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Articles on Complexity

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Pieter Bruegel the Elder / Wikimedia

Do languages become less complex with more new adult speakers? Research shows it’s not that simple

The idea a language should grow simpler if people need to learn it as adults has an intuitive appeal. But an analysis of more than 1,200 languages shows this doesn’t quite stack up.
Tiny changes, like a butterfly’s wing flapping, can be amplified downstream in a chaotic system. Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

What is chaos? A complex systems scientist explains

Part of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for work modeling Earth’s climate using its chaotic, complex weather. To scientists, chaos lies in the gray zone between randomness and predictability.
A statue of John A. Macdonald is shown covered in red paint in Montreal in November 2017. Canada’s first Prime MInister, he has been criticized for his treatment of Indigenous peoples and attitudes towards those of Chinese origin. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

Why history education is central to the survival of democracy

In a time of populism and political polarization, children and young adults need to learn to think critically, with complexity and nuance. History, as a subject, is more important than ever.
Overwhelmed: to live wisely in a world where complexity seems to be running rampant, we must first grasp what complexity is. Flickr/Elif Ayiter/Alpha Auer/..../

Challenge 9: Decision making amidst increasing complexity

In part nine of our multi-disciplinary Millennium Project series, Cliff Hooker argues that to get any better at decision-making, we must first face up to our limitations. Global challenge 9: How can the…

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