COMPLEXITY

Carlos Gershenson on Balance, Criticality, Antifragility, and The Philosophy of Complex Systems

63 snips
Mar 9, 2023
Carlos Gershenson explores how complexity science reshapes ideas about prediction, balance, and adaptation. The conversation ranges from Buddhist philosophy and the many scales of selfhood to transportation, market instability, and systems that grow stronger through disruption. Along the way, it asks how societies can navigate uncertainty without mistaking control for a lasting solution.
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INSIGHT

Requisite Variety in Control Systems

  • Law of requisite variety states controllers must match complexity of what they control.
  • Many organizations lack flexibility to handle economic and social complexities, causing failure.
INSIGHT

Adaptation Beats Prediction in Complexity

  • Non-stationary problems change constantly, making purely predictive solutions obsolete.
  • Adaptation-focused approaches outperform traditional optimization in dynamic complex systems.
INSIGHT

Chaos and Control Limits

  • Increasing interaction causes chaotic dynamics, limiting control opportunities.
  • Sometimes non-intervention is better, but strategies remain unclear for unprecedented complexity.
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