A Complex World: Part One

In celebration of SFI’s 40th anniversary, the 29th Annual Stanislaw Ulam Memorial Lecture Series will address this Complex World.

Part One: Lecture by David Krakauer

We live in a complex world, meaning one that is increasingly connected, evolving, technological, volatile, and potentially poised for catastrophe. And yet we continue to treat the world as if it were a simple world: linear, unchanging, disconnected, and infinitely exploitable.

Complexity science is an approach to understanding and surviving in a complex world. In this lecture, David Krakauer will expose the limitations of simple assumptions in economics, medicine and healthcare, artificial intelligence, and global governance. We need an entirely new framing of nature, of the human role in the natural and technological world, and what it means to prosper on a living planet.

David Krakauer is the William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems and President of the Santa Fe Institute. His research explores the evolution of intelligence and stupidity on earth. This includes studying the evolution of cellular, linguistic, social and cultural mechanisms and artifacts supporting memory and information processing.

This is the first of a two part event. Please register for the “Complex World: Diverse Perspectives” panel discussion on Wednesday, September 18th.