Santa Fe Institute

SFI News

Oct. 1, 2013, 11:40 a.m.

Hierarchy in networks could have emerged at random

PNAS

In PNAS, SFI External Professor Ricard Solé and colleagues at Pompeu Fabra University argue that much of the hierarchy in the world could have emerged at random. ... More

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Sept. 25, 2013, 4:38 p.m.

SFI lecture November 6: The geniuses who invented the digital universe

In an SFI Community Lecture on Wednesday evening, November 6, in Santa Fe, historian George Dyson tells the story of how a small band of young geniuses not only built the computer but foresaw the new world it would create. ... More

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Sept. 30, 2013, 11:32 a.m.

SFI's Libby Wood on why civilian abuse such as rape is so common in wartime

KSFR's Santa Fe Radio Cafe

SFI External Professor Elisabeth Wood describes the phenomena of rape, torture, and other civilian abuse during wartime. Hear her interview on the Santa Fe Radio Cafe. ... More

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Sept. 25, 2013, 4:24 p.m.

Tracing the history of languages, worship, even marriage systems

New Scientist

Laura Fortunato is among researchers studying the evolution of language and words -- and cultural practices -- much as biologists study how living organisms evolve, according to a New Scientist cover story. ... More

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Aug. 29, 2013, 5:23 p.m.

How similar are corporate and human life cycles?

In a September 30 Business Network topical meeting in London, participants explored the evolution of the modern corporation, the corporate life cycle, the impact of globalization, and the relationship between corporations and other major social institutions. ... More

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Sept. 25, 2013, 2:23 p.m.

SFI's Dunne leads project on why Polynesian islanders lived sustainably on some islands but not on others

Research led by SFI Chair of Faculty Jennifer Dunne is among 21 new projects being funded by the NSF to develop a better understanding of how humans and the environment interact. ... More

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Sept. 25, 2013, 2:55 p.m.

2013 Complex Systems Summer School papers address topics from banking to better health

Graduate students and postdocs participating in SFI's 2013 Complex Systems Summer School collaborated to develop some 15 original research papers. See their research. ... More

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Aug. 29, 2013, 4:12 p.m.

The agony and ecstasy of cross-disciplinary collaboration

Science

An article in the Science Careers section of the journal Science describes the challenges of cross-disciplinary collaboration, mentioning SFI as a research center that has successfully formalized the practice of working across disciplines. ... More

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Aug. 8, 2013, 11:15 a.m.

Video: Is the human conscience led by the head or the heart?

Newsweek/The Daily Beast

In an SFI Community Lecture in Santa Fe, Steven Pinker and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein asked whether human moral progress is a gift of empathy and emotion or of reason and logic. ... More

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July 30, 2013, 3:46 p.m.

Science symphony November 2: The Majesty of Music and Mathematics

On Saturday, November 2, the Santa Fe Institute and the Santa Fe Symphony present a unique immersion in sound and science featuring a multimedia presentation by SFI 's Cris Moore interspersed with musical selections. ... More

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July 30, 2013, 4:46 p.m.

Audio: Murray Gell-Mann on what it means to think like a scientist

Santa Fe Radio Cafe

SFI's Murray Gell-Mann discusses what it means to think like a scientist, the value of rejecting orthodoxy, complex systems science and theory, and intelligent life on other planets, among other topics. ... More

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Sept. 19, 2013, 3:21 p.m.

Former SFI Trustee Joy Covey dies in bike accident

Joy Covey, a member of SFI's Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2009, died yesterday in a bike accident. She was 50. ... More

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Aug. 21, 2013, 4:12 p.m.

Video: SFI's Stephanie Forrest on complexity and the biology of computation

In a series of three lectures September 10-12 in Santa Fe, SFI’s Stephanie Forrest revealed surprising commonalities between computers and organisms, then described research that blurs the distinction further. Watch her talks. ... More

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Sept. 19, 2013, 10:17 a.m.

Audio: W. Brian Arthur on how evolution in technology & biology compare, and differ

Santa Fe Radio Cafe

SFI External Professor W. Brian Arthur explores how new technology is created, and how closely evolutionary processes in technology mirror those from biology. ... More

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Sept. 12, 2013, 2:49 p.m.

Hundreds of girls to expand their scientific horizons Oct. 5 in Santa Fe

Hundreds of 5th-8th grade girls will spend Saturday, October 5, with New Mexico women who have chosen careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computing. ... More

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Sept. 18, 2013, 1:40 p.m.

SFI Business Network member Tim Hodgson on complex systems thinking in investment finance

top100funds.com

"Equilibrium is dead," says SFI Business Network member Tim Hodgson of Towers Watson, in an article about the role of complex systems thinking in investment. ... More

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Sept. 17, 2013, 2:23 p.m.

SFI's online course in complexity begins September 30

SFI is re-offering its popular massive open online course (MOOC) in complex systems science, "Introduction to Complexity," beginning September 30, 2013.  ... More

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Sept. 12, 2013, 3:31 p.m.

Cities must be allowed to evolve

The Guardian (U.K.)

An article in The Guardian about ways to build sustainable cities offers advice from several experts, beginning with SFI Professor Luis Bettencourt. ... More

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Aug. 6, 2013, 12:46 p.m.

SFI seeks applicants for the Cowan Chair in Human Social Dynamics

SFI is seeking nominations and applications for the Cowan Chair in Human Social Dynamics. Apply by November 1, 2013. ... More

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Sept. 11, 2013, 10:48 a.m.

Can complex systems science inform entrepreneurship?

Forbes

In a column in Forbes, SFI Trustee John Chisholm asks whether the theoretical, scientific study of complex systems can inform the hardscrabble world of start-up firms. ... More

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Sept. 4, 2013, 11:39 a.m.

David Wolpert joins SFI’s resident faculty

External Professor David Wolpert joined SFI's resident faculty on a half-time basis on Monday, September 9, 2013. He also is a member of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Information Sciences Group. ... More

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Sept. 3, 2013, 2:21 p.m.

Probing Wikipedia editors' hive mind

Science News

Wikipedia acts a bit like one big brain, its editors working independently, yet somehow together performing an enormous cooperative computation, according to an article about Simon DeDeo's research. ... More

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Aug. 29, 2013, 4:45 p.m.

Paper: Early Clovis knew their land and stone

American Antiquity

In a recent paper, SFI's Marcus Hamilton and colleagues examined 296 projectile points from two New Mexico clusters of Clovis artifacts, linking the two encampments by the workmanship and materials. ... More

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Aug. 6, 2013, 4:07 p.m.

Big city, big data: Cities are 'fields of information to be harvested'

New Statesman

The city is no longer just a place but a living field of information to be harvested, according to an article that cites early work at SFI to see if Kleiber's Law helped describe cities. ... More

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Aug. 22, 2013, 11:09 a.m.

Harvard, UMass Amherst, and the origins of 'alternative economics'

Harper's Magazine

Harper's Jeff Madrick pans 40 years of "dubious" economic policies originating at Harvard and reviews the history of "alternative economics," starting with SFI Professor Sam Bowles's move from Harvard to UMass Amherst in 1972. ... More

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Aug. 29, 2013, 5:01 p.m.

How the brain handles big data

An August SFI working group, “Big Data In the Brain,” focused on the brain and how it manages large amounts of data – as well as the mapping of the brain itself, another kind of big data challenge. ... More

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Aug. 29, 2013, 10:15 a.m.

Biologist Michael Lachmann to join SFI in 2014

SFI announced today that biologist Michael Lachmann will join the Institute’s resident faculty next summer. Lachmann currently is an assistant professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. ... More

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Aug. 15, 2013, 11:15 a.m.

Moore's Law-like cost and performance curves apply well beyond semiconductors

IEEE Spectrum

IEEE Spectrum notes recent research by scientists at SFI and MIT that examined price and performance data for 62 technologies across a broad range of industries. ... More

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Aug. 28, 2013, 2:53 p.m.

Redesigning cities - Could urban planning be a catalyst for development?

The Guardian (U.K.)

SFI Professor Luis Bettencourt is among the experts who participated in a live online chat August 29 about the role of urban planning in development. ... More

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Aug. 21, 2013, 10:44 a.m.

Paper: Experimental progress begins to fill gaps in hypotheses for life's emergence

PNAS

In PNAS, SFI's Rogier Braakman reviews two scientists' recent progress in simulating prebiotic chemistry at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and puts the research in the context of what we still don't know about life's beginnings. ... More

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Aug. 13, 2013, 10:16 a.m.

Sidney Redner to join SFI's resident faculty in 2014

SFI announced today that Sidney Redner will join the Institute's resident faculty in July 2014. Redner now chairs the physics department at Boston University. ... More

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July 18, 2013, 3:44 p.m.

Business Network meeting explores innovation in natural and technological systems

Silicon Hills (Austin)

A June SFI Business Network topical meeting in Austin on innovation drew 100 artists, musicians, business executives, entrepreneurs, academics, investors, and reporters, according to an article in Silicon Hills (Austin/San Antonio). ... More

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Public Events

No upcoming events.

Click HERE for a listing of events so far this year.