Hmm, perhaps we should start with a "Complexity Hackers Dictionary" wiki?
-- rec --
On 7/30/06, Jochen Fromm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Such a book should of course contain a big cautionary note on
> the use of buzzwords. Buzzwords are especially frequent in the
> area of complex systems, they are helpful to sell something,
> but sometimes problematic in order to understand something.
> Self-organization, "emergence", and "edge of chaos" are some
> of these fascinating and sometimes frustrating concepts.
> Yet how far-reaching are they really ? I think it is important
> to say clearly once and for all what is possible and what is
> not, to distinguish between buzz and facts, although probably
> not everybody would like to hear the truth.
>
> For instance self-organizing systems in the strict sense as
> organization without organizer are rare (and therefore also
> interesting), whereas adaptive systems are common, etc.
> You might disagree here, certainly it will be hard to come
> to an agreement about every buzzword, but I think it's worth it.
>
> The hallmark of a science is the existence of basic laws,
> We discussed recently for example the question of necessity
> and chance - if there are laws of history or if the events
> are just accidental ("Does it matter that there was a Napoleon,
> a Beethoven, a Newton, etc.").
>
> Interesting questions that could be addressed further are:
> "Why is growth so fundamental for many organizations and systems?"
> "To what extent are there laws of history?"
> "Is there a unified theory for complex systems in terms of agents ?"
> "What are the basic agent-based models ?"
> "How do laws and rules appear in such systems ?"
> "Is a theory of everything identical to a theory of nothing?"
>
> We have discussed many of these questions here, and I think
> they have to be answered if we want to make a step forward
> on the road to a theory of complex systems. Anyone else
> interested in contributing to such a book ? What other
> questions should be on the agenda (besides the one if
> Robert is a deterministic system or not?)
>
> -J.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phil Henshaw
> Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 2:59 PM
> To: 'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group'
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] FRIAM book
>
> It's always a great idea for someone to synthesize the diverse
> directions of an expanding fringe of research. It's curious, though,
> that the book idea was immediately preceded by a cautionary note on the
> contagious invasion of buzzwords. The surest way to force buzzwords to
> mean something useful is to connect them with the observed phenomena of
> the physical world, but I find the whole complexity community quite
> resistant to doing that. As a community we'd clearly prefer to think of
> complexity as theory.
>
>
>
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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