now exist they underlie every branch of knowledge.
It is in fact the undisputed achievement of this century “the complex approach” to the study of every discipline of knowledge, before all the anthropological and social ones: in fact with the term "social complexity" indicates both a structural property and a dynamic property of a company.
In the first sense the "structural" one, we can do explicit reference to globalization which indicates the multiple relationships that bind together the various nations and the numerous components that form a system of considerable complexity. In the "dynamic" meaning of the term however, a social system will be said to be more or less complex in relation to the possibilities that we have to predict its developments and, even more, to describe them, more or less fully, the states.
Our society can therefore certainly be said to be holistic and for any attempt to define this reason would be inadequate. 
Nomadic communities instead attract us for theirs incredible simplicity, which is evident even in the age of complex systems be of considerable interest.
Naturally the superiority is beyond any doubt of the complex approach compared to the simple or mechanistic one, for the sole reason at least that a complex set is considerably larger than the simple one which is neither contained.
In this regard, this is enough to dispel any doubts the example of Einstein's theory of relativity which entirely contains the theory of classical mechanics which represents a simpler approach to same problem.
Nonetheless, the mechanism of nomadic life is surprising and makes us reflect: the entire existence of these peoples is possible thanks to to the use of a few elements combined to the limit of their capabilities they gave them the chance to build a traveling world.
The tent is certainly the most significant element because it is the main tool that allows them to move. In addition to owning obviously notable lightness, portability and flexibility,  It consists of a few wooden poles and a easily available goat's wool woven cloth; in some cases the tent it transforms into a snow sled or raft to cross rivers they meet on their travels.
The amount of things the nomad owns are limited and each object must fulfill as many functions as possible to allow it to move more easily; for this reason the relationship between form and function is reduced to the essential: the form must simply respond to a need.
All individuals in the community know the materials and construction techniques, because their whole life takes place around the tent and each of them can learn day by day how their own works world.
This is the main characteristic of these peoples: know entirely their little world which is incredibly continuous in its forms: the camel is at the same time a fast means of transport, but it also provides milk and meat, its wool is used for clothing, the his dung for fuel and his skin for waterskins and sandals, finally urine of camel is used on cold desert mornings to wash hands and eyes hair and kill lice and baptize newborns.
Our complexity, however, is surrounded by ignorance, we don't know our world: how many, for example, know the materials of which are modern computers made up of and are they aware of how they work?, how many still know the ideas that made them be born and above all the techniques that produce them? And how many more they know the material of which the synthetic duvets that cover the our beds, the alloys that make up our cars and the ink in our pens with whom do we write?
We remain disoriented by this incredible whirlwind of objects that surrounds us, many small mysterious tunnels through which we wander without stop; such a foreign universe opens a void inside you, and creates the fear that your actions produce unpredictable results.
Our cities, our homes, our habits there they protect from everything outside; that's why surfing the Internet is has become the favorite pastime of millions of people across the planet: travel safe within the walls of your room without fear of complexity and total unpredictability of the world.
The nomad, on the other hand, possesses (from the Latin "to sit on") the his world, he controls it, he feels safe because he knows it entirely, and it is for this is what manages not to feel the need for a place to return to every time vault; their "transportable world" is simple and therefore knowable...
I then think of the great challenge of the century of complexity  to put order out of disorder and to what physicists today call entropy; but the complexity is itself chaos if it does not proceed hand in hand with the diffusion of knowledge.
I think of the many science fiction films that crowd into these days in cinemas all over the planet, “The Fourth Element”, “Independence Day”, “Mars Attacks”, “Nirvana”, and before that “Mad Max”, “Blade Runner”, worlds of great complexity in which you travel at the speed of light, in which humans reproduce from simple strands of DNA, where However, the usual problems remain unsolved and disorder seems to reign uncontrolled.
And science fiction (?!) projects nomadism into the world next millennium: it is in fact the news these days that the President of the United States has started the project of a trip to Mars.
It will take years of travel to accomplish the ambitious program and men will have to learn not to constantly think about returning at home.

The television series “2001: A Space Odyssey” has thrilled an entire generation, Spak and his companions were nomads of the space, their ship was incredibly sophisticated and complex if you like, and although each crew member carried out a specific task, in at the same time, however, he knew the functioning of the entire flying house; one sensation of order the television episodes conveyed... and in that security we were able to travel without destination or home...

 (from Uqbar Notes for the Next Millennium, n. 1, April 1998)