In our last episode, we talked about the four conditions of complex systems: numerosity, disorder and diversity, feedback, and non-equilibrium — and we also talked about the concept of emergence. In this episode, which is part two of our two-part series on the features of complex systems, we're joined again by Karoline Wiesner, Professor of Complexity Science in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Potsdam in Germany. In this episode, Karoline explains the six emergent features of complex systems:  Spontaneous order and self-organisation Non-linearity Robustness Nested structure and modularity History and memory Adaptive behaviour  By the time you've finished this episode, you'll understand the underlying principles of complex systems that hold together the wide variety of topics we talk about in this series.   Resources and links: Karoline’s book ‘What Is a Complex System?’ Simplifying Complexity - What makes ant colonies robust?  Simplifying Complexity - The Economy and Complexity Science: Part 2    Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

In most of our episodes so far, we've taken a single concept and looked at it through the context of a single example. But in this episode and the next, we're going to pull back the camera to get a bird's-eye view of complexity science, by exploring the features common to all complex systems. We're joined again by Karoline Wiesner, Professor of Complexity Science in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Potsdam in Germany. In this episode, Karoline is going to explain four conditions that we see in complexity science: numerosity, disorder and diversity, feedback, and non-equilibrium. At the end of the episode, she's going to bring them all together to explain a central concept of complex systems: emergence.   Resources and links: Karoline’s book ‘What Is a Complex System?’   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

In our last episode we talked all about intelligence, specifically about what made us intelligent. In this episode we jump into artificial intelligence, and we're joined again by David Krakauer, President and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute.  This episode was recorded before the release of GPT-4, so David doesn't mention it specifically, but he does take us through the history of artificial intelligence, from Alan Turing, all the way to machine learning and neural networks. And he's going to ask the question: Are we really building something that's intelligent, or are we just building mimics and parrots?    Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

With the recent release of GPT-4, now seemed like a good time for our episodes on intelligence. And not just artificial intelligence, but intelligence in general. To help us on this journey, we're joined again by David Krakauer, President and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute. This episode is part one of our two-part conversation with David about intelligence. In part 2, David is going to cover artificial intelligence. But in this episode, we're going back to basics and David asks, what is it that makes us intelligent?   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

If there's one type of music that goes particularly well with complexity science, it's free jazz. The sort of jazz that you get when you put a group of musicians together without a conductor or any written music. But despite this, they still produce incredible music. So how does this group of musicians play so tightly together, whilst creating such dramatic changes to their music? In this episode, we're joined again by Tyler Marghetis, Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced. Tyler is going to return to the concept of tipping points, but this time, he's going to explore tipping points through the context of jazz music. To understand how they occur, he's going to go to one of the most unlikely places for help: the study of ecologies.   Resources and links: 'Zadok the Priest' by Handel - Classical (composed) - This piece tips at 01:22 Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube 'Implosion' by Alex Levine Quartet - Free jazz (improvised) - This piece tips between 00:10 to 00:30, and again between 02:20 to 02:40. Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.