Author: Rika Preiser
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 150150259X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 302
Book Description
This book is a collection of all the single authored essays by Paul Cilliers, published between 1990-2011. Being one of few authors who approached the study of complexity from a philosophical perspective, the main themes in these papers explore: - Qualitative characterization of complexity and the normative implications of studying complex adaptive systems, - the philosophical and conceptual similarity to post-structural approaches - how any engagement with complexity leads to a critical engagement with how we do science and design interventions - critical and normative implications for how to engage with complex socio-political concerns in the world. What makes this book unique is that it consolidates a body of work that is distributed over a wide range of academic journals. Although his book "Complexity and Postmodernism" (Routledge, 1998) remains a cornerstone in the field of complexity studies, Cilliers’ journal essays really explore the application of the theoretical concepts in more depth. His ground-breaking ideas conceptualized in these essays have served as a continual source of novelty and inspiration in the process of applying complexity thinking to other fields of study.
Critical Complexity
Author: Rika Preiser
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 150150259X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 302
Book Description
This book is a collection of all the single authored essays by Paul Cilliers, published between 1990-2011. Being one of few authors who approached the study of complexity from a philosophical perspective, the main themes in these papers explore: - Qualitative characterization of complexity and the normative implications of studying complex adaptive systems, - the philosophical and conceptual similarity to post-structural approaches - how any engagement with complexity leads to a critical engagement with how we do science and design interventions - critical and normative implications for how to engage with complex socio-political concerns in the world. What makes this book unique is that it consolidates a body of work that is distributed over a wide range of academic journals. Although his book "Complexity and Postmodernism" (Routledge, 1998) remains a cornerstone in the field of complexity studies, Cilliers’ journal essays really explore the application of the theoretical concepts in more depth. His ground-breaking ideas conceptualized in these essays have served as a continual source of novelty and inspiration in the process of applying complexity thinking to other fields of study.
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 150150259X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 302
Book Description
This book is a collection of all the single authored essays by Paul Cilliers, published between 1990-2011. Being one of few authors who approached the study of complexity from a philosophical perspective, the main themes in these papers explore: - Qualitative characterization of complexity and the normative implications of studying complex adaptive systems, - the philosophical and conceptual similarity to post-structural approaches - how any engagement with complexity leads to a critical engagement with how we do science and design interventions - critical and normative implications for how to engage with complex socio-political concerns in the world. What makes this book unique is that it consolidates a body of work that is distributed over a wide range of academic journals. Although his book "Complexity and Postmodernism" (Routledge, 1998) remains a cornerstone in the field of complexity studies, Cilliers’ journal essays really explore the application of the theoretical concepts in more depth. His ground-breaking ideas conceptualized in these essays have served as a continual source of novelty and inspiration in the process of applying complexity thinking to other fields of study.
Critical Complexity
Author: Paul Cilliers
Publisher: de Gruyter
ISBN: 9781501510793
Category : Complexity (Philosophy)
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The publications in this series deal with current topics in the fields of philosophy, natural science, cognitive science, and mathematics. They are particularly interested in investigating the multiple ways in which the nature of these fields has changed over the centuries, leaving the conceptual framework inaugurated by Galilei and Descartes.
Publisher: de Gruyter
ISBN: 9781501510793
Category : Complexity (Philosophy)
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The publications in this series deal with current topics in the fields of philosophy, natural science, cognitive science, and mathematics. They are particularly interested in investigating the multiple ways in which the nature of these fields has changed over the centuries, leaving the conceptual framework inaugurated by Galilei and Descartes.
Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity
Author: Michael C. Jackson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119118387
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 728
Book Description
From the winner of the INCOSE Pioneer Award 2022 The world has become increasingly networked and unpredictable. Decision makers at all levels are required to manage the consequences of complexity every day. They must deal with problems that arise unexpectedly, generate uncertainty, are characterised by interconnectivity, and spread across traditional boundaries. Simple solutions to complex problems are usually inadequate and risk exacerbating the original issues. Leaders of international bodies such as the UN, OECD, UNESCO and WHO — and of major business, public sector, charitable, and professional organizations — have all declared that systems thinking is an essential leadership skill for managing the complexity of the economic, social and environmental issues that confront decision makers. Systems thinking must be implemented more generally, and on a wider scale, to address these issues. An evaluation of different systems methodologies suggests that they concentrate on different aspects of complexity. To be in the best position to deal with complexity, decision makers must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches and learn how to employ them in combination. This is called critical systems thinking. Making use of over 25 case studies, the book offers an account of the development of systems thinking and of major efforts to apply the approach in real-world interventions. Further, it encourages the widespread use of critical systems practice as a means of ensuring responsible leadership in a complex world. The INCOSE Pioneer Award is presented to someone who, by their achievements in the engineering of systems, has contributed uniquely to major products or outcomes enhancing society or meeting its needs. The criteria may apply to a single outstanding outcome or a lifetime of significant achievements in effecting successful systems. Comments on a previous version of the book: Russ Ackoff: ‘the book is the best overview of the field I have seen’ JP van Gigch: ‘Jackson does a masterful job. The book is lucid ...well written and eminently readable’ Professional Manager (Journal of the Chartered Management Institute): ‘Provides an excellent guide and introduction to systems thinking for students of management’
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119118387
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 728
Book Description
From the winner of the INCOSE Pioneer Award 2022 The world has become increasingly networked and unpredictable. Decision makers at all levels are required to manage the consequences of complexity every day. They must deal with problems that arise unexpectedly, generate uncertainty, are characterised by interconnectivity, and spread across traditional boundaries. Simple solutions to complex problems are usually inadequate and risk exacerbating the original issues. Leaders of international bodies such as the UN, OECD, UNESCO and WHO — and of major business, public sector, charitable, and professional organizations — have all declared that systems thinking is an essential leadership skill for managing the complexity of the economic, social and environmental issues that confront decision makers. Systems thinking must be implemented more generally, and on a wider scale, to address these issues. An evaluation of different systems methodologies suggests that they concentrate on different aspects of complexity. To be in the best position to deal with complexity, decision makers must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches and learn how to employ them in combination. This is called critical systems thinking. Making use of over 25 case studies, the book offers an account of the development of systems thinking and of major efforts to apply the approach in real-world interventions. Further, it encourages the widespread use of critical systems practice as a means of ensuring responsible leadership in a complex world. The INCOSE Pioneer Award is presented to someone who, by their achievements in the engineering of systems, has contributed uniquely to major products or outcomes enhancing society or meeting its needs. The criteria may apply to a single outstanding outcome or a lifetime of significant achievements in effecting successful systems. Comments on a previous version of the book: Russ Ackoff: ‘the book is the best overview of the field I have seen’ JP van Gigch: ‘Jackson does a masterful job. The book is lucid ...well written and eminently readable’ Professional Manager (Journal of the Chartered Management Institute): ‘Provides an excellent guide and introduction to systems thinking for students of management’
Critical Transitions in Nature and Society
Author: Marten Scheffer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400833272
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398
Book Description
How do we explain the remarkably abrupt changes that sometimes occur in nature and society--and can we predict why and when they happen? This book offers a comprehensive introduction to critical transitions in complex systems--the radical changes that happen at tipping points when thresholds are passed. Marten Scheffer accessibly describes the dynamical systems theory behind critical transitions, covering catastrophe theory, bifurcations, chaos, and more. He gives examples of critical transitions in lakes, oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, climate, evolution, and human societies. And he demonstrates how to deal with these transitions, offering practical guidance on how to predict tipping points, how to prevent "bad" transitions, and how to promote critical transitions that work for us and not against us. Scheffer shows the time is ripe for understanding and managing critical transitions in the vast and complex systems in which we live. This book can also serve as a textbook and includes a detailed appendix with equations. Provides an accessible introduction to dynamical systems theory Covers critical transitions in lakes, oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, the climate, evolution, and human societies Explains how to predict tipping points Offers strategies for preventing "bad" transitions and triggering "good" ones Features an appendix with equations
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400833272
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398
Book Description
How do we explain the remarkably abrupt changes that sometimes occur in nature and society--and can we predict why and when they happen? This book offers a comprehensive introduction to critical transitions in complex systems--the radical changes that happen at tipping points when thresholds are passed. Marten Scheffer accessibly describes the dynamical systems theory behind critical transitions, covering catastrophe theory, bifurcations, chaos, and more. He gives examples of critical transitions in lakes, oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, climate, evolution, and human societies. And he demonstrates how to deal with these transitions, offering practical guidance on how to predict tipping points, how to prevent "bad" transitions, and how to promote critical transitions that work for us and not against us. Scheffer shows the time is ripe for understanding and managing critical transitions in the vast and complex systems in which we live. This book can also serve as a textbook and includes a detailed appendix with equations. Provides an accessible introduction to dynamical systems theory Covers critical transitions in lakes, oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, the climate, evolution, and human societies Explains how to predict tipping points Offers strategies for preventing "bad" transitions and triggering "good" ones Features an appendix with equations
Complexity and Postmodernism
Author: Paul Cilliers
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134743297
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 170
Book Description
In Complexity and Postmodernism, Paul Cilliers explores the idea of complexity in the light of contemporary perspectives from philosophy and science. Cilliers offers us a unique approach to understanding complexity and computational theory by integrating postmodern theory (like that of Derrida and Lyotard) into his discussion. Complexity and Postmodernism is an exciting and an original book that should be read by anyone interested in gaining a fresh understanding of complexity, postmodernism and connectionism.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134743297
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 170
Book Description
In Complexity and Postmodernism, Paul Cilliers explores the idea of complexity in the light of contemporary perspectives from philosophy and science. Cilliers offers us a unique approach to understanding complexity and computational theory by integrating postmodern theory (like that of Derrida and Lyotard) into his discussion. Complexity and Postmodernism is an exciting and an original book that should be read by anyone interested in gaining a fresh understanding of complexity, postmodernism and connectionism.
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
Author: Sean Carroll
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593186591
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable.”—Wall Street Journal “A porthole into another world.”—Scientific American “Brings science dissemination to a new level.”—Science The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593186591
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable.”—Wall Street Journal “A porthole into another world.”—Scientific American “Brings science dissemination to a new level.”—Science The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.
Complexity and Resilience Rating
Author: Jacek Marczyk
Publisher: Edizioni del Faro
ISBN: 8865378468
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 301
Book Description
With all likelihood high complexity is the most evident and dramatic characteristic of not just the economy; it is also the hallmark of our lives. In a complex economy conventional risk management, risk rating and business intelligence technologies are becoming dangerously outdated. The tools and solutions presented in this book have been architectured specifically for turbulence and for a complex economy dominated by shocks, destabilizing events and instability. In particular, the book proposes a new rating model based on resilience, the capacity to withstand such shocks, beyond the increasingly irrelevant but still popular idea of Probability of Default (PoD). Moreover, it is shown how in an interconnected economy rating single companies provides little insight as to its state of health and sustainability and how large-scale systemic analyses of ecosystems of corporations can provide new knowledge and new insights for the global investor. Finally, new approaches to asset allocation and portfolio design based on complexity and resilience are introduced.
Publisher: Edizioni del Faro
ISBN: 8865378468
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 301
Book Description
With all likelihood high complexity is the most evident and dramatic characteristic of not just the economy; it is also the hallmark of our lives. In a complex economy conventional risk management, risk rating and business intelligence technologies are becoming dangerously outdated. The tools and solutions presented in this book have been architectured specifically for turbulence and for a complex economy dominated by shocks, destabilizing events and instability. In particular, the book proposes a new rating model based on resilience, the capacity to withstand such shocks, beyond the increasingly irrelevant but still popular idea of Probability of Default (PoD). Moreover, it is shown how in an interconnected economy rating single companies provides little insight as to its state of health and sustainability and how large-scale systemic analyses of ecosystems of corporations can provide new knowledge and new insights for the global investor. Finally, new approaches to asset allocation and portfolio design based on complexity and resilience are introduced.
The Moment of Complexity
Author: Mark C. Taylor
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226791181
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
We live in a moment of unprecedented complexity, an era in which change occurs faster than our ability to comprehend it. With "The Moment of Complexity", Mark C. Taylor offers a map for the unfamiliar terrain opening in our midst, unfolding an original philosophy of our time through a remarkable synthesis of science and culture. According to Taylor, complexity is not just a breakthrough scientific concept but the defining quality of the post-Cold War era. The flux of digital currents swirling around us, he argues, has created a new network culture with its own distinctive logic and dynamic.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226791181
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
We live in a moment of unprecedented complexity, an era in which change occurs faster than our ability to comprehend it. With "The Moment of Complexity", Mark C. Taylor offers a map for the unfamiliar terrain opening in our midst, unfolding an original philosophy of our time through a remarkable synthesis of science and culture. According to Taylor, complexity is not just a breakthrough scientific concept but the defining quality of the post-Cold War era. The flux of digital currents swirling around us, he argues, has created a new network culture with its own distinctive logic and dynamic.
Text Complexity
Author: Douglas Fisher
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 150634397X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
There is a big difference between assigning complex texts and teaching complex texts No matter what discipline you teach, learn how to use complexity as a dynamic, powerful tool for sliding the right text in front of your students’ at just the right time. Updates to this new edition include How-to’s for measuring countable features of any written work A rubric for analyzing the complexity of both literary and informational texts Classroom scenarios that show the difference between a healthy struggle and frustration The authors’ latest thinking on teacher modeling, close reading, scaffolded small group reading, and independent reading
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 150634397X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
There is a big difference between assigning complex texts and teaching complex texts No matter what discipline you teach, learn how to use complexity as a dynamic, powerful tool for sliding the right text in front of your students’ at just the right time. Updates to this new edition include How-to’s for measuring countable features of any written work A rubric for analyzing the complexity of both literary and informational texts Classroom scenarios that show the difference between a healthy struggle and frustration The authors’ latest thinking on teacher modeling, close reading, scaffolded small group reading, and independent reading
Complexity and Criticality
Author: Kim Christensen
Publisher: Imperial College Press
ISBN: 186094504X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412
Book Description
This book provides a challenging and stimulating introduction to the contemporary topics of complexity and criticality, and explores their common basis of scale invariance, a central unifying theme of the book.Criticality refers to the behaviour of extended systems at a phase transition where scale invariance prevails. The many constituent microscopic parts bring about macroscopic phenomena that cannot be understood by considering a single part alone. The phenomenology of phase transitions is introduced by considering percolation, a simple model with a purely geometrical phase transition, thus enabling the reader to become intuitively familiar with concepts such as scale invariance and renormalisation. The Ising model is then introduced, which captures a thermodynamic phase transition from a disordered to an ordered system as the temperature is lowered in zero external field. By emphasising analogies between percolation and the Ising model, the reader's intuition of phase transitions is developed so that the underlying theoretical formalism may be appreciated fully. These equilibrium systems undergo a phase transition only if an external agent finely tunes certain external parameters to particular values.Besides fractals and phase transitions, there are many examples in Nature of the emergence of such complex behaviour in slowly driven non-equilibrium systems: earthquakes in seismic systems, avalanches in granular media and rainfall in the atmosphere. A class of non-equilibrium systems, not constrained by having to tune external parameters to obtain critical behaviour, is addressed in the framework of simple models, revealing that the repeated application of simple rules may spontaneously give rise to emergent complex behaviour not encoded in the rules themselves. The common basis of complexity and criticality is identified and applied to a range of non-equilibrium systems. Finally, the reader is invited to speculate whether self-organisation in non-equilibrium systems might be a unifying concept for disparate fields such as statistical mechanics, geophysics and atmospheric physics.Visit http: //www.complexityandcriticality.com for animations for the models in the book (available for Windows and Linux), solutions to exercises, as well as a list with corrections.
Publisher: Imperial College Press
ISBN: 186094504X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412
Book Description
This book provides a challenging and stimulating introduction to the contemporary topics of complexity and criticality, and explores their common basis of scale invariance, a central unifying theme of the book.Criticality refers to the behaviour of extended systems at a phase transition where scale invariance prevails. The many constituent microscopic parts bring about macroscopic phenomena that cannot be understood by considering a single part alone. The phenomenology of phase transitions is introduced by considering percolation, a simple model with a purely geometrical phase transition, thus enabling the reader to become intuitively familiar with concepts such as scale invariance and renormalisation. The Ising model is then introduced, which captures a thermodynamic phase transition from a disordered to an ordered system as the temperature is lowered in zero external field. By emphasising analogies between percolation and the Ising model, the reader's intuition of phase transitions is developed so that the underlying theoretical formalism may be appreciated fully. These equilibrium systems undergo a phase transition only if an external agent finely tunes certain external parameters to particular values.Besides fractals and phase transitions, there are many examples in Nature of the emergence of such complex behaviour in slowly driven non-equilibrium systems: earthquakes in seismic systems, avalanches in granular media and rainfall in the atmosphere. A class of non-equilibrium systems, not constrained by having to tune external parameters to obtain critical behaviour, is addressed in the framework of simple models, revealing that the repeated application of simple rules may spontaneously give rise to emergent complex behaviour not encoded in the rules themselves. The common basis of complexity and criticality is identified and applied to a range of non-equilibrium systems. Finally, the reader is invited to speculate whether self-organisation in non-equilibrium systems might be a unifying concept for disparate fields such as statistical mechanics, geophysics and atmospheric physics.Visit http: //www.complexityandcriticality.com for animations for the models in the book (available for Windows and Linux), solutions to exercises, as well as a list with corrections.