From the rise of complex human institutions such as cities and nation states, to the evolution of intelligence in natural systems, complexity is a pervasive feature of our universe, our society, and our biological selves.
Why should that be, and how can we study complexity, understand it, even predict its future forms across systems and scales?
A three-day SFI meeting in early August, “Complexity: Life, Scale, and Civilization,” convenes some of the biggest thinkers in science to grapple with some of the biggest questions in science.
“From the Big Bang to the Mayans, from the gene to the global economy, why is there complexity in the universe?” asks SFI External Professor David Krakauer. “This is about the big- gest questions you would ever want answered. Why are we here? What is the fate of our species? What is the fate of our planet?”
The event is the first in a series of gatherings that are part of a John Templeton Foundation (www.templeton.org) grant to SFI. The three- year, $5 million grant funds three SFI research projects that together seek deeper quantitative understanding of the nature of complexity in the social and biological worlds:
• The evolution of complexity and intelligence on earth, led by David Krakauer
• The hidden laws that pervade complex phenomena, especially biological and social phenomena, led by SFI Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West
• Universal patterns in the emergence of complex societies, led by SFI President Jerry Sabloff
The grant also supports the creation of an online education resource, the Complexity
Explorer, that will offer materials for both educators and learners in the sciences of complexity.
On the evening of Monday, August 6, the event gets underway with a panel discussion on the nature of complexity moderated by David. The discussion, 7:30-9:00 p.m. at the James A. Little Theater, is open to the public and features an open mic Q&A following remarks from the panelists. Speakers include Lord Colin Renfrew, Sir Christopher Llewellyn
Smith, SFI External Professor Melanie Mitch- ell, and SFI Distinguished Fellow and Nobel laureate Murray Gell-Mann.
The event continues Tuesday and Wednesday with an invitation-only science meeting featuring sessions on SFI’s Templeton Projects.
More about the meeting and the John Templeton Foundation-funded projects is available at www.santafe.edu/.