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SFI News

April 30, 2013, 10:45 a.m.

Video: Watch Alison Gopnik on a child's mind and our uniquely human consciousness

SFI's 2013 Community Lecture series continued May 9 in Santa Fe, with psychologist, philosopher, author, and mother Alison Gopnik on “The Minds of Children.” Watch the video of her presentation here. ... More

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May 14, 2013, 4:51 p.m.

The vertigo of chance: How we deal with uncertainty in our lives

Nautilus magazine

In an essay in Nautilus magazine, SFI Research Fellow Simon DeDeo describes the roles both natural and social uncertainty play in our lives and shows how mathematics can help make sense of both kinds. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 12:01 p.m.

Video: Watch the winning math videos in Dartmouth’s Math-O-Vision contest

Creating a “joyous interest” in math is a goal of the first Math-O-Vision contest in which high school students submit math-themed movies of four minutes or less in length. The contest is the brainchild of SFI External Professor Dan Rockmore. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 1:10 p.m.

Can six billion cells phones collecting data on how people move lead to better human health?

MIT Technology Review

SFI Omidyar Fellow Alums Caroline Buckee and Nathan Eagle are featured in an MIT Technology Review article that explores the implications of cell phone data, especially the potential blunting the spread of disease. ... More

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June 12, 2013, 3:37 p.m.

Enroll now for SFI's Short Course: Exploring Complex Networks, September 4-6, Austin, Texas

On September 4-6 in Austin, Texas, the Santa Fe Institute offers its popular short course on complexity, with a special focus on networks. ... More

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June 11, 2013, 9:55 a.m.

Do parasites upset food web theory?

PLOS Biology

A new paper shows that including parasites in ecological datasets does alter the structure of food webs, but that's mostly due to an increase in diversity and complexity rather than the unique characteristics of parasites. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 1:45 p.m.

How rising temperatures could alter species interactions, ecosystems

Journal of Animal Ecology

A paper by SFI External Professor Van Savage and collaborators shows how rising temperatures could alter the ways species interact – changes that biologists fear could destabilize entire ecosystems. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 12:48 p.m.

The Cahokia question: Small state or jumbo chiefdom?

Was the mound-building settlement of Cahokia, near modern-day St. Louis, the seat of a small state or a jumbo-sized chiefdom? Experts gathered at SFI recently to try to settle the matter. ... More

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June 6, 2013, 6:17 a.m.

Does everybody want democracy?

Santa Fe New Mexican

SFI Professor Paula Sabloff's anthropological research to understand Mongolians' desire for democracy is featured in the Santa Fe New Mexican. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 1:52 p.m.

Why aren’t all cultures the same? And what explains variations in cultures?

American Association for the Advancement of Science

SFI External Professor Peter Peregrine and his research to understand cultural evolution are featured in a AAAS member profile. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 1:47 p.m.

Cormac McCarthy inducted into the American Philosophical Society

SFI Trustee Cormac McCarthy was among those inducted into the American Philosophical Society at its meeting in Philadelphia in April. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 2:58 p.m.

Ice Age ancestors might have used words in common with us

PNAS

New research by SFI External Professor Mark Pagel and collaborators shows that Ice Age people living in Europe 15,000 years ago might have used forms of common words that in some cases could still be recognized today. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 2:48 p.m.

Soup to nuts: All you ever wanted to know about SFI in one place

Ever wonder what SFI scientists like to think about? How many countries SFI External Professors represent? Who SFI's 300-plus donors are? SFI's 2012 Annual Report contains this and much more. ... More

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May 23, 2013, 2:23 p.m.

Children's museum exhibit explores the science of cities, SFI style

A new multimedia exhibit at the Santa Fe Children's Museum gives kids a glimpse of what SFI scientists are learning about cities. ... More

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May 28, 2013, 10:30 a.m.

Crowd wisdom economics: The bad news

American Economic Review

Lousy institutions persist because even the most rational people often perpetuate a status quo that leaves everyone worse off, according to a new paper in the American Economic Review by Marianna Belloc and SFI Professor Samuel Bowles. ... More

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May 14, 2013, 2:05 p.m.

Student study of ignition interlock devices attributes fewer crashes to 2005 law

Four Santa Fe-area high school students teamed up with three SFI scientists to study data about the effectiveness of ignition interlock devices in curbing drunken driving accidents in New Mexico, with illustrative results. ... More

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May 14, 2013, 12:57 p.m.

What drives the nonliving to living, the simple to complex, and the instinctual to intellectual?

Chronicle of Higher Education

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education explores on the intersection of philosophy and evolution and invokes the perspectives of several current and past SFI researchers about evolution, order, and complexity. ... More

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May 14, 2013, 9:03 a.m.

Which came first: Farming or private property? Wrong question, suggests new paper

PNAS

It has long been assumed that the advent of farming 12 millennia ago led to the advent of private property rights. A new paper and some mathematical modeling by SFI researchers tell a very different story. ... More

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May 2, 2013, 4:38 p.m.

What to do with 'big data' when we don't yet have a theory of complex systems

Scientific American

A column in Scientific American by SFI Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West makes the case for a theory of complex systems. ... More

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May 14, 2013, 1:16 p.m.

Big data for personalized medical treatment

Boston Globe

Colin Hill, whose company GNS Healthcare is helping provide personalized medical treatment through genetic data analytics, says his summer at SFI contributed to his idea to merge chaos theory, big data, genetics, and health care. ... More

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May 6, 2013, 11:11 a.m.

The science of families: SFI's Paul Hooper on why we need grandparents

Santa Fe New Mexican

SFI Omidyar Fellow Paul Hooper writes about his research to understand the origin of some traits that make us uniquely human, including the support of both parents and grandparents during an unusually lengthy period of child development. ... More

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May 3, 2013, 9:32 a.m.

States of complexity: Why and how did the state emerge in human societies?

SFI’s interactive science magazine, the SFI Bulletin, is now live. Our first issue of 2013, "States of Complexity," explores the increasing complexity of human society. ... More

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April 30, 2013, 11:38 a.m.

Quantitative urbanism: The city as one giant math problem

Smithsonian magazine

A feature in the May issue of Smithsonian reviews the birth at SFI of the growing field of "quantitative urbanism" and its progress toward an improved theoretical, mathematical understanding of cities. ... More

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