Podcasts about Complexity theory

  • 83PODCASTS
  • 130EPISODES
  • 52mAVG DURATION
  • ?INFREQUENT EPISODES
  • Apr 22, 2025LATEST

POPULARITY

20172018201920202021202220232024


Best podcasts about Complexity theory

Latest podcast episodes about Complexity theory

The Innovation Show
Gary Hamel - Leading The Revolution Part 6

The Innovation Show

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 69:48


Welcome to the finale episode of our exploration of Gary Hamel's groundbreaking book, 'Leading the Revolution.' In this episode, Gary Hamel joins the discussion to delve into the timeless principles of innovation that have maintained their relevance despite evolving business landscapes. This episode is packed with insights on creating wealth through revolutionary design rules, fostering new business concepts, and the importance of low-risk experimentation for long-term success. We examine case studies from companies like Disney, Apple, and Shell, highlighting the practical application of these principles. Get ready to be inspired and equipped with actionable strategies to lead your own revolution!   00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:42 The Role of Top Management in Innovation 01:08 Introduction of Guest and Positive Feedback 01:50 Complexity Theory and Simple Rules 04:29 Unreasonable Expectations and Stretch Goals 11:17 The Importance of Elastic Business Definitions 20:02 The Power of a Noble Cause 26:09 The Need for New Voices and Neurodiversity 32:09 Creating a Market for Innovation 36:40 Shell's Game Changer: Internal Innovation Marketplace 38:46 Challenges of Low-Risk Experimentation 39:48 Commitment to Learning and Experimentation 41:43 The Importance of Patience in Innovation 43:47 Cellular Division: A Model for Organizational Growth 47:22 Connectivity: Learning from Other Industries 50:50 Re-engineering the Management Model for Innovation 57:17 Wealth Creation Index and Innovation Metrics 01:00:05 Balancing Big Bets and Learning in Innovation 01:07:01 Final Thoughts: Embracing the Age of Revolution

The Mob Mentality Show
Complex Adaptive Organizations, Org Topologies, and FAST Agile with Ariel Pérez

The Mob Mentality Show

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 46:09


In this thought-provoking episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we are joined by Ariel Pérez to explore the fascinating intersection of Complex Adaptive Organizations, Organizational Topologies, and the FAST Agile Framework. Together, we dive into the challenges and opportunities of modern software development and organizational dynamics, offering actionable insights for leaders, teams, and anyone navigating complexity in their work. Highlights from the Episode... Complex Adaptive Organizations and FAST Agile: Manufacturing vs. Software Development: Why building the same product repeatedly differs from creating custom software . Complexity Theory in Software Development: How unpredictable side effects shape outcomes and the pursuit of predictability in organizations. Fixed Scope and Fixed Date: Are they real business needs, or just external motivators? What are their long-term impacts on quality and delivery? Theory X vs. Theory Y (management theories): How a leaders' management principles and practices influence autonomy, trust, and collaboration. Dynamic Teams in FAST Agile: The pros and cons of adapting teams dynamically to match work needs versus forcing work into rigid team structures. Story of Transitioning to FAST: A tale of initial resistance to the FAST Agile approach and the eventual embrace of its benefits. Building a Culture of Experimentation and Learning: Experimentation as a Foundation for Innovation: How to test hypotheses in product development and team practices without compromising quality. From Fear to Trust: Encouraging experimentation in new teams or under new leadership while creating safety for bold ideas. Practical Experiments: Implementing small feature flags, A/B testing (comparing two versions in production), and time-limited trial runs to foster innovation. Respect and Radical Candor: Building trust through open communication, mutual respect, and the occasional dose of healthy banter

Conscious Fertility
86: Bridging Science and Spirituality: Understanding Complexity with Dr. Neil Theise

Conscious Fertility

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2024 85:27


Join us as we dive into the fascinating mind of Dr. Neil Theise, a pathologist and professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, whose groundbreaking research spans from the discovery of the interstitium to the study of complexity theory and consciousness.  In this episode, Dr. Theise shares with Dr. Lorne Brown his  insights from his book, "Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being," discussing how the interstitium acts as a bridge between different healing paradigms and how complexity theory explains everything from biology to human behavior. We also explore how quantum physics, consciousness, and interconnectedness are deeply woven into our understanding of health and well-being.   Key takeaways:  The interstitium is a crucial fluid-filled network throughout the body, linking different healing systems. Complexity theory reveals the interconnected nature of life. Our consciousness may be intrinsic to the structure of the universe. Eastern and Western medicine have more commonalities than differences when viewed through the interstitium. Embracing unpredictability is vital for adaptability in life and health.   Dr. Neil Theise Bio: Dr. Neil Theise is a medical doctor. He is a pathologist as well as professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Through his scientific research, he has been a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity and the anatomy of the human interstitium. Dr. Theise's studies in complexity theory have led to interdisciplinary collaborations in fields such as integrative medicine, consciousness studies, and science-religion dialogue.  His book, “Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being”, was published in 2023. Where To Find Dr. Neil Theise:     Website: http://neiltheiseofficial.com   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neiltheise/  Book “Notes on Complexity” - https://www.neiltheiseofficial.com/books Dynamic and Anatomic Considerations in the Human Body: Interstitium, Complexity, and Connection - https://hhs.healthyseminars.com/course/dynamic-and-anatomic-considerations-in-the-human-body-interstitium-complexity-and-connection-distance/ How to connect to Lorne Brown online and in person (Vancouver, BC) Acubalance.ca book virtual or in person conscious work sessions with Dr. Lorne Brown  Lornebrown.com   Conscious hacks and tools to optimize your fertility by Dr. Lorne Brown: https://acubalance.ca/conscious-work/   Download a free copy of the Acubalance Fertility Diet & Recipes and a copy of the ebook 5 Ways to Maximize Your Chances of Getting Pregnant from Acubalance.ca   Connect with Lorne and the podcast on Instagram: @acubalancewellnesscentre @conscious_fertility_podcast @lorne_brown_official DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use it as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. This podcast offers information to help the listener cooperate with physicians, mental health professionals or other healthcare providers in a mutual quest for optimal well-being. We advise listeners to carefully review and understand the ideas presented, and to consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. Under no circumstances shall Acubalance, any guests or contributors to the Conscious Fertility podcast, or any employees, associates, or affiliates of Acubalance be responsible for damages arising from the use of the podcast.

Menzies Leadership Forum
The Fundamentals of Complexity Theory

Menzies Leadership Forum

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2024 71:31


Episode Two: The Fundamentals of Complexity Theory, with Shannan Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West In this episode, host Dr. Aiden Thornton explores the fundamentals of complexity theory with Shannan Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding complex adaptive systems—networks with many interconnected parts that exhibit emergent properties. West emphasises that these systems, such as cities, are more than just the sum of their individual components. He also discusses the Institute's unique structure, which fosters interaction among a small group of scholars and visitors, allowing for dynamic exchanges of ideas without the rigidity of tenure. Dr Aiden Thornton from The Australian National University (ANU); Shannan Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West

Leveraging Thought Leadership with Peter Winick
Navigating Virtual Teams and Complexity Theory | Dr. Robert Gordon | 602

Leveraging Thought Leadership with Peter Winick

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2024 34:57


How do you balance being a practitioner and an academic? In this episode, Bill Sherman talks with Dr. Robert Gordon, interim department chair for analytics, economics, and finance at American Public University about his unique journey from the world of cruise ships and supply chain to academia, research, and thought leadership. Robert shares his experience moving from practitioner to academic, and now returning to bridge the gap between the two. His expertise in supply chain management, particularly in the maritime and cruise industries, provided the foundation for a shift into research and publishing that impacted both academia and industry. Robert's research on virtual teams and complexity theory was initially seen as niche, but when the pandemic hit, his work became highly relevant. The shift to remote work made his insights on virtual teams essential reading. He highlights the importance of staying connected to practitioners through conversations and continuous publishing to keep his research relevant. Robert's story is a reminder that thought leadership is not a static process. It's about continually evolving, reflecting, and bridging the gap between theory and practice. Three Key Takeaways: • Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry: Robert Gordon emphasizes the importance of staying connected to practitioners while conducting academic research, ensuring his work remains relevant and actionable in real-world settings. • The Power of Reflection in Thought Leadership: Robert highlights how reflecting on past work is crucial for growth, allowing him to evolve his ideas, improve his writing, and adapt to the changing needs of his audience. • Virtual Teams and Complexity Theory Gaining Relevance: What was once considered niche research became vital during the pandemic, as organizations around the world shifted to remote work, validating the importance of anticipating future trends in research. Robert knows the importance of academic research to practitioners.  In this video Thought Leadership Leverage CEO Peter Winick explains how you can use academic research to build your thought leadership platform!

StarTalk Radio
The Origins of Life with Sara Imari Walker

StarTalk Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2024 54:08


What is life? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice tackle assembly theory, artificial life, and the origin of lifeforms in the universe as we revise the definition of life with astrobiologist and theoretical physicist Sara Imari Walker.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/the-origins-of-life-with-sara-imari-walker/Thanks to our Patrons Bill Williamson, Amanda, Charles Waggoner, Jason Wiatr, Don Lane, Biren Amin, Jean C Roy, david accetta, STAHLGEIST, joshua george, Danny, daniel oliveira, Matthew Szwajda, Gabe Magallanes, Mike Jespersen, Elias, and Jon O for supporting us this week. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.

Philosophers In Space
Alien Clay and Low-Road Capitalism pt.1

Philosophers In Space

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2024 85:16


Awwww yeah, we're back in the Tchaikovskyverse doing a hecking socialism crossbred with philosophy of mind. Most importantly, there's tentacles! Alien Clay: https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Clay-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/dp/1035013746 Low-road Capitalism article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/slavery-capitalism.html Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Music by Thomas Smith: https://seriouspod.com/ Sibling shows: Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Content Preview: Alien Clay and the Complexity Theory of Consciousness

Books & Writers · The Creative Process
How can physics help solve real world problems? - NEIL JOHNSON, Head of Dynamic Online Networks Lab

Books & Writers · The Creative Process

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2024 50:41


How can physics help solve messy, real world problems? How can we embrace the possibilities of AI while limiting existential risk and abuse by bad actors?Neil Johnson is a physics professor at George Washington University. His new initiative in Complexity and Data Science at the Dynamic Online Networks Lab combines cross-disciplinary fundamental research with data science to attack complex real-world problems. His research interests lie in the broad area of Complex Systems and ‘many-body' out-of-equilibrium systems of collections of objects, ranging from crowds of particles to crowds of people and from environments as distinct as quantum information processing in nanostructures to the online world of collective behavior on social media. He is the author of Simply Complexity: A Clear Guide to Complexity Theory and co-author of Financial Market Complexity: What Physics Can Tell Us About Market Behavior.“It gets back to this core question. I just wish I was a young scientist going into this because that's the question to answer: Why AI comes out with what it does. That's the burning question. It's like it's bigger than the origin of the universe to me as a scientist, and here's the reason why. The origin of the universe, it happened. That's why we're here. It's almost like a historical question asking why it happened. The AI future is not a historical question. It's a now and future question.I'm a huge optimist for AI, actually. I see it as part of that process of climbing its own mountain. It could do wonders for so many areas of science, medicine. When the car came out, the car initially is a disaster. But you fast forward, and it was the key to so many advances in society. I think it's exactly the same as AI. The big challenge is to understand why it works. AI existed for years, but it was useless. Nothing useful, nothing useful, nothing useful. And then maybe last year or something, now it's really useful. There seemed to be some kind of jump in its ability, almost like a shock wave. We're trying to develop an understanding of how AI operates in terms of these shockwave jumps. Revealing how AI works will help society understand what it can and can't do and therefore remove some of this dark fear of being taken over. If you don't understand how AI works, how can you govern it? To get effective governance, you need to understand how AI works because otherwise you don't know what you're going to regulate.”https://physics.columbian.gwu.edu/neil-johnsonhttps://donlab.columbian.gwu.eduwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Books & Writers · The Creative Process
Is understanding AI a bigger question than understanding the origin of the universe? - Highlights, NEIL JOHNSON, Author of Simply Complexity: A Clear Guide to Complexity Theory

Books & Writers · The Creative Process

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2024 15:38


“It gets back to this core question. I just wish I was a young scientist going into this because that's the question to answer: Why AI comes out with what it does. That's the burning question. It's like it's bigger than the origin of the universe to me as a scientist, and here's the reason why. The origin of the universe, it happened. That's why we're here. It's almost like a historical question asking why it happened. The AI future is not a historical question. It's a now and future question.I'm a huge optimist for AI, actually. I see it as part of that process of climbing its own mountain. It could do wonders for so many areas of science, medicine. When the car came out, the car initially is a disaster. But you fast forward, and it was the key to so many advances in society. I think it's exactly the same as AI. The big challenge is to understand why it works. AI existed for years, but it was useless. Nothing useful, nothing useful, nothing useful. And then maybe last year or something, now it's really useful. There seemed to be some kind of jump in its ability, almost like a shock wave. We're trying to develop an understanding of how AI operates in terms of these shockwave jumps. Revealing how AI works will help society understand what it can and can't do and therefore remove some of this dark fear of being taken over. If you don't understand how AI works, how can you govern it? To get effective governance, you need to understand how AI works because otherwise you don't know what you're going to regulate.”How can physics help solve messy, real world problems? How can we embrace the possibilities of AI while limiting existential risk and abuse by bad actors?Neil Johnson is a physics professor at George Washington University. His new initiative in Complexity and Data Science at the Dynamic Online Networks Lab combines cross-disciplinary fundamental research with data science to attack complex real-world problems. His research interests lie in the broad area of Complex Systems and ‘many-body' out-of-equilibrium systems of collections of objects, ranging from crowds of particles to crowds of people and from environments as distinct as quantum information processing in nanostructures to the online world of collective behavior on social media. He is the author of Simply Complexity: A Clear Guide to Complexity Theory and co-author of Financial Market Complexity: What Physics Can Tell Us About Market Behavior.https://physics.columbian.gwu.edu/neil-johnson https://donlab.columbian.gwu.eduwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Chasing Consciousness
Dr. Neil Theise - COMPLEXITY THEORY & SELF ORGANISING SYSTEMS

Chasing Consciousness

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2024 90:31


Why do complex systems self-organise? What is cellular uncertainty and stem cell plasticity? Can we create artificial digital life that's subject to the same creative adaptability that nature and life demonstrate? Today we have the extraordinary phenomena of self-organisation in Complex Systems to look into. We're going to be looking into the conditions for a system to be considered complex, how a certain amount of randomness in the system releases the creativity required to permit adaptability, and how the feedback loops within that adaptability lead to a self-correcting organisational principle that keeps the system's order and randomness in balance as it evolves. We're going to be seeing how that self-organisation is operative at almost every level of scale in the universe and in life and death, and trying to get our heads around what that means for the nature of reality and consciousness. So who better to discuss this with than stem cell biologist and diagnostic pathologist Neil Theise. Neil is is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity research. In 2018 the news of his discovery of the interstitial, a vast communication network throughout the human body went viral and was featured in the New York Times and Scientific American among many others. Theise is also a long term student of Zen meditation and Kabbalah. And his studies of complexity theory, summarised in his new book “Notes on Complexity: A scientific theory of connection, consciousness and being”, have led to interdisciplinary collaborations in fields as diverse integrative medicine, consciousness studies and the science-spirituality interface. Since speaking with biologist Michael Levin on Cellular cognition, and cognitive scientist John Vervaeke on collective intelligence, in the last series; I've been keen to speak to Neil about stem cell plasticity and self-organising systems, as their elegant sophistication begs so many questions about the nature of reality and consciousness. So without further ado, let's go! 00:00 Intro 05:45 Livers have stem cells, Neil's first of many discoveries 13:50 “Cellular Uncertainty” - Stem-cell plasticity. 17:43 Heisenberg's ‘Uncertainty principle' analogy. 20:20 Cellular sensitivity 22:00 The TechnoSphere - interacting with virtual creatures 26:20 Emergent bottom-up structure, self-organising inside the game 27:20 Artificial Life. 29:20 Complexity Theory explained by Ants. 34:20 Randomness allows the creativity to adapt to changes: in the environment Divergent ants. 35:20 A minimum of elements are needed over time to become self-organising. 36:50 Cells, ants and humans all self-organise: micro macro phenomena. 38:40 No planning or top-down intelligence managing complex systems. 42:55 ‘Wholarchies' not hierarchies. 47:50 Living systems and complexity arise at the boundary between perfect order and fractal chaos. 49:55 Extinction is also part of complexity, as much as creative adaptivity. 50:30 “What makes you able to be a living system, inevitably, given enough time will lead you to die. You can't separate life and death”. 53:10 Self correction 55:50 Cancer, economic crashes, extinction events: Pruning away the corrective negative feedback loops leads to collapse. 57:30 Every scale of nature adheres to complex system behaviours. 59:50 Complementarity exists at all levels of scale - Niels Bohr. 01:01:40 Biological complementarity. 01:04:50 Breaking down the separations between discrete organisms. 01:10:50 Not upward or downward causation but complementarity. 01:35:50 Zen meditation insights which led to scientific insight. 01:18:20 The risk of over-rating our personal experience. 01:23:20 Where you find mind, you find life. References: Neil Theise, “Notes on Complexity: A scientific theory of connection, consciousness and being” Evan Thompson - Deep Continuity (of Life and Mind) Francisco Varela - (Evan Thompson's mentor)

Energi Talks
A conversation with Dr Doyne Farmer about complexity theory, energy transition

Energi Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2024 45:34 Transcription Available


Markham interviews Dr. Doyne Farmer is the Baillie Gifford Professor of Complex Systems Science at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, at Oxford University. He is the author of “Making Sense of chaos: A Better Economics for a Better World” that will be published by Allen Lane on April 25. 

Chasing Consciousness
Stephen Wolfram PHD - THE COMPUTATIONAL UNIVERSE & MODELLING COMPLEXITY

Chasing Consciousness

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 121:50


Does the use of computer models in physics change the way we see the universe? How far reaching are the implications of computation irreducibility? Are observer limitations key to the way we conceive the laws of physics? In this episode we have the difficult yet beautiful topic of trying to model complex systems like nature and the universe computationally to get into; and how beyond a low level of complexity all systems, seem to become equally unpredictable. We have a whole episode in this series on Complexity Theory in biology and nature, but today we're going to be taking a more physics and computational slant. Another key element to this episode is Observer Theory, because we have to take into account the perceptual limitations of our species' context and perspective, if we want to understand how the laws of physics that we've worked out from our environment, are not and cannot be fixed and universal but rather will always be perspective bound, within a multitude of alternative branches of possible reality with alternative possible computational rules. We'll then connect this multi-computational approach to a reinterpretation of Entropy and the 2nd law of thermodynamics. The fact that my guest has been building on these ideas for over 40 years, creating computer language and Ai solutions, to map his deep theories of computational physics, makes him the ideal guest to help us unpack this topic. He is physicist, computer scientist and tech entrepreneur Stephen Wolfram. In 1987 he left academia at Caltech and Princeton behind and devoted himself to his computer science intuitions at his company Wolfram Research. He's published many blog articles about his ideas, and written many influential books including “A New kind of Science”, and more recently “A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics”, and “Computer Modelling and Simulation of Dynamic Systems”, and just out in 2023 “The Second Law” about the mystery of Entropy. One of the most wonderful things about Stephen Wolfram is that, despite his visionary insight into reality, he really loves to be ‘in the moment' with his thinking, engaging in socratic dialogue, staying open to perspectives other than his own and allowing his old ideas to be updated if something comes up that contradicts them; and given how quickly the fields of physics and computer science are evolving I think his humility and conceptual flexibility gives us a fine example of how we should update how we do science as we go. What we discuss:  00:00 Intro 07:45 The history of scientific models of reality: structural, mathematical and computational. 20:20 The Principle of Computational Equivalence (PCE) 24:45 Computational Irreducibility - the process that means you can't predict the outcome in advance. 27:50 The importance of the passage of time to Consciousness. 28:45 Irreducibility and the limits of science. 33:30 Godel's Incompleteness Theorem 42:20 Observer Theory and the Wolfram Physics Project. 50:30 We 'make' space. 51:30 Branchial Space - different quantum histories of the world, branching and merging 58:50 Rulial Space: All possible rules of all possible interconnected branches. 01:19:30 The Measurement problem of QM and Entanglement meets computational irreducibility and observer theory.  01:32:40 Inviting Stephen back for a separate episode on AI safety, safety solutions and applications for science, as we did't have time. 01:37:30 At the molecular level the laws of physics are reversible. 01:45:30 Entropy defined in computational terms. 01:50:30 If we ever overcame our finite minds, there would be no coherent concept of existence. 01:51:30 Parallels between modern physics and ancient eastern mysticism and cosmology. 01:55:30 Reductionism in an irreducible world: saying a lot from very little input. References: “The Second Law: Resolving the Mystery of the Second Law of Thermodynamics”, Stephen Wolfram “A New Kind of Science”, Stephen Wolfram Observer Theory Article, Stephen Wolfram

Machine learning
Debates with Ai about change - chaos and complexity theory and energy analysis

Machine learning

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2023 14:50


What cause change and how do we react to it --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/david-nishimoto/message

Robinson's Podcast
164 - Geoffrey West: Complexity Theory and The Scaling Laws of Biology

Robinson's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2023 128:49


Geoffrey West is Shannan Distinguished Professor and Past President at the Santa Fe Institute. He is a theoretical physicist who has worked broadly on topics related to elementary particles and their cosmological implications. Among other topics, he has also worked on complexity theory, scaling laws in biology, and how they can be applied in other areas, such as cities and problems involving global sustainability. This is precisely what Robinson and Geoffrey discuss in this episode, with particular reference to his recent book, Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies (Penguin, 2017).  Scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ05syiaUxg OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:25 Introduction 02:21 Complexity and the Santa Fe Institute 22:14 What Are Emergent Phenomena? 34:18 What is Complexity Theory? 45:51 Why Do All Animals Have the Same Number of Heartbeats in a Lifetime 01:11:43 Does Complexity Theory Tell Us How to Live Longer 01:22:49 Why Don't Cities Die Like Organisms Do? 01:59:40 The Pandemic and the Increasing Pace of Life Robinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support

The
Austrian Economics and Complex Systems with Rahim Taghizadegan (WiM376)

The "What is Money?" Show

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2023 163:08


Rahim Taghizadegan joins me to discuss what Jungian psychology and Austrian economics have in common, the problem with the deterministic worldview, the nature of incentives, and whether Bitcoin is a fundamental innovation. Rahim Taghizadegan is an economist, author, physicist, philosopher, investor, and entrepreneur. He is the last Austrian economist of the Austrian School in the direct tradition. // GUEST // Twitter: https://twitter.com/scholarium_at Website: https://scholarium.at/// SPONSORS // In Wolf's Clothing: https://wolfnyc.com/iCoin Hardware Wallet (use discount code BITCOIN23): https://www.icointechnology.com/ CrowdHealth: https://www.joincrowdhealth.com/breedloveWasabi Wallet: https://wasabiwallet.io/ Bitcoin Apparel (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://thebitcoinclothingcompany.com/ Feel Free Tonics (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://botanictonics.com Carnivore Bar (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://carnivorebar.com/ // OUTLINE // 00:00:00 - Coming up 00:00:44 - Intro 00:02:17 - Helping Lightning Startups with In Wolf's Clothing 00:03:03 - Introducing Rahim Taghizadegan 00:03:47 - Rahim's Journey from Austrian Economics to Bitcoin 00:05:20 - Switching the Field of Interest 00:07:10 - Recommended Books 00:08:35 - Jungian Psychology & Austrian Economics 00:11:37 - The Complexity Theory 00:13:38 - Behavior vs. Action 00:18:19 - Praxeology 00:19:17 - Distinguishing Human from Animal 00:23:11 - 20th Century Crisis 00:30:10 - Innovation Led to Social Change 00:36:14 - Fighting Against the Demagogues 00:42:28 - Preservation of Privilege 00:43:24 - Guiding Light and the Narrative of Mythology 00:45:44 - Human Capability of Rational Argumentation 00:47:30 - Following the Leader 00:51:35 - Rules vs. Regulation 00:53:10 - Differentiating Epistemology & Philosophy 00:55:16 - Replacing Philosophy with Science 01:01:05 - Simplicity vs. Complexity 01:02:23 - Secure Your Bitcoin Stash with the iCoin Hardware Wallet 01:03:19 - Mismanagement of Science 01:07:07 - Science is Not the Only Answer 01:10:38 - DDT Pesticide Disaster 01:12:53 - The Line Between Proper Intervention and Abuse 01:16:02 - From Newtonian Theory to Einsteinian Theory 01:19:41 - Problem with the Newtonian Worldview of Human Beings 01:22:29 - Difference Between Theory and Observation 01:26:43 - Attributes of Real Science 01:29:04 - Tradition of Speculation & Exaggeration 01:33:38 - Choosing the Right Facts 01:35:23 - Verifying the Ideals 01:38:13 - Spotting the Irregularities and Discussing Metaphysics 01:43:27 - Axiom of Action 01:46:11 - Predicting Human Behaviour 01:49:22 - The Freedom to Choose 01:52:31 - The Metaphor of Language & Money 01:55:28 - Bitcoin is an Idealized Money 01:57:46 - Is Bitcoin Discovered or Invented? 02:00:17 - Take Control of Your Healthcare with CrowdHealth 02:01:18 - A Bitcoin Wallet with Privacy Built-In: Wasabi Wallet 02:02:10 - Bitcoin a Fundamental Innovation 02:03:42 - Can Bitcoin Be Established in Today's World? 02:07:40 - The Nature of Incentives 02:11:06 - How Incentives Influence Action 02:17:32 - Fiat Currency Incentivizes Debt 02:21:09 - How Incentives Interact with Morality 02:25:25 - Restructuring the Incentives 02:29:13 - Private Property & Social Cooperation 02:32:20 - Being an Entrepreneur of Change 02:37:02 - Bitcoin Enhances Private Property 02:39:33 - The Feedback Loops of Bitcoin 02:41:27 - How to Find Rahim's Work// PODCAST // Podcast Website: https://whatismoneypodcast.com/ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-what-is-money-show/id1541404400Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/25LPvm8EewBGyfQQ1abIsE? RSS Feed: https://feeds.simplecast.com/MLdpYXYI// SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL // Bitcoin: 3D1gfxKZKMtfWaD1bkwiR6JsDzu6e9bZQ7 Sats via Strike: https://strike.me/breedlove22 Sats via Tippin.me: https://tippin.me/@Breedlove22 Dollars via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/RBreedlove// WRITTEN WORK // Medium: https://breedlove22.medium.com/ Substack: https://breedlove22.substack.com/// SOCIAL // Breedlove Twitter: https://twitter.com/Breedlove22 WiM? Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatisMoneyShow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breedlove22Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breedlove_22 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@breedlove22 All My Current Work: https://vida.page/breedlove22

Financial Sense(R) Newshour
Central Banking Needs Fundamental Reform and Complexity Theory Points the Way, Says William White (Preview)

Financial Sense(R) Newshour

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 1:51


Sep 12, 2023 – FS Insider speaks with William White who advocates for a foundational shift in central banking philosophy: transitioning from linear, deterministic views to a more nuanced understanding of the economy rooted in complexity theory...

English Academic Vocabulary Booster
3991. 140 Academic Words Reference from "Nicolas Perony: Puppies! Now that I've got your attention, complexity theory | TED Talk"

English Academic Vocabulary Booster

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2023 125:08


This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/nicolas_perony_puppies_now_that_i_ve_got_your_attention_complexity_theory ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/140-academic-words-reference-from-nicolas-perony-puppies-now-that-ive-got-your-attention-complexity-theory-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/tNxzKKLIS4I (All Words) https://youtu.be/RZoNKWE4jVE (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/DVVSw8KfjYk (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)

Puliyabaazi Hindi Podcast
लोकनीति में जटिलता को कैसे समझें? Complexity theory for Public Policy

Puliyabaazi Hindi Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2023 35:31


इंसान हमेशा अपने आसपास हो रही घटनाओं से सरल तारण निकलने की कोशिश करते रहते हैं।  पर हमारी दुनिया काफ़ी जटिल है और कई कारण और ताने बाने जुड़ कर कोई लोकनीति सफल होती है। तो इस पुलियाबाज़ी पर इसी जटिलता को समझने की एक कोशिश।  This week, we go beyond isomorphic mimicry and try to understand the “Why” behind the copycat policymaking. We try to understand how complex systems work and why we should approach policymaking with a lot of humility. Do listen in.  Beyond Isomorphic Mimicry | Pranay's article on complexity in public policy https://publicpolicy.substack.com/i/122654932/india-policy-watch-beyond-isomorphic-mimicry *** More Puliyabaazi on Public Policy  ***** आंतरिक सुरक्षा: हालचाल ठीक-ठाक है? Internal Security in India ft. Devesh Kapur & Amit Ahujahttps://youtu.be/hNpDu0PuHdU EP 111 Sandalwood, Property Rights, and Smuggling | भारत में चंदन इतना महंगा क्यों है?https://youtu.be/1mdWULW9tfI EP 43 पेटेंट, कॉपीराइट, और ट्रेड सीक्रेट की कहानी. Intellectual Property Rights ft Mihir Mahajanhttps://youtu.be/uKnXeIQ6hjI *****************Website: https://puliyabaazi.in Write to us at puliyabaazi@gmail.com  Hosts: @saurabhchandra @pranaykotas @thescribblebee  Puliyabaazi is on these platforms: Twitter: @puliyabaazi  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puliyabaazi/ Subscribe & listen to the podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Castbox, AudioBoom, YouTube, Spotify or any other podcast app.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Neil Theise (on Complexity Theory)

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2023 143:32


Neil Theise (Notes on Complexity) is a diagnostic pathologist, stem cell biologist, and complexity theorist. Neil joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the principles of complexity theory, the way it works at different levels of scale, and how it differs from chaos theory. Neil and Dax talk about emergent self-organization, how randomness encourages change, and negative feedback loops. Neil explains the importance of your microbiome, how the universe is an endless unfolding range of possibilities, and how he learned to fear a lot less. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Nonlinear Library
LW - Apparently, of the 195 Million the DoD allocated in University Research Funding Awards in 2022, more than half of them concerned AI or compute hardware research by mako yass

The Nonlinear Library

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2023 4:52


Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Apparently, of the 195 Million the DoD allocated in University Research Funding Awards in 2022, more than half of them concerned AI or compute hardware research, published by mako yass on July 7, 2023 on LessWrong. Suggests some really interesting focus, so I thought I should mention it. The awards concerned "pursuing basic research spanning multiple scientific disciplines", which makes it pretty interesting that three fifths of them are either directly AI and compute hardware research, or have applications to compute hardware research. From a merit-based review of approximately 340 proposals received, a panel of experts narrowed the proposals to a subset, from which the 28 final awards were selected (Only 26 were listed in the table. I wonder if the other two were a strategic omission.) Take a look at the table of project topics. Bold means probably directly AI/compute, italic means probably primarily applicable to AI/compute. Social Network-Transcendent Behavioral Dynamics Learning Dynamics and Detecting Causal Pathways in Coupled Online- Offline Systems Microelectronic Test Science Exploiting Latent Energy and Electromagnetic Radiation Comprehensive Minimally/non- invasive Multifaceted Assessment of Nano-/ microelectronic Devices (CoMMAND) Cavity Molecular Polaritons MURI: Polariton Chemistry Effects of Radiation Damage on Performance of Wide-Bandgap Electronics REDESIGN: Radiation Effects preDiction through Experimentally validated Simulation of Gallium Nitride Understanding Neural Systems Integration for Competent Autonomy in Decision and Control FLAP: Fast, Lexicographic Agile Integrates Decision and Control in a Spike-Resolved, Sensorimotor Program Nonlinear Optical Material Design with Extreme Interband Nonlinearities Atomic-scale Manipulations of Interband Optical Nonlinearities - (AtoMs➝IONs) Synthetic Quantum Matter Reimagining Atoms and Photons in SYnthetic, DYnamical, and INteracting Quantum matter Composability of Synthetic Biological Circuits Rules of Composition in Synthetic Biology Across Scales of Complexity: Theory and Tools Bio-architected Responsive Materials with 3D Nanoscale Order 3D Nanomaterial Architectures with Programmable Reconfiguration States and Functions Topological Seeds of Complex Response in Materials Programming Multistable Origami and Kirigami Structures via Topological Design Connectivity and Transport in Disordered Hyperuniform Networks Transport in Disordered Hyperuniform Systems and Networks Uncovering the Underlying Neurobiological Mechanisms of Cognitive Fatigue Understanding and Predicting Cognitive Fatigue across Multiple Timescales, Distinct Aspects of Cognition, and Different Individuals with Multiscale Whole Cortex Models Gut-Neuronal Signaling Through Polymeric Mucin via Chemical Probes and Imaging Mucin-mimetic Interventions to Modulate the Gut-Brain Axis ELECTROBIOLOGY: Electronic Control of Biological Communication Faster, More Efficient, and Hybrid Computation in Microbial Bioelectronic Systems ARO Rice University Novel Routes to Majorana Qubits for Topologically- Protected Quantum Information Epitaxial phase-biased Josephson junctions Molecular Doping of Organic Electronic Materials Next Generation Molecular Dopants for Organic Electronics: From Fundamentals to New Device Concepts Learning from Hearing Neurobehavioral, Physiological, and Computational Processes of Auditory Object Learning in Mammals Hydrodynamics of Fish Schooling Revealing the Hydrodynamic Principles of Three-dimensional Fish Schools; From Biology to Schooling Robotics Self-learning for Real-world Perception Intentional multi-modal self-learning to perceive and understand the real world Fundamental Non-equilibrium Processes in Weakly Ionized Hypersonic Flows Development of Validated Hypersonic Plasma Kinetics Models Including Atomic Excitation I...

The Nonlinear Library: LessWrong
LW - Apparently, of the 195 Million the DoD allocated in University Research Funding Awards in 2022, more than half of them concerned AI or compute hardware research by mako yass

The Nonlinear Library: LessWrong

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2023 4:52


Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Apparently, of the 195 Million the DoD allocated in University Research Funding Awards in 2022, more than half of them concerned AI or compute hardware research, published by mako yass on July 7, 2023 on LessWrong. Suggests some really interesting focus, so I thought I should mention it. The awards concerned "pursuing basic research spanning multiple scientific disciplines", which makes it pretty interesting that three fifths of them are either directly AI and compute hardware research, or have applications to compute hardware research. From a merit-based review of approximately 340 proposals received, a panel of experts narrowed the proposals to a subset, from which the 28 final awards were selected (Only 26 were listed in the table. I wonder if the other two were a strategic omission.) Take a look at the table of project topics. Bold means probably directly AI/compute, italic means probably primarily applicable to AI/compute. Social Network-Transcendent Behavioral Dynamics Learning Dynamics and Detecting Causal Pathways in Coupled Online- Offline Systems Microelectronic Test Science Exploiting Latent Energy and Electromagnetic Radiation Comprehensive Minimally/non- invasive Multifaceted Assessment of Nano-/ microelectronic Devices (CoMMAND) Cavity Molecular Polaritons MURI: Polariton Chemistry Effects of Radiation Damage on Performance of Wide-Bandgap Electronics REDESIGN: Radiation Effects preDiction through Experimentally validated Simulation of Gallium Nitride Understanding Neural Systems Integration for Competent Autonomy in Decision and Control FLAP: Fast, Lexicographic Agile Integrates Decision and Control in a Spike-Resolved, Sensorimotor Program Nonlinear Optical Material Design with Extreme Interband Nonlinearities Atomic-scale Manipulations of Interband Optical Nonlinearities - (AtoMs➝IONs) Synthetic Quantum Matter Reimagining Atoms and Photons in SYnthetic, DYnamical, and INteracting Quantum matter Composability of Synthetic Biological Circuits Rules of Composition in Synthetic Biology Across Scales of Complexity: Theory and Tools Bio-architected Responsive Materials with 3D Nanoscale Order 3D Nanomaterial Architectures with Programmable Reconfiguration States and Functions Topological Seeds of Complex Response in Materials Programming Multistable Origami and Kirigami Structures via Topological Design Connectivity and Transport in Disordered Hyperuniform Networks Transport in Disordered Hyperuniform Systems and Networks Uncovering the Underlying Neurobiological Mechanisms of Cognitive Fatigue Understanding and Predicting Cognitive Fatigue across Multiple Timescales, Distinct Aspects of Cognition, and Different Individuals with Multiscale Whole Cortex Models Gut-Neuronal Signaling Through Polymeric Mucin via Chemical Probes and Imaging Mucin-mimetic Interventions to Modulate the Gut-Brain Axis ELECTROBIOLOGY: Electronic Control of Biological Communication Faster, More Efficient, and Hybrid Computation in Microbial Bioelectronic Systems ARO Rice University Novel Routes to Majorana Qubits for Topologically- Protected Quantum Information Epitaxial phase-biased Josephson junctions Molecular Doping of Organic Electronic Materials Next Generation Molecular Dopants for Organic Electronics: From Fundamentals to New Device Concepts Learning from Hearing Neurobehavioral, Physiological, and Computational Processes of Auditory Object Learning in Mammals Hydrodynamics of Fish Schooling Revealing the Hydrodynamic Principles of Three-dimensional Fish Schools; From Biology to Schooling Robotics Self-learning for Real-world Perception Intentional multi-modal self-learning to perceive and understand the real world Fundamental Non-equilibrium Processes in Weakly Ionized Hypersonic Flows Development of Validated Hypersonic Plasma Kinetics Models Including Atomic Excitation I...

Boston Computation Club
06/16/23: Infinite Games -- Strategies, Logic, Theory, and Computation, with Joel David Hamkins

Boston Computation Club

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2023 57:28


Joel David Hamkins is a mathematician and logician at Oxford, where he studies the logic of the infinite. Today Joel joined us to talk about infinite dimensional games. As Joel explained, there are really three areas of mathematical inquiry related to games: Game Theory, as traditionally used in economics, ecology, etc.; the Theory of Games, which many CS students learn a little bit of in Complexity Theory; and the Logic of Games, which is really the camp where this talk falls. This was a totally intriguing talk in which pretty deep mathematical ideas naturally emerged from simple, playful premises. We really enjoyed it and we hope you do too! This talk is also available in video form, here.

New Dimensions
Complexity Theory, Consciousness, and Everyday Life - Neil Theise, M.D. - ND3783

New Dimensions

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 57:20


All complex systems share limited randomness, whether it's human society, ants in an ant colony, cells in a body, there's got to be a limited range of randomness. This randomness in biological life makes us different from machines. Also included is a discussion about how the brain does not create consciousness and consciousness is fundamental in the universe. Neil Theise, M.D. is a practicing pathologist and leading stem-cell researcher as well as an explorer in the nature of consciousness and its relationship to us and the cosmos as revealed in Complexity Theory. Theise is also a senior student of Zen Buddhism at the Village Zendo, in New York City, under the guidance of Roshi Enkyo O'Hara. He is the author of Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being. (Spiegel & Grau 2023) Interview Date: 2/25/2023 Tags: Neil Theise, ant colony, ant colonies, errant ant, quenched disorder, technosphere, liver cells, stem cells, hard problem in science, complexity theory, consciousness, Max Planck, spacetime energy field, quantum physics, particles, photons, waves, complementarity, nonlocality, mass extinction, Covid, AIDS, holocaust, Buddhist relative and absolute. Science, Buddhism, Personal Transformation

The New Quantum Era
Quantum Supremacy to Generative AI and Back with Scott Aaronson

The New Quantum Era

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2023 78:05


Description: Welcome to another episode of The New Quantum Era Podcast hosted by Kevin Rowney and Sebastian Hassinger. Today, they are joined by Scott Aaronson, who is a leading authority in the space of Quantum Computing, a fascinating person with a long list of relevant achievements. Scott is also the author of an outstanding blog called Shtetl-Optimize and a book named Quantum Computing Since Democritus.Scott helped design Google Quantum Supremacy, but his work exceeds it; he is involved in Complexity Theory and Computer Science and is just extremely good at connecting, explaining, and digging deeper into concepts.Key Takeaways:[3:38] How did Scott get into quantum computing?[11:35] Scott talks about the moment when the question arose: Does nature work this way?[14:28] Scott shares when he realized he wanted to dig deeper into Quantum Computing.[15:56] Scott remembers when he proved the limitation of quantum algorithms for a variation of Grover's search problem.[18:43] Scott realized that his competitive advantage was the ability to explain how things work.[20:01] Scott explains the collision problem.[21:33] Scott defines the birthday paradox.[23:24] Scott discusses the dividing line between serious and non-serious quantum computing research.[24:11]  What's Scott's relative level of faith and optimism that the areas of topological quantum computing and measurement-based quantum computation are going to produce?[28:33] Scott talks about what he thinks will be the source of the first practical quantum speed-up. [31:55] Scott didn't imagine that being a complexity theorist would become exponential.[36:14] Is Scott optimistic about quantum walks? [40:11] Has Scott returned to his machine learning and AI roots but is now trying to explain the concepts? [42:03] Scott was asked: ‘What is it going to take to get you to stop wasting your life on quantum computing?'[44:50] Scott talks about the future need to prevent  AI misuse. and his role in Open AI[47:41] Scott emphasizes the need for an external source that can point out your errors.[50:13] Scott shares his thoughts about the possible risks and misuses of GPT.[51:40] Scott made GPT to take a Quantum Computing exam; what did surprise him about the answers? It did much better on conceptual questions than on calculation questions[55:55] What kind of validation will we be able to give GPT?[56:22] Scott explains how RLHF (Reinforced Learning from Human Feedback) works.[59:28] Does Scott feel that there's room for optimism that educators can have a decent tool to hunt down this kind of plagiarism?[1:02:08] Is there anything that Scott is excited about seeing implemented on 1000 gate-based qubits with a decent amount of error mitigation? [1:04:05] Scott shares his interest in designing better quantum supremacy experiments.[1:07:43] Could these quantum supremacy experiments (based on random circuit sampling) already deliver a scalable advantage? [1:10:58] Kevin and Sebastian share the highlights of a fun and enlightening conversation with Scott Aaronson.Mentioned in this episode:Visit The New Quantum Era PodcastCheck Shtetl-OptimizeQuantum Computing Since Democritus, Scott AaronsonLearn more about the Adiabatic Algorithm result by Hastings and the Quantum Walk Algorithm result by Childs et Al.Tweetables and Quotes:“The dividing line between serious and nonserious quantum computing research is, are you asking the question of, ‘Can you actually be the best that a classical computer could do at the same desk? “ — Scott Aaronson“My first big result in quantum computing that got me into the field was to prove that Prasad Hoyer tap algorithm for the collision problem was optimal.”  — Scott Aaronson“ Quantum Walks are  a way of achieving Grover type speed ups at a wider range of problems than you would have expected.” — Scott Aaronson“AI safety is now a subject where you can get feedback.”  — Scott Aaronson“We don't have any theorems that would explain the recent successes of deep learning, the best way we can explain why is that none of the theorems rule it out.” — Scott Aaronson

Global Governance Futures: Imperfect Utopias or Bust
33: Thomas Oatley – Complexity Theory and Political Economy 2.0

Global Governance Futures: Imperfect Utopias or Bust

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2023 57:18


Professor Thomas Oatley is the Corasaniti-Zondorak Chair of International Relations at Tulane University. He focuses his research and teaching on the intersection of American hegemony and international political economy (IPE). Widely regarded as a scholar at the leading-edge of IPE research, Thomas has in recent years adopted an explicit complex systems frame to undergird a powerful critique of orthodox IPE and international relations approaches to studying the global economy and world order. In this conversation we talk about the value of thinking in terms of complex systems, why complexity theory remains on the margins of global political scholarship, the nexus between our global financial and energy systems, green industrial policy and much, much more. Thomas can be found here: https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/departments/political-science/people/thomas-oatley He tweets @thoatley We discussed: ‘Energy and the Complexity of International Order', Global Environmental Politics (2021): https://direct.mit.edu/glep/article-abstract/21/4/20/107829/Energy-and-the-Complexity-of-International-Order ‘Green industrial policy and the global transformation of climate politics' (with B. Allan and J. I. Lewis), Global Environmental Politics (2021): https://direct.mit.edu/glep/article/21/4/1/107853/Green-Industrial-Policy-and-the-Global ‘Toward a political economy of complex interdependence', European Journal of International Relations (2019): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354066119846553?journalCode=ejta Joseph Tainter, The Collapse of Complex Societies (1990): https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/archaeology/archaeological-theory-and-methods/collapse-complex-societies?format=PB&isbn=9780521386739

The Learning Future Podcast with Louka Parry
Complexity Theory: Anne Knock

The Learning Future Podcast with Louka Parry

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 38:19


Is there a way to prepare ourselves for complexities that don't fit standardised approaches or formula? How complicated can pedagogy become before it's unworkable, and what does it take to increase this threshold? Transcripts available at https://www.thelearningfuture.comThis episode features The Learning Future's Director of Leadership and Culture. Dr Anne Knock is an educator, facilitator, and coach who enables profound shifts in strategy, leadership, culture and pedagogy through her wisdom.Anne holds a PhD in Education from The Univeristy of Melbourne with a focus in complexity theory, revealing how to craft successful and sustainable practice and culture in innovative learning environments. She also routinely supports education leaders and architects to develop school masterplans and design briefs.Commencing as a primary teacher, Anne has experience in community development, school system administration, and school-based innovation consultancy. At The Learning Future, Anne leads programs and projects to help educators, leaders and organisations step into the future through strategic design and learning experiences that optimistically chart a path ahead in our increasingly complex world. Anne also leads the executive coaching and learning tour aspects of The Learning Future, supporting schools and organisations to integrate the cutting edge of school design, philosophy and practice.

FUTURATI PODCAST
Ep. 122: Complexity theory and the future of civilization | Jane Gatsby

FUTURATI PODCAST

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2023 39:04


Jane Gatsby is a complexity theorist and political philosopher. Her digital series “Wonderland” explores philosophy and political theory from first principles, bringing listeners down the rabbit hole and into a world of exploration and curiosity. She is interested in how we can construct better cities of the future, rethinking traditional institutions and challenging our assumptions of how governments can and should function. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SCL Australia Podcast
Complexity Theory - How It Can Help Us Think About Risk In Construction

SCL Australia Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2022 30:26


Stepping back from a process to see the complex interactions happening between all of the parties can lead to insights that could prevent potentially catastrophic consequences. The failure of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University led to 6 fatalities. In this talk, Sean explore the failures in the design, peer review and construction phases of the project, and the need for investigations to look into organisational causes of failure as well as the technical causes.   Sean Brady, Managing Director, Brady Heywood Pty Ltd https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-brady-11a95427/ If you'd like to learn more about complexity then be sure and check out Sean's Simplifying Complexity Podcast at: Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/simplifying-complexity/id1651582236 Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/3SfqApqNW3wNXcg2E7etij   This podcast is for reference purposes only.  It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.  You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances.  The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own.  They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.

COMPLEXITY
Glen Weyl & Cris Moore on Plurality, Governance, and Decentralized Society (EPE 05)

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2022 77:55 Very Popular


In his foundational 1972 paper “More Is Different,” physicist Phil Anderson made the case that reducing the objects of scientific study to their smallest components does not allow researchers to predict the behaviors of those systems upon reconstruction. Another way of putting this is that different disciplines reveal different truths at different scales. Contrary to long-held convictions that there would one day be one great unifying theory to explain it all, fundamental research in this century looks more like a bouquet of complementary approaches. This pluralistic thinking hearkens back to the work of 19th century psychologist William James and looks forward into the growing popularity of evidence-based approaches that cultivate diversity in team-building, governance, and ecological systems. Context-dependent theory and practice calls for choirs of voices…so how do we encourage this? New systems must emerge to handle the complexity of digital society…what might they look like?Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week on the show we dip back into our sub-series on SFI's Emergent Political Economies research theme with a trialogue featuring Microsoft Research Lead Glen Weyl (founder of RadicalXChange and founder-chair of The Plurality Institute), and SFI Resident Professor Cristopher Moore (author of over 150 papers at the intersection of physics and computer science). In our conversation we discuss the case for a radically pluralistic approach, explore the links between plurality and quantum mechanics, and outline potential technological solutions to the “sense-making” problems of the 21st century.Be sure to check out our extensive show notes with links to all our references at complexity.simplecast.com. If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us, including our upcoming program for Undergraduate Complexity Research, our new SFI Press book Ex Machina by John H. Miller, and an open postdoctoral fellowship in Belief Dynamics — at santafe.edu/engage.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInReferenced & Related WorksWhy I Am A Pluralistby Glen WeylReflecting on A Possible Quadratic Wormhole between Quantum Mechanics and Pluralityby Michael Freedman, Michal Fabinger, Glen WeylDecentralized Society: Finding Web3's Soulby Glen Weyl, Puja Ohlhaver, Vitalik ButerinAI is an Ideology, Not a Technologyby Glen Weyl & Jaron LanierHow Civic Technology Can Help Stop a Pandemicby Jaron Lanier & Glen WeylA Flexible Design for Funding Public Goodsby Vitalik Buterin, Zöe Hitzig, Glen WeylEquality of Power and Fair Public Decision-makingby Nicole Immorlica, Benjamin Plautt, Glen WeylScale and information-processing thresholds in Holocene social evolutionby Jaeweon Shin, Michael Holton Price, David Wolpert, Hajime Shimao, Brendan Tracey & Timothy Kohler Toward a Connected Societyby Danielle AllenThe role of directionality, heterogeneity and correlations in epidemic risk and spreadby Antoine Allard, Cris Moore, Samuel Scarpino, Benjamin Althouse, and Laurent Hébert-DufresneThe Generals' Scuttlebutt: Byzantine-Resilient Gossip Protocolsby Sandro Coretti, Aggelos Kiayias, Cristopher Moore, Alexander RussellEffective Resistance for Pandemics: Mobility Network Sparsification for High-Fidelity Epidemic Simulationby Alexander Mercier, Samuel Scarpino, and Cris MooreHow Accurate are Rebuttable Presumptions of Pretrial Dangerousness? A Natural Experiment from New Mexicoby Cris Moore, Elise Ferguson, Paul GuerinThe Uncertainty Principle: In an age of profound disagreements, mathematics shows us how to pursue truth togetherby Cris Moore & John KaagOn Becoming Aware: A pragmatics of experiencingby Nathalie Depraz, Francisco Varela, and Pierre VermerschThe Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform The Worldby David Deutsch[Twitter thread on chess]by Vitalik ButerinLetter from Birmingham Jailby Martin Luther King, Jr.The End of History and The Last Manby Francis FukuyamaEnabling the Individual: Simmel, Dewey and “The Need for a Philosophy of Education”by H. KoenigEncyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti of The Holy Father Francis on Fraternity and Social Friendshipby Pope FrancisWhat can we know about that which we cannot even imagine?by David WolpertJ.C.R. Licklider (1, 2)Allison Duettman (re: existential hope)Evan Miyazono (re: Protocol Labs research)Intangible Capital (“an open access scientific journal that publishes theoretical or empirical peer-reviewed articles, which contribute to advance the understanding of phenomena related with all aspects of management and organizational behavior, approached from the perspectives of intellectual capital, strategic management, human resource management, applied psychology, education, IT, supply chain management, accounting…”)Polis (“a real-time system for gathering, analyzing and understanding what large groups of people think in their own words, enabled by advanced statistics and machine learning”)Related Complexity Podcast Episodes7 - Rajiv Sethi on Stereotypes, Crime, and The Pursuit of Justice51 - Cris Moore on Algorithmic Justice & The Physics of Inference55 - James Evans on Social Computing and Diversity by Design68 - W. Brian Arthur on Economics in Nouns and Verbs (Part 1)69 - W. Brian Arthur (Part 2) on "Prim Dreams of Order vs. Messy Vitality" in Economics, Math, and Physics82 - David Krakauer on Emergent Political Economies and A Science of Possibility (EPE 01)83 - Eric Beinhocker & Diane Coyle on Rethinking Economics for A Sustainable & Prosperous World (EPE 02)84 - Ricardo Hausmann & J. Doyne Farmer on Evolving Technologies & Market Ecologies (EPE 03)91 - Steven Teles & Rajiv Sethi on Jailbreaking The Captured Economy (EPE 04)

COMPLEXITY
David Wolpert & Farita Tasnim on The Thermodynamics of Communication

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2022 66:29 Very Popular


Communication is a physical process. It's common sense that sending and receiving intelligible messages takes work…but how much work? The question of the relationship between energy, information, and matter is one of the deepest known to science. There appear to be limits to the rate at which communication between two systems can happen…but the search for a fundamental relationship between speed, error, and energy (among other things) promises insights far deeper than merely whether we can keep making faster internet devices. Strap in (and consider slowing down) for a broad and deep discussion on the bounds within which our entire universe must play…Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week we speak with SFI Professor David Wolpert and MIT Physics PhD student Farita Tasnim, who have worked together over the last year on pioneering research into the nonlinear dynamics of communication channels. In this episode, we explore the history and ongoing evolution of information theory and coding theory, what the field of stochastic thermodynamics has to do with limits to human knowledge, and the role of noise in collective intelligence.Be sure to check out our extensive show notes with links to all our references at complexity.simplecast.com. If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us, including a handful of open postdoctoral fellowships — at santafe.edu/engage.Lastly, this weekend — October 22nd & 23rd — is the return of our InterPlanetary Festival! Join our YouTube livestream for two full days of panel discussions, keynotes, and bleeding edge multimedia performances focusing   space exploration through the lens of complex systems science. The fun begins at 11 A.M. Mountain Time on Saturday and ends 6 P.M. Mountain Time on Sunday. Everything will be recorded and archived at the stream link in case you can't tune in for the live event. Learn more at interplanetaryfest.org…Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInReferenced in this episode:Nonlinear thermodynamics of communication channelsby Farita Tasnim and David Wolpert (forthcoming at arXiv.org)Heterogeneity and Efficiency in the Brainby Vijay BalasubramanianNoisy Deductive Reasoning: How Humans Construct Math, and How Math Constructs Universesby David Wolpert & David KinneyStochastic Mathematical Systemsby David Wolpert & David KinneyTwenty-five years of nanoscale thermodynamicsby Chase P. Broedersz & Pierre RoncerayTen Questions about The Hard Limits of Human Intelligenceby David WolpertWhat can we know about that which we cannot even imagine?by David WolpertCommunication consumes 35 times more energy than computation in the human cortex, but both costs are needed to predict synapse numberby William Levy & Victoria CalvertAn exchange of letters on the role of noise in collective intelligenceby Daniel Kahneman, David Krakauer, Olivier Sibony, Cass Sunstein, David WolpertWhen Slower Is Fasterby Carlos Gershenson & Dirk HelbingAdditional Resources:The stochastic thermodynamics of computationby David WolpertElements of Information Theory, Second Edition (textbook)by Thomas Cover & Joy ThomasComputational Complexity: A Modern Approach (textbook)by Sanjeev Arora & Boaz BarakAn Introduction to Kolmogorov Complexity and Its Applications (textbook)by Ming Li & Paul Vitányi

Radius of Reason
Complexity Theory

Radius of Reason

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2022 62:33


Esteemed guest Davis joins Levon and Andrey to discuss complexity theory, what the hell it means, and the implications of an increasingly complex world on our civilization.

COMPLEXITY
Miguel Fuentes & Marco Buongiorno Nardelli on Music, Emergence, and Society

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2022 57:24 Very Popular


One way to frame the science of complexity is as a revelation of the hidden order under seemingly separate phenomena — a teasing-out of music from the noise of history and nature. This effort follows centuries of work to find the rules that structure language, music, and society. How strictly analogous are the patterns governing a symphony and those that describe a social transformation? Math and music are old friends, but new statistical and computational techniques afford the possibility of going even deeper. What fundamental insights — and what sounds — emerge by bringing physicists, composers, social scientists, data artists, and biologists together?Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week on Complexity, we sit with two of SFI's External Professors — Miguel Fuentes at the Argentine Society for Philosophical Analysis and the Institute of Complex Systems of Valparaiso, and Marco Buongiorno Nardelli at the University of North Texas — for a discussion that roams from their working group on the complexity of music, to fundamental questions about the nature of emergence, to how we might bring all of these ideas together to think about  social transformation as a kind of music in its own right.A show that spend so much time exploring sense and nonsense would hardly be complete without technical errors, so please accept our apologies for losing some of Miguel's backstory to a recording glitch. For this reason, be extra sure to check out our extensive show notes with links to all our references at complexity.simplecast.com.Note that applications are now open for our Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships! If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us — at santafe.edu/engage.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInReferenced in this episode:An ‘integrated mess of music lovers in science'on the 2020 Music & Complexity SFI Working Group(with YouTube playlist of talks)Expanding our understanding of musical complexityon the 2022 Music & Complexity SFI Working GroupTopology of Networks in Generalized Musical Spacesby Marco Buongiorno NardelliTonal harmony and the topology of dynamical score networksby Marco Buongiorno Nardellia computer-aided data-driven composition environment for the sonification and dramatization of scientific data streamsby Marco Buongiorno NardelliMachines that listen: towards a machine listening model based on perceptual descriptorsby Marco Buongiorno Nardelli, Mitsuko Aramaki, Sølvi Ystad, and Richard Kronland-MartinetDoes network complexity help organize Babel's library?by Juan Pablo Cárdenas Iván González, Gerardo Vidal, and Miguel FuentesComplexity and the Emergence of Physical Propertiesby Miguel FuentesThe Structure of Online Information Behind Social Crisesby Juan Pablo Cárdenas, Gastón Olivares, Gerardo Vidal, Carolina Urbina and Miguel Fuentes88 - Aviv Bergman on The Evolution of Robustness and Integrating The DisciplinesComplexity Podcast86 - Dmitri Tymoczko on The Shape of Music: Mathematical Order in Western TonalityComplexity Podcast81 - C. Brandon Ogbunu on Epistasis & The Primacy of Context in Complex SystemsComplexity Podcast67 - Tyler Marghetis on Breakdowns & Breakthroughs: Critical Transitions in Jazz & MathematicsComplexity Podcast36 - Geoffrey West on Scaling, Open-Ended Growth, and Accelerating Crisis/Innovation Cycles: Transcendence or Collapse? (Part 2)Complexity Podcast27 - COVID-19 & Complex Time in Biology & Economics with David Krakauer (Transmission Series Ep. 2)Complexity PodcastIgnorance, Failure, Uncertainty, and the Optimism of Scienceby Stuart Firestein (SFI Community Lecture)SFI's Operating Principlesby Cormac McCarthy

COMPLEXITY
Aviv Bergman on The Evolution of Robustness and Integrating The Disciplines

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 74:58 Very Popular


Ask any martial artist: It's not just where a person strikes you but your stance that matters. The amplitude and angle of a blow is one thing but how you can absorb and/or deflect it makes the difference. The same is true in any evolutionary system. Most people seem to know “the butterfly effect” where tiny changes lead to large results, but the inverse also works: complex organisms buffer their development against adverse mutations so that tiny changes cannot redirect the growth of limbs and other organs. It takes a lot to shake the pattern of five fingers on a hand, or five toes on a paw. This is robustness: how much change can something soak up before it transforms? The question leads us into a secret garden of cryptic variation: mutations waiting for their moment, pieces sitting in place that might suddenly and radically metamorphose in changing circumstances. It's why evolution stutters, halts and leaps, and maybe it can help us think about society and mind in ways that deepen comprehension of the tangled and surprising forces playing out at all scales, in society and in ecology. For quests as deep as these, we need to wear new lenses and train inquiries stereoscopically. How can and do the sciences and the humanities inform each other as we keep evolving — not just biologically, but culturally? Can we triangulate the truth by holding theories side by side and looking through them all together?Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week, we speak with Aviv Bergman (Google Scholar), External Professor of the Santa Fe Institute and Director of the new Albert Einstein Institute for Advanced Study in the Life Sciences.Be sure to check out our extensive show notes with links to all our references at complexity.simplecast.com. Note that our applications for SFI postdoctoral fellowships open on August 1st! Tell a friend.If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us — at santafe.edu/engage.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInMentioned Papers:Waddington's canalization revisited: Developmental stability and evolutionMark L. Siegal & Aviv BergmanEvolutionary capacitance as a general feature of complex gene networksAviv Bergman & Mark L. SiegalPhenotypic Pliancy and the Breakdown of Epigenetic Polycomb MechanismsMaryl Lambros, Yehonatan Sella, Aviv BergmanMammalian Endothermy Optimally Restricts Fungi and Metabolic CostsAviv Bergman & Arturo CasadevallHow on Earth can Aliens Survive? Concept and Case StudyAviv Bergman's 2022 SFI SeminarAdditional Mentioned Podcasts, Videos, & Writing:Melanie Mitchell on Artificial Intelligence: What We Still Don't KnowOn Coronavirus, Crisis, and Creative Opportunity with David Krakauer (Transmission Series Ep. 3)Ricardo Hausmann & J. Doyne Farmer on Evolving Technologies & Market Ecologies (EPE 03)Olivia Judson on Major Energy Transitions in Evolutionary HistoryJames Evans on Social Computing and Diversity by DesignMirta Galesic on Social Learning & Decision-makingWhat Determines The Complexity of Writing Systems?on the work of SFI Fellow Helena MitonDoes the Ecology of Somatic Tissue Normally Constrain the Evolution of Cancer?SFI Seminar by External Professor John PepperExplosive Proofs of Mathematical TruthsSFI Seminar by External Professor Simon DeDeoArmchair Scienceby 2022 SFI Journalism Fellow Dan Falk at Aeon MagazineThe coming battle for the COVID-19 narrativeSamuel Bowles, Wendy Carlin 10 April 2020Ignorance, Failure, Uncertainty, and the Optimism of ScienceStuart Firestein's 2022 SFI Community Lecture"Ancestral forms are very different, but as you increase regulatory interactions is decreasing the space of the possible. You can think of bureaucracy..."- SFI President David Krakauer on #DevoBias2018

COMPLEXITY
Dmitri Tymoczko on The Shape of Music: Mathematical Order in Western Tonality

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2022 85:16 Very Popular


Math and music share their mystery and magic. Three notes, played together, make a chord whose properties could not be predicted from those of the separate notes. In the West, music theory and mathematics have common origins and a rich history of shaping and informing one another's field of inquiry. And, curiously, Western composition has evolved over several hundred years in much the same way economies and agents in long-running simulations have: becoming measurably more complex; encoding more and more environmental structure. (But then, sometimes collapses happen, and everything gets simpler.) Music theorists, like the alchemists that came before them, are engaged in a centuries-long project of deciphering the invisible geometry of these relationships. What is the hidden grammar that connects The Beatles to Johann Sebastian Bach — and how similar is it to the hidden order disclosed by complex systems science? In other words, what makes for “good” music, and what does it have to do with the coherence of the natural world?Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week on the show, we speak with mathematician and composer Dmitri Tymozcko at Princeton University, whose work provides a new rigor to the study of the Western canon and illuminates “the shape of music” — a hyperspatial object from which all works of baroque, classical, romantic, modern, jazz, and pop are all low-dimensional projections. In the first conversation for this podcast with MIDI keyboard accompaniment, we follow upon Gottfried Leibniz's assertion that music is “the unconscious exercise of our mathematical powers.” We explore how melodies and harmonies move through mathematical space in ways quite like the metamorphoses of living systems as they traverse evolutionary fitness landscapes. We examine the application of information theory to chord categorization and functional harmony. And we ask about the nature of randomness, the roles of parsimony and consilience in both art and life.If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us — at santafe.edu/engage. You can find the complete show notes for every episode, with transcripts and links to cited works, at complexity.simplecast.com.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInMentions and additional resources:All of Tymoczko's writings mentioned in this conversation can be found on his Princeton.edu websiteYou can explore his interactive music software at MadMusicalScience.comThe Geometry of Musical Chordsby Dmitri TymoczkoAn Information Theoretic Approach to Chord Categorization and Functional Harmonyby Nori Jacoby, Naftali Tishby and Dmitri TymoczkoThis Mathematical Song of the Emotionsby Dmitri TymoczkoThe Sound of Philosophyby Dmitri TymoczkoSelect Tymoczko Video Lectures:Spacious Spatiality (SEMF) 2022The Quadruple HierarchyThe Shape of Music (2014)On the 2020 SFI Music & Complexity Working Group (with a link to the entire video playlist of public presentations).On the 2022 SFI Music & Complexity Working GroupFoundations and Applications of Humanities Analytics Institute at SFIShort explainer animation on SFI Professor Sidney Redner's work on “Sleeping Beauties of Science”The evolution of syntactic communicationby Martin Nowak, Joshua Plotkin, Vincent JansenThe Majesty of Music and Math (PBS special with SFI's Cris Moore)The physical limits of communicationby Michael Lachmann, Mark Newman, Cristopher MooreSupertheories and Consilience from Alchemy to ElectromagnetismSFI Seminar by Simon DeDeoWill brains or algorithms rule the kingdom of science?by David Krakauer at Aeon MagazineScaling, Mirror Symmetries and Musical Consonances Among the Distances of the Planets of the Solar Systemby Michael Bank and Nicola Scafetta“The reward system for people who do a really wonderful job of extracting knowledge and understanding and wisdom…is skewed in the wrong way. If left to the so-called free market, it's mainly skewed toward entertainment or something that's narrowly utilitarian for some business firm or set of business firms.”– Murray Gell-Mann, A Crude Look at The Whole Part 180/200 (1997)Related Episodes:Complexity 81 - C. Brandon Ogbunu on Epistasis & The Primacy of Context in Complex SystemsComplexity 72 - Simon DeDeo on Good Explanations & Diseases of EpistemologyComplexity 70 - Lauren F. Klein on Data Feminism: Surfacing Invisible LaborComplexity 67 - Tyler Marghetis on Breakdowns & Breakthroughs: Critical Transitions in Jazz & MathematicsComplexity 46 - Helena Miton on Cultural Evolution in Music and Writing SystemsComplexity 29 - On Coronavirus, Crisis, and Creative Opportunity with David Krakauer

Microsoft Research India Podcast
A Random Walk From Complexity Theory to Machine Learning. With Dr. Neeraj Kayal and Dr. Ravishankar Krishnaswamy

Microsoft Research India Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2022 21:58


Episode 012 | May 30, 2022Neeraj Kayal: It's just a matter of time before we figure out how computers can themselves learn like humans do. Just human babies, they have an amazing ability to learn by observing things around them. And currently, despite all the progress, computers don't have that much ability. But I just think it's a matter of time before we figure that out, some sort of general artificial intelligence.Sridhar Vedantham: Welcome to the MSR India podcast. In this podcast, Ravishankar Krishnaswamy, a researcher at the MSR India lab, speaks to Neeraj Kayal. Neeraj is also a researcher at MSR India and works on problems related to or at the intersection of Computational Complexity and Algebra, Number Theory and Geometry. He has received multiple recognitions through his career, including the Distinguished Alumnus award from IIT Kanpur, the Gödel prize and the Fulkerson Prize. Neeraj received the Young Scientist Award from the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) in 2012 and the Infosys Prize in Mathematical Sciences in 2021. Ravi talks to Neeraj about how he became interested in this area of computer science and his journey till now.For more information about the Microsoft Research India click here.RelatedMicrosoft Research India Podcast: More podcasts from MSR IndiaiTunes: Subscribe and listen to new podcasts on iTunesAndroidRSS FeedSpotifyGoogle PodcastsEmailTranscriptRavi Krishnaswamy: Hi Neeraj, how are you doing? It's great to see you after two years of working from home.Neeraj Kayal: Hi Ravi, yeah thank you.Thank you for having me here and it's great to be back with all the colleagues in office.Ravi Krishnaswamy: First of all, congratulations on the Infosys prize and it's an amazing achievement.And it's a great privilege for all of us to have you as a colleague here.So, congratulations on that.Neeraj Kayal: Thank you.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Yeah, so maybe we can get started on the podcast. So, you work in complexity theory, which is I guess one extreme of, I mean, it's very theoretical end of the spectrum in computer science almost bordering mathematics. So hopefully by the end of this podcast we can, uh, I mean, convince the audience that there's more to it than intellectual curiosity. Before that right, let me ask you about how you got into theoretical computer science and the kind of problems that you work on. So, could you maybe tell us a bit about your background and how you got interested into this subject?Neeraj Kayal: Yeah, so in high school I was doing well in maths in general and I also wrote some computer programs to play some board games, like a generalized version of Tic Tac Toe where you have a bigger board, say 20 by 20, and you try to place five things in the row, column, or diagonal continuously and then I started thinking about how could a computer learn to play or improve itself in such a game? So, I tried some things and didn't get very far with that, but at that time I was pretty convinced that one day computers will be able to really learn like humans do. I didn't see how that will happen, but I was sure of it and I just wanted to be in computer science to eventually work on such things. But in college in the second year of my undergrad, I enrolled for a course in cryptography taught by Manindra Agrawal at IIT Kanpur and then the course started off with some initial things which are like fairly predictable that something called symmetric key cryptosystems where, essentially it says that let's say we two want to have a private conversation, but anyone else can listen to us. So how do we have a private conversation? Well, if we knew a language, a secret language which no one else did, then we could easily just converse in that language, and no one will understand this. And so, this is made a little more formal in this symmetric key cryptosystem. And then, one day, Manindra ended one of the lectures with the following problem: but now suppose we did not know a secret language. Then we just know English, and everyone knows English and then how do we talk privately when everyone can hear us? I thought about it for a few days. It seemed completely impossible. And then Manindra told us about these wonderful cryptosystems, called the Diffie Hellman cryptosystem and the RSA cryptosystem where they achieved this and it was very surprising. And the key thing that these cryptosystems use is something that lies at the heart of computer science, a big mystery still even to this day at the heart of computer science. There are these problems which we believe are hard for computers to solve in the following sense, that even if a computer takes a very long amount of time, if we give it a fairly long amount of time, a reasonable amount of time it cannot solve it. But if we give it time like till the end of the universe, it can in principle solve such problems. So that got me interested into which problems are hard and can we prove they are actually hard or not? And to this day, we don't know that.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, I'm guessing that you're talking about the factoring problem, right?Neeraj Kayal: Yes, factoring is one of the big ones here. And the RSA cryptosystem uses factoring.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, it's actually very interesting, right? You started out by trying to show that some of these problems are very, very hard, but I think, looking back, your first research paper, which happens to be a breakthrough work in itself, is in showing that a certain problem is actually easier to solve. Then we had originally thought right so, it is this seminal work on showing that primality testing can be solved in deterministic polynomial time. I mean, that's an amazing feat and you had worked on this paper with your collaborators as an undergrad, right?Neeraj Kayal: Yes.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Yeah, that's an incredible achievement. So maybe to motivate others who are in undergrad and who have an interest and inclination in such topics, could you maybe share us some story on how you got working in that problem and what sort of led you to this spark that eventually got you to this breakthrough result?Neeraj Kayal: So, my advisor Manindra, who also was the professor who taught us cryptography - he had been working on this problem for a long time and there were already algorithms that existed which are very good in practice- very very fast in practice, but they had this small chance that they might give the wrong answer. The chance was so small that practically it did not matter, but still as a mathematical challenge, it remained whether we could remove that small chance of error, and that's what the problem was about. So, Manindra had this approach and he had worked with other students also- some of our seniors- on it, and in that course, he came up with a conjecture. And then when we joined, me and my colleague Nitin, we joined this project , we came across this conjecture and my first reaction was that the conjecture is false. So, I tried to write a program which would find a counterexample and I thought we would be done in a few days-Just find that counterexample and the project would be over. So, I wrote a program- it will train for some time, didn't find a counterexample, so I decided to parallelize it. A huge number of machines in the computer center in IIT Kanpur started looking for that counterexample. And then to my surprise, we still couldn't find the counterexample. So there seemed to be something to it. Something seemed to be happening there which we didn't understand, and in trying to sort of prove that conjecture, we managed to prove some sort of weaker statement which sufficed for obtaining the polynomial time algorithm to test if a number is prime or not. But it was not the original conjecture itself. Many days after this result came out, we met a mathematician called Hendrik Lenstra who had worked on primality testing, and we told him about this conjecture. And after a few days he got back to us and it showed that if you assume some number theoretic conjecture is true, which we really really believe, it's true.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Ok, I see. So, the original conjecture, which you hoped to prove true is false, but the weaker conjecture was actually true, you proved it to be true, and that was enough for your eventual application.Neeraj Kayal: Yes, so in some sense we are very lucky that in trying to prove something false we managed to prove something useful.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Yeah, I mean it's a fascinating story, right? All the experiments that you ran pointed you towards proving it, and then you actually went and proved it. If you had found, I imagine what would have happened if you found a counterexample at that time, right?Neeraj Kayal: So yeah, Hendrix proof was very interesting. He showed that modulo this number theory conjecture a counterexample existed. But it would have to be very, very large and that's why you couldn't find it. So, he explained it beautifully.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Yeah, thanks for that story Neeraj. So. I guess from then on you've been working in complexity theory, right?Neeraj Kayal: That's right, yeah.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, for me at least, the Holy Grail in complexity theory that I've often encountered or seen is the P versus NP problem, which many of us might know. But you've been working on a very equally important, but a very close cousin of the problem, which is called the VP versus VNP problem, right? So, I'm going to take a stab at explaining what I understand of the problem. So, correct me whenever I'm wrong. So, you are interested in trying to understand the complexity of expressing polynomials using small circuits. So, for example, if you have a polynomial of the form X ^2 + Y ^2 + 2 XY, you could represent it as a small circuit which has a few addition operations and a few multiplication operations like you could express it as X ^2 + Y ^2 + 2 XY itself. Or you could express it as (X + Y)^2. Which may have a smaller representation in terms of a circuit. So, you have been working on trying to identify which polynomials have small representations and which polynomials are natural but still don't have small representations.Neeraj Kayal: That's right.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Is that a reasonable approximation of the problem you're thinking about?Neeraj Kayal: Yes, that's right. So, another way to put the same thing is what is the power of computation when you do additions, multiplications, subtractions, all these arithmetic operations. You could include division, square roots also.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, I have seen this VP class and it makes a lot of sense to me. It's the set of all the polynomials that can be captured by small sized circuits with the plus I mean addition and multiplication gates. I've also seen the VNP class, which seems to me at least to be a bit mysterious, right? So, these are all the polynomials whose coefficients of the individual monomials can be computed efficiently. Is that a reasonable definition, at least? Is my understanding correct?Neeraj Kayal: Yeah, that's the technical definition of this class, but there's another natural sort of intuition why we want to look at it, and the intuition is that it relates to counting the number of solutions to a problem, and also therefore to computing probabilities of various things happening.Ravi Krishnaswamy: I see. Ok, so that gives me a lot more understanding. I guess when you're able to estimate probabilities, you could also do sampling over those objects.Neeraj Kayal: Yes exactly.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Yeah, that's a very nice connection. I did not know about this. Thanks for that. So, you have been working, you have an agenda on trying to show some sort of a separation between the two classes, right, VP and VNP, by constructing these low depth circuits. So, you're able to show that all polynomials in VP have admit the low depth representation and your hope in this agenda is to find one polynomial in VNP which does not have a low depth representation, right?Neeraj Kayal: That's right.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, how far are you in this agenda and do you think we have all the tools needed to actually achieve success through this sort of a method?Neeraj Kayal: Yeah, so just historically for converting a circuit or a program into a low depth program, this was done earlier. Most of this work was done by other people. So, we haven't contributed much in that direction. We have been trying to prove certain polynomials don't have small depth and small sized arithmetic circuits. So, it's not clear to us whether the existing techniques are good enough to prove this or not. And like on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I think they are capable maybe, and on the other days I think maybe not. And this is what researchers generally deal with. Especially in these areas where you don't know whether your tools are good enough or not. And very recently, just last year, there was a big breakthrough by trio of complexity theorists who showed somewhat good lower bounds for all constant depth arithmetic formulas or circuits. And what was surprising also about this result is that, they use in a very clever way, techniques that were already known.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, they would have probably shown it on a Monday or Wednesday or Friday.Neeraj Kayal: Yes, yes. [Laughs]Ravi Krishnaswamy: OK, that's very interesting. So, you still don't know whether this will lead to success or not through this route.Neeraj Kayal: Yes, yeah, we still don't know that.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Are there other people approaching this problem through other techniques?Neeraj Kayal: So, there's a program called the Geometric Complexity Theory program initiated independently by other people who basically try to understand symmetries. Because implicit in this question is a whole bunch of symmetry, then they try to exploit that. And there's a field of mathematics called group theory and representation theory, which is all about understanding symmetries of objects. That area is beautiful, really beautiful, and a lot of advancement has been made there. So, people have been trying to also attack this problem through using those tools.Ravi Krishnaswamy: Yeah, that's very nice, I think. So basically, you're saying a lot of like diverse techniques from math and computer science are at play here and trying to help you on your progress.Neeraj Kayal: That's right.Ravi Krishnaswamy: I see. I mean, it's very beautiful. I find it fascinating and beautiful that a lot of these different diverse techniques from mathematics and computer science come into play into establishing these lower bounds. And what's more fascinating to me is that they are all not just from an intellectual curiosity standpoint. They seem to be powering a lot of things that we take for granted, right, right from, like, as you said, messaging each other through social networks or whatever it is. They seem to be like at the foundation- the inherent hardness of certain problems seem to be at the foundation of a lot of things that we take for granted.Neeraj Kayal: Yeah, that's right, Ravi. So, for example, I do transactions using my mobile phone and anyone who is within a reasonable distance of my mobile phone can read all the signals that my phone is sending. So, they can see all the communication that I'm having with the bank. And the fact that despite that they are not able to infer my banking passwords relies on the fact that certain problems are very inherently hard to solve and that's what we are trying to prove.Ravi Krishnaswamy: OK, so that's very interesting Neeraj. And in the last part of this podcast, I want to flip the topic around a little bit. So, you've been working a lot on showing lower bounds, and in lower bounds in arithmetic complexity. But lately in the last couple of years you have also been using those insights into showing some very nice algorithms for some learning problems. I find that also very cool, so maybe you can talk a little bit about that.Neeraj Kayal: Yeah, so the algorithms that we are trying to devise are trying to solve the following problem. More general version of it is the following. Given a function or a polynomial, what's the smallest number of operations that you need to do to be able to compute that function or polynomial? So, for Boolean functions this has a very long history. That essentially is like designing chips, and you can imagine it was naturally very useful to think about. But more recently, it turns out a lot of works have found another very surprising connection because of which this problem specifically for polynomials has also become very interesting. And the connection is this. Suppose you have some very big data set. For now, think of this data set as consisting of a bunch of points in high dimensional space. For example, you can think of images as a point, every image as a point in the high dimensional space. Now it turns out that you can take statistics of this data. So, for example, you can take what's the average value of the first coordinate, what's the average value of the second coordinate? Or what's the average value of the product of the first two coordinates in this data set and so on. So, you can take some of these statistics, encode them as the coefficients of a polynomial. And here's the interesting part. When the data has some very nice structure, then this polynomial tends to have a small circuit.Ravi Krishnaswamy: I see.Neeraj Kayal: And so, when you want to understand the structure of data, so this general area is called unsupervised learning. Turns out that it's useful to find small circuits for polynomials. So, this is the computational problem that we are looking at: given a polynomial, what's the smallest number of operations, or what's the smallest circuit representing this polynomial.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, if you're able to find the smallest circuit representing this, then from that you will be able to infer the underlying distribution or the structure of the underlying data.Neeraj Kayal: Yes, yes, that's right. So, this is one connection, and it also turns out that the lower bounds that we are proving, showing that certain things are very hard to compute are also useful for now devising algorithms to find the circuits of polynomials which do have small circuits and maybe let me give you some very rough sense of how that comes about, and I find this a bit fascinating. Here's how the lower bounds proofs work. So, underlying all those lower bounds for the various subclasses of circuits that we do have is a collection of linear maps and now it turns out that when you are given a polynomial which has a small circuit, using this polynomial and the collection of linear maps, which go into the lower bound proof you can form another big linear map, such that, very roughly, the eigen spaces of this new linear map correspond to the smallest circuit for F.Ravi Krishnaswamy: I see.Neeraj Kayal: And this was the connection that we discovered some time ago, which helped us find small circuits.Ravi Krishnaswamy: So, you find small circuits by computing the eigen space of the of the map.Neeraj Kayal: Yes, of this other linear map. That's right Ravi.Ravi Krishnaswamy: I see that's very nice. Ok, so I think we covered a lot of the topics that I wanted to cover, so maybe I'll end with two philosophical questions. So, one is you began the podcast by talking about how as a kid, you thought computers or machines could be able to do everything that human intelligence can do. So, I think it's a vague question, but what's your take on that now? And two is what advice would you give for budding theoreticians, whether they're in school or college or grad school? What sort of advice would you give them?Neeraj Kayal: So, for the first question, Ravi, I know a lot of other people also share this feeling, that it's just a matter of time before we figure out how computers can themselves learn like humans do. Just human babies, they have an amazing ability to learn by observing things around them. And currently, despite all the progress, computers don't have that much ability. But I just think it's a matter of time before we figure that out, some sort of general artificial intelligence. To your second question, Ravi, I don't have much to offer other than perhaps a banal comment that anyone looking to work in this area should really enjoy thinking about these kinds of problems. They tend to be rather abstract, sometimes the applications are not always apparent, but if you enjoy thinking about them, I'm sure you'll do well.Ravi Krishnaswamy: That's great, Neeraj. It's been a pleasure chatting with you. Thanks a lot for your time and hope you had fun.Neeraj Kayal: Yeah, thanks Ravi. Thanks a lot for having me.

New Books Network
Adam Day, "States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan" (Oxford UP, 2022)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 60:54


Today's vision of world order is founded upon the concept of strong, well-functioning states, in contrast to the destabilizing potential of failed or fragile states. This worldview has dominated international interventions over the past 30 years as enormous resources have been devoted to developing and extending the governance capacity of weak or failing states, hoping to transform them into reliable nodes in the global order. But with very few exceptions, this project has not delivered on its promise: countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain mired in conflict despite decades of international interventions. In States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan (Oxford University Press, 2022) Dr. Adam Day addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. He proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions. Far from being ''ungoverned spaces," these settings present complex, dynamical systems of governance with emergent properties that allow them to adapt and resist attempts to change them. UN interventions, based upon assumptions that gradual increases in institutional capacity will lead to improved governance, fail to reflect how change occurs in these systems and may in fact contribute to underlying patterns of exclusion and violence. Based on more than a decade of the author's work in peacekeeping, this book offers a systemic mapping of how governance systems work, and indeed work against, UN interventions. Pursuing a complexity-driven approach instead helps to avoid unintentional consequences, identifies meaningful points of leverage, and opens the possibility of transforming societies from within. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Political Science
Adam Day, "States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan" (Oxford UP, 2022)

New Books in Political Science

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 60:54


Today's vision of world order is founded upon the concept of strong, well-functioning states, in contrast to the destabilizing potential of failed or fragile states. This worldview has dominated international interventions over the past 30 years as enormous resources have been devoted to developing and extending the governance capacity of weak or failing states, hoping to transform them into reliable nodes in the global order. But with very few exceptions, this project has not delivered on its promise: countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain mired in conflict despite decades of international interventions. In States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan (Oxford University Press, 2022) Dr. Adam Day addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. He proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions. Far from being ''ungoverned spaces," these settings present complex, dynamical systems of governance with emergent properties that allow them to adapt and resist attempts to change them. UN interventions, based upon assumptions that gradual increases in institutional capacity will lead to improved governance, fail to reflect how change occurs in these systems and may in fact contribute to underlying patterns of exclusion and violence. Based on more than a decade of the author's work in peacekeeping, this book offers a systemic mapping of how governance systems work, and indeed work against, UN interventions. Pursuing a complexity-driven approach instead helps to avoid unintentional consequences, identifies meaningful points of leverage, and opens the possibility of transforming societies from within. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

New Books in World Affairs
Adam Day, "States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan" (Oxford UP, 2022)

New Books in World Affairs

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 60:54


Today's vision of world order is founded upon the concept of strong, well-functioning states, in contrast to the destabilizing potential of failed or fragile states. This worldview has dominated international interventions over the past 30 years as enormous resources have been devoted to developing and extending the governance capacity of weak or failing states, hoping to transform them into reliable nodes in the global order. But with very few exceptions, this project has not delivered on its promise: countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain mired in conflict despite decades of international interventions. In States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan (Oxford University Press, 2022) Dr. Adam Day addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. He proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions. Far from being ''ungoverned spaces," these settings present complex, dynamical systems of governance with emergent properties that allow them to adapt and resist attempts to change them. UN interventions, based upon assumptions that gradual increases in institutional capacity will lead to improved governance, fail to reflect how change occurs in these systems and may in fact contribute to underlying patterns of exclusion and violence. Based on more than a decade of the author's work in peacekeeping, this book offers a systemic mapping of how governance systems work, and indeed work against, UN interventions. Pursuing a complexity-driven approach instead helps to avoid unintentional consequences, identifies meaningful points of leverage, and opens the possibility of transforming societies from within. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

New Books in African Studies
Adam Day, "States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan" (Oxford UP, 2022)

New Books in African Studies

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 60:54


Today's vision of world order is founded upon the concept of strong, well-functioning states, in contrast to the destabilizing potential of failed or fragile states. This worldview has dominated international interventions over the past 30 years as enormous resources have been devoted to developing and extending the governance capacity of weak or failing states, hoping to transform them into reliable nodes in the global order. But with very few exceptions, this project has not delivered on its promise: countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain mired in conflict despite decades of international interventions. In States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan (Oxford University Press, 2022) Dr. Adam Day addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. He proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions. Far from being ''ungoverned spaces," these settings present complex, dynamical systems of governance with emergent properties that allow them to adapt and resist attempts to change them. UN interventions, based upon assumptions that gradual increases in institutional capacity will lead to improved governance, fail to reflect how change occurs in these systems and may in fact contribute to underlying patterns of exclusion and violence. Based on more than a decade of the author's work in peacekeeping, this book offers a systemic mapping of how governance systems work, and indeed work against, UN interventions. Pursuing a complexity-driven approach instead helps to avoid unintentional consequences, identifies meaningful points of leverage, and opens the possibility of transforming societies from within. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

New Books in Systems and Cybernetics
Adam Day, "States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan" (Oxford UP, 2022)

New Books in Systems and Cybernetics

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 60:54


Today's vision of world order is founded upon the concept of strong, well-functioning states, in contrast to the destabilizing potential of failed or fragile states. This worldview has dominated international interventions over the past 30 years as enormous resources have been devoted to developing and extending the governance capacity of weak or failing states, hoping to transform them into reliable nodes in the global order. But with very few exceptions, this project has not delivered on its promise: countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain mired in conflict despite decades of international interventions. In States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan (Oxford University Press, 2022) Dr. Adam Day addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. He proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions. Far from being ''ungoverned spaces," these settings present complex, dynamical systems of governance with emergent properties that allow them to adapt and resist attempts to change them. UN interventions, based upon assumptions that gradual increases in institutional capacity will lead to improved governance, fail to reflect how change occurs in these systems and may in fact contribute to underlying patterns of exclusion and violence. Based on more than a decade of the author's work in peacekeeping, this book offers a systemic mapping of how governance systems work, and indeed work against, UN interventions. Pursuing a complexity-driven approach instead helps to avoid unintentional consequences, identifies meaningful points of leverage, and opens the possibility of transforming societies from within. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/systems-and-cybernetics

New Books in Human Rights
Adam Day, "States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan" (Oxford UP, 2022)

New Books in Human Rights

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 60:54


Today's vision of world order is founded upon the concept of strong, well-functioning states, in contrast to the destabilizing potential of failed or fragile states. This worldview has dominated international interventions over the past 30 years as enormous resources have been devoted to developing and extending the governance capacity of weak or failing states, hoping to transform them into reliable nodes in the global order. But with very few exceptions, this project has not delivered on its promise: countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain mired in conflict despite decades of international interventions. In States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South Sudan (Oxford University Press, 2022) Dr. Adam Day addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. He proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions. Far from being ''ungoverned spaces," these settings present complex, dynamical systems of governance with emergent properties that allow them to adapt and resist attempts to change them. UN interventions, based upon assumptions that gradual increases in institutional capacity will lead to improved governance, fail to reflect how change occurs in these systems and may in fact contribute to underlying patterns of exclusion and violence. Based on more than a decade of the author's work in peacekeeping, this book offers a systemic mapping of how governance systems work, and indeed work against, UN interventions. Pursuing a complexity-driven approach instead helps to avoid unintentional consequences, identifies meaningful points of leverage, and opens the possibility of transforming societies from within. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COMPLEXITY
Eric Beinhocker & Diane Coyle on Rethinking Economics for A Sustainable & Prosperous World (EPE 02)

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2022 50:42 Very Popular


In the digital era, data is practically the air we breathe. So why does everybody treat it like a product to be hoarded and sold at profit? How would our world change if Big Tech operated on assumptions and incentives more aligned with the needs of a healthy society? Are more data — or are bigger models — really better? As human beings scamper around like prehistoric mammals under the proverbial feet of the new enormous digital monopolies that have emerged due to the Web's economies of scale, how might we tip the scales back to a world governed wisely by human judgment and networks of trust? Would Facebook and Twitter be more beneficial for society if they were public services like the BBC? And how do we settle on the social norms that help ensure the ethical deployment of A.I.? These and many other questions grow from the boundary-challenging developments of rapid innovation that define our century — a world in which the familiar dyads of state and market, public and private, individual and institutional are all called into question.Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week on Complexity, we speak with two researchers helping to rethink political economy:SFI External Professor Eric Beinhocker is the Professor of Public Policy Practice at the University of Oxford, and founder and Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the University's Oxford Martin School. He is also the author of The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business and Society.Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, and co-director of the Bennett Institute, whose latest book — Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be— was published by Princeton University Press last fall.In the first episode of this subseries, we spoke with SFI President David Krakauer about how the study of political economy has changed over the last two hundred years due to the innovation of new mathematical and computational methods.  In this episode, we examine how the technological milieu that empowered these changes has also transformed the subject of study itself:  digital surveillance architecture, social media networks, big data, and (largely inadequate) attempts to formalize econometrics have all had a profound impact on modern life. In what ways do new institutions beget even newer institutions to address their unintended consequences? How should we think about the complex relationships between private and public agencies, and what status should we give the data they produce and consume? What is it going to take to restore the trust in one another necessary for society to remain coherent, and what are the most important measures to help economists and policymakers navigate the turbulence of our times into a more inclusive, prosperous, and sustainable world?Subscribe to Complexity Podcast for upcoming episodes with an acclaimed line-up of scholars including Ricardo Hausmann, Doyne Farmer, Steven Teles, Rajiv Sethi, Jenna Bednar, Tom Ginsburg, Niall Ferguson, Neal Stephenson, Paul Smaldino, C. Thi Nguyen, John Kay, John Geneakoplos, and many more to be announced…If you value our research and communication efforts, please rate and review us at Apple Podcasts, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us — at santafe.edu/engage. You can find the complete show notes for every episode, with transcripts and links to cited works, at complexity.simplecast.com.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInMentions and additional resources:Toward a New Ontological Framework for the Economic Goodby Eric D. BeinhockerComplexity Economics: Proceedings of the Santa Fe Institute's 2019 Fall Symposiumedited by W. Brian Arthur, Eric Beinhocker, Allison StangerSocializing Databy Diane CoyleThe Public Optionby Diane CoyleCommon as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownershipby Lewis HydePitchfork Economicsby Nick HanauerThe Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolvesby W. Brian ArthurGeoffrey West on Complexity 35Will A Large Complex System Be Stable?by Robert MayBlockchain: Trust Companies: Every Company Is at Risk of Being Disrupted by A Trusted Version of Itselfby Richie EtwaruHelena Miton on Complexity 46The coming battle for the COVID-19 narrativeby Sam Bowles, Wendy CarlinRecoupling Economic and Social Prosperityby Katharina Lima de Miranda, Dennis J. SnowerSignalling architectures can prevent cancer evolutionby Leonardo Oña & Michael LachmannWhy we should have a public option version of Google and Facebook (response to Diane Coyle)by James PethokoukisBryant Walker Smith on Complexity 79“Premature optimization is the root of all evil."— Donald Knuth

COMPLEXITY
C. Brandon Ogbunu on Epistasis & The Primacy of Context in Complex Systems

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2022 74:17 Very Popular


Context is king: whether in language, ecology, culture, history, economics, or chemistry. One of the core teachings of complexity science is that nothing exists in isolation — especially when it comes to systems in which learning, memory, or emergent behaviors play a part. Even though this (paradoxically) limits the universality of scientific claims, it also lets us draw analogies between the context-dependency of one phenomenon and others: how protein folding shapes HIV evolution is meaningfully like the way that growing up in a specific neighborhood shapes educational and economic opportunity; the paths through a space of all possible four-letter words are constrained in ways very similar to how interactions between microbes impact gut health; how we make sense both depends on how we've learned and places bounds on what we're capable of seeing.Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week on Complexity, we talk to Yale evolutionary biologist C. Brandon Ogbunu (Twitter, Google Scholar, GitHub) about the importance of environment to the activity and outcomes of complex systems — the value of surprise, the constraints of history, the virtue and challenge of great communication, and much more. Our conversation touches on everything from using word games to teach core concepts in evolutionary theory, to the ways that protein quality control co-determines the ability of pathogens to evade eradication, to the relationship between human artists, algorithms, and regulation in the 21st Century. Brandon works not just in multiple scientific domains but as the author of a number of high-profile blogs exploring the intersection of science and culture — and his boundaryless fluency shines through in a discussion that will not be contained, about some of the biggest questions and discoveries of our time.If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe to Complexity Podcast wherever you prefer to listen, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts, and/or consider making a donation at santafe.edu/give. You'll find plenty of other ways to engage with us at santafe.edu/engage.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInDiscussed in this episode:“I do my science biographically…I find a personal connection to the essence of the question.”– C. Brandon Ogbunugafor on RadioLab"Environment x everything interactions: From evolution to epidemics and beyond"Brandon's February 2022 SFI Seminar (YouTube Video + Live Twitter Coverage)“A Reflection on 50 Years of John Maynard Smith's ‘Protein Space'”C. Brandon Ogbunugafor in GENETICS“Collective Computing: Learning from Nature”David Krakauer presenting at the Foresight Institute in 2021 (with reference to Rubik's Cube research)“Optimal Policies Tend to Seek Power”Alexander Matt Turner, Logan Smith, Rohin Shah, Andrew Critch, Prasad Tadepalli in arXiv“A New Take on John Maynard Smith's Concept of Protein Space for Understanding Molecular Evolution”C. Brandon Ogbunugafor, Daniel Hartl in PLOS Computational Biology“The 300 Most Common Words”by Bruce Sterling“The Host Cell's Endoplasmic Reticulum Proteostasis Network Profoundly Shapes the Protein Sequence Space Accessible to HIV Envelope”Jimin Yoon, Emmanuel E. Nekongo, Jessica E. Patrick, Angela M. Phillips, Anna I. Ponomarenko, Samuel J. Hendel, Vincent L. Butty, C. Brandon Ogbunugafor, Yu-Shan Lin, Matthew D. Shoulders in bioRxiv“Competition along trajectories governs adaptation rates towards antimicrobial resistance”C. Brandon Ogbunugafor, Margaret J. Eppstein in Nature Ecology & Evolution“Scientists Need to Admit What They Got Wrong About COVID”C. Brandon Ogbunugafor in WIRED“Deconstructing higher-order interactions in the microbiota: A theoretical examination”Yitbarek Senay, Guittar John, Sarah A. Knutie, C. Brandon Ogbunugafor in bioRxiv“What Makes an Artist in the Age of Algorithms?”C. Brandon Ogbunugafor in WIREDNot mentioned in this episode but still worth exploring:“Part of what I was getting after with Blackness had to do with authoring ideas that are edgy or potentially threatening. That as a scientist, you can generate ideas in the name of research, in the name of breaking new ground, that may stigmatize you. That may kick you out of the club, so to speak, because you're not necessarily following the herd.”– Physicist Stephon Alexander in an interview with Brandon at Andscape“How Afrofuturism Can Help The World Mend”C. Brandon Ogbunugafor in WIRED“The COVID-19 pandemic amplified long-standing racial disparities in the United States criminal justice system”Brennan Klein, C. Brandon Ogbunugafor, Benjamin J. Schafer, Zarana Bhadricha, Preeti Kori, Jim Sheldon, Nitish Kaza, Emily A. Wang, Tina Eliassi-Rad, Samuel V. Scarpino, Elizabeth Hinton in medRxivAlso mentioned:Simon Conway Morris, Geoffrey West, Samuel Scarpino, Rick & Morty, Stuart Kauffman, Frank Salisbury, Stephen Jay Gould, Frances Arnold, John Vervaeke, Andreas Wagner, Jennifer Dunne, James Evans, Carl Bergstrom, Jevin West, Henry Gee, Eugene Shakhnovich, Rafael Guerrero, Gregory Bateson, Simon DeDeo, James Clerk Maxwell, Melanie Moses, Kathy Powers, Sara Walker, Michael Lachmann, and many others...

COMPLEXITY
Mingzhen Lu on The Evolution of Root Systems & Biogeochemical Cycling

COMPLEXITY

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2022 53:36 Very Popular


As fictional Santa Fe Institute chaos mathematician Ian Malcolm famously put it, “Life finds a way” — and this is perhaps nowhere better demonstrated than by roots: seeking out every opportunity, improving in their ability to access and harness nutrients as they've evolved over the last 400 million years. Roots also exemplify another maxim for living systems: “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” As the Earth's climate has transformed, the plants and fungi have transformed along with it, reaching into harsh and unstable environments and proving themselves in a crucible of evolutionary innovation that has reshaped the biosphere. Dig deep enough and you'll find that life, like roots, trends toward the ever-finer, more adaptable, more intertwined…we all live in and on Charles Darwin's “tangled bank”, whether we recognize it in our farms, our markets, or our minds.Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week on Complexity, we talk to SFI Postdoctoral Fellow Mingzhen Lu (Google Scholar, Twitter) about the lessons of the invisible webwork beneath our feet, the hidden world upon which all of us walk and rely — largely unnoticed, and until recently scarcely understood. We discuss the intersection of geography, ecology, and economics; the relationship between the so-called “Wood-Wide Web” and urban systems; how plants domesticated mycorrhizal fungi much as humans domesticated animals and plants; the evolutionary trends revealed by a paleoecological study of roots and what they suggest for the future of technology and civilization… This episode is an especially intertwingled and far-reaching one, as suits the topic. Plant yourself and soak it up!If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe to Complexity Podcast wherever you prefer to listen, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts, and/or consider making a donation at santafe.edu/give. You'll find plenty of other ways to engage with us at santafe.edu/engage.Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInDiscussed in this episode:“Evolutionary history resolves global organization of root functional traits”by Zeqing Ma, Dali Guo, Xingliang Xu, Mingzhen Lu, Richard D. Bardgett, David M. Eissenstat, M. Luke McCormack & Lars O. Hedinin Nature“Global plant-symbiont organization and emergence of biogeochemical cycles resolved by evolution-based trait modelling”by Mingzhen Lu, Lars O. Hedinin PubMed“Biome boundary maintained by intense belowground resource competition in world's thinnest-rooted plant community”by Mingzhen Lu, William J. Bond, Efrat Sheffer, Michael D. Cramer, Adam G. West, Nicky Allsopp, Edmund C.  February,  Samson Chimphango, Zeqing Ma, Jasper A. Slingsby, and Lars O. Hedinin PNASComplexity ep. 8 - Olivia Judson on Major Energy Transitions in Evolutionary HistoryA (Very) Short History of Life on Earthby Henry Gee (Senior Editor of Nature)"General statistical model shows that macroevolutionary patterns and processes are consistent with Darwinian gradualism”by SFI Professor Mark Pagelin NatureComplexity ep. 29 - On Coronavirus, Crisis, and Creative Opportunity with David Krakauer“Childhood as a solution to explore–exploit tensions”by SFI Professor Alison Gopnikin Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society BComplexity ep. 35 - Scaling Laws & Social Networks in The Time of COVID-19 with Geoffrey WestComplexity ep. 17 - Chris Kempes on The Physical Constraints on Life & EvolutionComplexity ep. 60 - Andrea Wulf on The Invention of Nature, Part 1: Humboldt's NaturegemäldeDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?by Philip K. DickThe Shock Doctrineby Naomi KleinDoughnut Economicsby Kate RaworthThe Long Descentby John Michael Greer“6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World”by Paul StametsComplexity ep. 43 - Vicky Yang & Henrik Olsson on Political Polling & Polarization: How We Make Decisions & IdentitiesThe Expanse (novel series)by James S. A. Corey (Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck, here at IPFest 2019 on our World Building panel)

Future Learning Design Podcast
A Question of Freedom - A Conversation with Gert Biesta

Future Learning Design Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2022 44:55


This is the second conversation that I have had with Prof. Gert Biesta, and it is a special episode reflecting on the current crisis in Ukraine and the wider context of this - that some call the meta-crisis. Our first conversation earlier this year, on World-Centred Education, can be found here: https://anchor.fm/futurelearningdesign/episodes/On-World-Centred-Education---A-Conversation-with-Prof--Gert-Biesta-e1cqcj5. For more information on Gert - he is Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy, Maynooth University, Ireland, and Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Agder, Norway, and Uniarts, the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. Gert is a prolific author and has written many books on the theory of education and educational and social research, and his work has appeared in 20 different languages. He has particular interests in national and global education policy, curriculum, teaching and teacher education, democracy and citizenship education, religious education and arts education. His latest book is World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (2021) and this is a good overview of the key ideas in this seminal book. A selection of his previous books are The Rediscovery of Teaching (2017); Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future (2015); The Beautiful Risk of Education (2015); Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy (2015) and Complexity Theory and the Politics of Education [edited with Deborah Osberg] (2010) Gert is co-editor of the British Educational Research Journal, co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, and associate editor of Educational Theory. He co-edits a two book series with Routledge: Theorizing Education (with Stefano Oliverio), and New Directions in the Philosophy of Education (with Michael A. Peters, Liz Jackson and Marek Tesar). Social Links LinkedIn: @gert-biesta Twitter: Gert suspended his Twitter account only to return when Donald Trump was no longer on the platform!

Beyond High Performance
Putting Yourself in the “Arena” + Navigating Success + Failure, with Brian Ferguson

Beyond High Performance

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2021 60:43


META PERFORMANCE SHOW | From Navy SEAL/Special Warfare Officer, Secretary of Defense policymaker, and purpose-driven tech entrepreneur, Brian Ferguson, comes a robust episode on the art of public speaking, complexity theory, why the pursuit of mastery for achievement alone can feel empty, and the significance of being “in the arena.” A favorite saying of guest Brian's (a metaphor for the importance of hard work and versatility, but quite literal in his case): “Be able to deadlift in the gym at 6 A.M. and brief the president at 6 P.M.” Brian speaks candidly with host Jason Jaggard about his modest beginnings and lack of “pedigree” compared to his counterparts, how he's handled past failures, and his #1 characteristic that he believes, above all else, was paramount to his success. Brian's pioneering healthcare company, Arena Labs (www.arenalabs.global), explores the intersection of technology and high performance.REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Citizenship in a Republic (The Man in the Arena) - Theodore Roosevelt's speech at Sorbonne University, Paris, 1910 How I Built This - NPR podcast (specifically this episode with Spanx Founder Sara Blakely) Daring Greatly by Brene Brown Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence by Andy Clark Complexity Theory and Moore's Law Novus Global is a tribe of elite executive coaches who work with Fortune 500 Companies, Professional Athletes, World Renowned Artists and Business Leaders to create lives, teams and companies that go beyond high-performance.Book a free consultation with a Novus Global coach here: http://novus.global/now/ This podcast is produced by Rainbow Creative with Matthew Jones as Senior Producer and Jeremy Davidson as Editor and Audio engineer. Find out more about how to create a podcast for you or your business at rainbowcreative.co

Hipsters Ponto Tech
Programação criativa – Hipsters Ponto Tech #266

Hipsters Ponto Tech

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2021


Será que a programação pode atingir pessoas de várias idades e de diferentes maneiras? O que acontece se a gente misturar código com arte, história e coisas lúdicas? Neste episódio vamos falar sobre programação criativa e algumas de suas possibilidades. Participantes: Paulo Silveira, o host que faz podcast criativoGuilherme Silveira, líder de inovação da Alura, mágico e irmão do hostAlexandre Villares, educador de tecnologia e arte e professorAndré Breves, especialista em tecnologia no Banco do BrasilRoberta Arcoverde, a co-host que super indica o ScratchMaurício Linhares, o co-host que gostava de fazer jogos no RPG Maker Links: Livro Creative Code - John MaedaExposição Georg Nees: Computergrafik (1965) de Georg Nees com curadoria do Max Bense que inventou o termo Estética GerativaVera MolnárObra Derivadas de uma Imagem (1969) de Waldemar Cordeiro / Giorgio MoscatiMonica TavaresThe Aesthetics and Computation Group - John Maeda e Desigb By NumbersProcessingp5.js"What is Generative Art? Complexity Theory as a Context for Art Theory" - Philip GalanterLogoTatyana ZabanovaLivro The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants sobre L SystemLinguagem de programação Hedypyp5jsLivro Arte feita em código - Patrícia OakimKeynote Jake Vanderplas falando de Python e astronomiaCinderOpenFrameworksScratchArduinoBBC micro:bitMicropythonCode GolfComputerCraftEduHau Kun e tweet ProcessingRobloxScratchJrDevArt Hipsters.Tech - Episódio Arte generativaInscreva-se no YouTube da AluraNewsletter Imersão, Aprendizagem e Tecnologia Produção e conteúdo: Alura Cursos de Tecnologia - https://www.alura.com.br === Caelum Escola de Tecnologia - https://www.caelum.com.br/ Edição e sonorização: Radiofobia Podcast e Multimídia

WONDERLAND
1.2 complexity theory

WONDERLAND

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2020 38:16


welcome back to wonderland. this second episode returns to wonderland to discover what complex adaptive systems are and how they work. it is then demonstrated how an understanding of complexity provides key insights into the fundamental, or metaphysical, nature of the universe. a transcription of the episode is available at: https://tinyurl.com/3js3u4tx a video of this episode is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1YGzhgLgUc find me at: https://linktr.ee/janegatsby

TESL COMPCAST
Sociocultural theory & Complexity theory

TESL COMPCAST

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2020 7:55


The field of SLA is a field of competing theories grounded in different assumptions about the nature of the mind, the learning process and the social context. Please compare two of these theories: sociocultural theory based on Vygotsky's ideas and elaborated by Jim Lantolf and chaos/complexity theory adapted for the field of SLA by Diane Larsen-Freeman and Nick Ellis. What are the key assumptions about the L2 learning in each theory? What are their implications for teaching? And which one is closer to your own teaching philosophy and why? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kelly-broadbent/message

Dear Ustadha Raidah
06- The Art of Reading -Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary

Dear Ustadha Raidah

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2019 42:25


In this final episode of The Art of Reading, Dr Yusuf Patel asks Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary to holistically summarize all the various points and aspects which were discussed in the previous episodes. Shaykh Ahmed provides a comprehensive plan of how to coalesce all the skills of reading so that a student of knowledge is able to master the art of reading and ensure maximal extraction from a text. SeekersGuidance would like to thank Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary, Dr Yusuf Patel and Nabiel Mohammed for facilitating this podcast series. We look forward to more beneficial podcasts by Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary in the near future.   Biography of Shaykh Ahmed Hussein El Azhary: Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary is a researcher in Islamic intellectual history and a teacher of Islamic traditional sciences. He's currently a teacher of Hadith, Usūl, Logic, and Kalam at Rawdatul-Na`īm under the supervision of Habib `Ali al-Jifrī; and at Madyafat Shaykh Ismaīl Sadiq al-`Adawī (RA), a prominent learning center by al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. Formerly, Shaykh Ahmed worked as a Lead Researcher at Tabah Foundation. He was appointed by Habib `Ali al-Jifrī to architect the philosophical framework of Suaal initiative – an initiative concerned with modeling an Islamic philosophical response to contemporary existential questions, supervised by Shaykh `Ali Jumu`ah, Habib `Umar and Shaykh Usama al-Azhary. Shaykh Ahmed continues to participate in Suaal initiative through essays, public lectures, and workshops. Shaykh Ahmed studied Anthropology at American University in Cairo and received his training in Leadership Communication from Tulane University and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is also a life-long learner. He holds a diversified portfolio of almost 50 certificates in a variety of subjects – extending from Teaching Character and Clinical Psychology of Children and Young People to Complexity Theory, Model Thinking and Conflict Analysis. Shaykh Ahmed began his journey of studying traditional sciences about 20 years ago. In addition to studying with scholars from al-Azhar, he had the privilege of studying with visiting scholars from Algeria and India in a one-on-one format and was thus given an exceptional opportunity to study and discuss advanced-level texts of different sorts and over a long period of time. Shaykh Ahmed has more than 70 Ijazas from scholars from all over the Muslim world.