We all want a better world, and we seemingly make progress, with more technology and less prejudice. Yet ideals and utopias are strangely difficult to imagine, let alone achieve. Is it that we just lack imagination or are leaders inherently corrupt? Or is there something impossible in the very idea? authoritarianism Roger ScrutoncomplexityNatalie BennettPhillip Blondregressive…
Here are the photos from the Milan conference which was a terrific success. Below is the editor-in-chief David Emanuel Andersson holding a copy of the latest issue of C+T. complexitycosmos & taxisemergent orderSpontaneous order
Sam Harris chats with David Krakauer head of the complexity mecca — Santa Fe Institute. SFI offers some free programmes of real substance and difficulty well worth signing up for in an attempt to offset the illiteracy of philosophers on unavoidable matters of complexity. complexitycomputational intelligencecomputational modelingDavid KrakauerethicsneurosciencePhilosophyPhilosophy of mindPhysicssam harrissanta fe institutescience
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of John von Neumann’s the “Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata”. Here is the C+T panel and some background to Neumann: Unleashing the Power ‘Turing’s Cathedral. And Von Neumann gave me an interesting idea: that you don’t have to be responsible for the world that you’re in. So I have developed a very powerful sense of social irresponsibility as…
Duke Forest conference detailed programme now available. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of John von Neumann’s “Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata”. The C+T sponsored panel below: big databruce caldwellcomplexitycomputational economicscomputational intelligencecosmos & taxisEconomicsFrancesco Di IorioFriedrich HayekJohn von Neumannmarek hudikroger frantzSelf-organizationSelf-Reproducing Automata
Another reminder of the upcoming conference. Here is the full programme. See also this recent commemoration. Bounded RationalitycomplexityHerbert SimonMinds Models and Milieux: Commemorating the Centennial of the Birth of Herbert Simon
The always entertaining, provocative, scathing, analytical, cultured and funny Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the quote below worthy of John Kennedy Toole: I was flaneuring in New York, and I dropped by the office of a friend I wanted to prevent from working, that is, engage in an activity that when abused, causes the loss of mental…
Catching up on Sam Harris’ podcasts — this one is of particular interest. Sam’s guest, David Krakauer, I recall from taking the debut Santa Fe Institute freebie course a few years back run by the excellent Melanie Mitchell. Do check out the SFI’s free programmes, notably SFI’s Complexity Explorer: it beats many a fee-paying university course. In any event, if you…
The title of this post denotes a newly published open access paper. Especially of note is section 2 The Stigmergy Game. Good to see more and more applications of stigmergy to the human-human dimension. I’d be interested to hear from my economist chums on their take on this paper since I have mentioned economics as a…
Available for free download here. The special theme of the conference: How can the synthetic study of living systems contribute to societies: scientifically, technically, and culturally? The goal of the conference theme is to better understand societies with the purpose of using this understanding for a more efficient management and development of social systems. AutopoiesisCarlos GershensonCollective…
manwithoutqualities 