A stand alone complex is a complex in which many unique and unrelated actions seem to create a concerted phenomenon. The neologism originated from the Japanese anime series Stand Alone Complex.

The Stand Alone Complex is a theoretical mental complex that arises when groups or individuals engage in seemingly organized or coordinated behavior when, in reality, each is acting on unique personal motivations. In the series' story, this is attributed to the adaptation of cyberware into the mass public, and arises by way of copycat crimes with no original criminal. In this fashion, the complex arises as a second-order simulacra. In essence, an idea taken to represent reality is simulated or modelled, causing the simulation or model to no longer describe reality directly. Similarly, in a Stand Alone Complex, there is no direct real-world instigator in the observed behavior.

See also

• Borganism
• Ghost in the Shell
• _Stand_Alone_Complex
• _S.A.C._2nd_GIG

Neologisms | Ghost in the Shell