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Articles on Complex systems

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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.
South Korea’s subtly calibrated risk aversion in the face of outrageous North Korean aggression has kept the two countries from war. EPA/KCNA

Is the world really sleepwalking to war? Systems thinking can provide an answer

An aggressive posture is one thing – but doing something about it is another, as countries factor in the costs and risks of aggression.
We need to find new ways to deal with the complexity of modern cities and make them better. from www.shutterstock.com

Cities are complex systems – let’s start looking at them that way

There are very few approaches that examine all aspects of the complexity of urban design and development. Ergonomics, human factors and sociotechnical systems methods offer a way forward.
A source of frustration. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Why Bill Belichick cast down his tablet

The problems that cause us to be so frustrated we contemplate throwing a computer can be much more serious than a multimillionaire football coach having a minor tantrum on a Sunday afternoon.
Humanity is already existing well outside of its safe ecological space. Artur

Can civilisation continue? An Earth system scientist explains

The Conversation organised a public question-and-answer session on Reddit in which James Dyke, a lecturer in Complex System Simulation, discussed planetary boundaries and whether global industrialised…
Muslim women pass bombed Christian shops in Nigeria: researchers and policymakers are developing complex views of organised violence. AAP/EPA/Ruth McDowall

Challenge 10: Transnational security threats - new research and converging strategies

In part 10 of the multi-disciplinary Millennium Project series, Alex Burns argues that we are getting more sophisticated in our approach to global threats and conflict. Global challenge 10: How can shared…
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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