#1088 Karoline Wiesner: What Is a Complex System?

Apr 24, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Karoline Wiesner, a Professor of Complexity Sciences at the University of Potsdam, dives into the world of complex systems. She explores the history of complexity science and its intersection with diverse fields like biology and economics. Listeners will be intrigued by the self-organizing behaviors in ant colonies and the emergent properties of economies. The conversation further delves into how complexity science relates to consciousness and offers insights on tackling global challenges, making it a thought-provoking listen!

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INSIGHT

Origins and Nature of Complexity Science

Complexity science is a recent science, emerging mainly in the 1980s from fields like dynamical systems, cybernetics, and computer science.
It studies systems of many interacting elements leading to emergent behaviors not found in individual parts.

INSIGHT

Foundations in Related Sciences

Cybernetics, systems theory, and dynamical systems theory underpin complexity science by identifying universal principles across different systems.
Complexity science merges these fields to study diverse systems with common mathematical models and concepts.

INSIGHT

Core Features of Complex Systems

Complex systems exhibit features like spontaneous order, non-linearity, robustness, nested structures, history, and adaptive behavior.
Their key characteristic is many interacting components whose collective behavior emerges from these interactions.

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Dr. Karoline Wiesner is Professor of Complexity Sciences at the University of Potsdam. Interested in the sciences of complexity, Dr. Wiesner began to work on information theoretic representations of complex systems as a PostDoc at the Santa Fe Institute (USA) and the University of California, Davis. Her work centered around information theoretic representations of quantum dynamical systems. Her research focuses on the use of information theory in the study of formation, maintenance and stability of complex systems. She is co-author of “What Is a Complex System?”.

In this episode, we focus on “What Is a Complex System?”. We start by talking about the history of complexity science, the features of a complex system, and emergence. We then go through examples of phenomena and scientific disciplines complexity science applies to, including physics, climate science, the eusocial insects, and neuroscience. We discuss whether the behavior of a complex system can be predicted, and whether complexity science is one single scientific theory. Finally, we talk about the future of complexity science.

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