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SUMMARY:Why do we need a theory of non-elephants? - Kim Christensen\, Impe
 rial College\, London
DTSTART:20080612T093000Z
DTEND:20080612T103000Z
UID:TALK12437@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Anje Neutel
DESCRIPTION:A car is complicated because it consists of many components\, 
 but nevertheless the components with known properties work together in a p
 redictable way and the car does what it is designed to do. A complex syste
 m is different in the sense that the behaviour of the system cannot be pre
 dicted from knowing the properties of the constituent parts alone.\nFor ex
 ample\, the behaviour of the brain cannot be deduced from studying a singl
 e neuron in isolation nor can the behaviour of an ant colony be deduced fr
 om studying a single ant. These complex systems display emergent behaviour
  due to the interactions of the constituent parts that cannot be predicted
  or forecasted with present theories. This matters a great deal because co
 mplex systems are ubiquitous in the natural and man-made world. The societ
 y is facing increasingly complex problems since the plentitude of interact
 ions make standard modelling inadequate\, hindering forecasting and contro
 l. Therefore\, it is of paramount importance to develop new appropriate ap
 proaches and theories to real-world challenges and a proper understanding 
 of design\, management\, uncertainty and risk at systems level is necessar
 y.\nComplexity science is attempting to find a theory of complex systems o
 r\, equivalently\, a theory of non-equilibrium systems which the Hungarian
  mathematician John von Neumann refereed to as a “theory of non-elephant
 s”. In the lecture\, I will embark on the quest of a theory of non-eleph
 ants\, looking for signs of the mere existence of such a theory. The quest
  is only in its infancy\, so it seems appropriate we start with a pile of 
 sand before moving on to discuss other non-equilibrium systems like the cr
 ust of the earth and the atmosphere. This will take us into the realm of s
 elf-regulating systems and an ant colony is an ideal model system for stud
 ying the principles of how biological social self-regulatory systems work 
 as they represent the pinnacle of social evolution in animals.\n
LOCATION:British Antarctic Survey\, Room 330B
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