  Complexity
Pages A non-technical
introduction to the
new
science of Chaos and Complexity |
 Victor MacGill
   Articles
written by Victor
involving aspects of Chaos and Complexity
Web
resources and links A Glossary of Terms
used
in Chaos and Complexity from http:// www.calresco.org Search
this site |
Complexity Theory and Chaos Theory studies systems that are too complex to accurately predict their future, but nevertheless exhibit underlying patterns that can help us cope in an increasingly complex world. Science usually examines the world by breaking it into smaller and smaller pieces until the pieces can be understood. Often using this approach we miss the bigger picture. Knowing all we can about an individual ant will not teach us about how a whole ant colony works. Dissecting a rat will never tell us all we need to know about living rats. Sometimes the way the parts interact is critical to how the whole system works. This is what complexity studies. Complexity is relevant to an enormous range of areas of study including traffic flows, earthquakes, the stock market, Jupiter's red spot, group dynamics, airline networks, the spread of viruses, the internet, urban planning and much more. Chaos Theory and Complexity Theory are new sciences, which only really developed since the advent of computers able to undertake the massive computations necessary to uncover the mysteries of complexity. Prof. Stephen Hawking has stated, "The next century will be the century of complexity". Several concepts used in Complexity have come into mainstream use, such as tipping points, the butterfly effect and six degrees of separation. Join us on a non-technical voyage of discovery into this exciting, new world that promises to revolutionise the way we see our world. |
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