Are you a Complexity Scholar?

A Complexity Scholar is open minded, accomplished in at least one field, comfortable thinking and communicating across disciplinary boundaries, energized in the presence of other creative minds, and curious about the most difficult issues facing science and society.

Many of today’s leaders in science are past SFI Complexity Scholars. But not all accomplished scientists are Complexity Scholars. Complexity Scholarship at the Santa Fe Institute is focused on the development of theory to explain phenomena in seemingly different systems. Many scientists are more comfortable in the laboratory, or conducting experiments in the field. SFI Complexity Scholars are more comfortable around discussing new and untested ideas, seeking patterns in empirical data, applying new tools and methods to understand weakly understood phenomena, and proposing theories to explain what they observe – theories other scientists will test, find support for, or discount.