Human Current

In this episode, Haley talks with Yaneer Bar-Yam, President of the New England Complex Systems Institute, and Alexander Siegenfeld, a PhD physics student at MIT, about their collaborative research paper entitled: Negative Representation and Instability in Democratic Elections. They each discuss why the current political climate in the U.S. is so polarized and unstable and explore how low voter turnout leads to negative representation and further instability. Describing insights from their research, they share the importance of increasing voter turnout and weakening the two party system (through methods like ranked choice voting) in order to achieve a more stable democracy.

In this episode, Angie and Haley share their final four interviews recorded at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. These interviews include: Brad Glisson, co-founder of Thoughtblox; Liz Johnson, Managing Editor for the Journal on Policy and Complex Systems; Vinesh Raja, Bioinformatician and Software Engineer; Rhys Lindmark, podcaster and Head of Community and Long-Term Societal Impact at MIT Media Lab. Each of their stories weave together some of the shared values, ideas, and visions for the growing field of complex system science. And to wrap up this series on the conference, Haley and Rhys Lindmark talk about some their favorite highlights and share some key takeaways. (Episode cover image by JK Rofling.)

In this episode, Angie talks with Dr. Stephan Harding who is an ecologist, author and senior lecturer and founding member of Schumacher College. Dr. Harding discusses his passion for the Earth and why he believes so deeply in helping others feel more connected to our planet. He describes his role with Schumacher College and how the school offers unique learning experiences to help students connect with and learn from nature. Dr. Harding shares details about his Holistic Science course, which integrates complexity theory, Gaia theory and deep ecology. He also explores how more expansive approaches to science, which integrate diverse methods of inquiry (beyond reason), can help us better understand the implications of complex problems like climate change. Lastly, Dr. Harding talks about his book, Animate Earth: Science, Intuition and Gaia, in which he integrates science, poetry and meditative practices to inspire people to form a participatory relationship with nature.

In this episode, Angie and Haley share four interviews recorded at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. These interviews include: Javier Borondo, Research Scientist and CTO of AGrowingData; Rosa Benito, Physics Professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Victor Dossetti, Research Scientist and Professor at Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla; Roozbeh Daneshvar, Blockchain Software Engineer at IBM. Each of the experiences they share highlight various research, applications, and opportunities in the field of complex system science. (Episode cover image by JK Rofling)

In this episode, Haley interviews theoretical biologist and author, Josh Mitteldorf, at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. Mitteldorf talks about the evolutionary process, including gene sharing, cooperation, and natural selection. He also shares what inspired his book, Cracking the Aging Code, and why biology needs holism.

In this episode, Angie talks with Dr. Loren Demerath at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. Dr. Demerath is an author, researcher, theorist of social complexity, and Professor of Sociology at the Centenary College of Louisiana. He discusses the fundamental nature of complex systems and how he applies concepts of complexity science to his research on culture, social interaction, and the emergence of order.

In this episode, Haley talks with Simon DeDeo at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. DeDeo is an Assistant Professor in Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He talks about his current research, which explores extreme creative people and events throughout history in order to learn where new ideas come from and what people do when they get them. Describing his research as “an alternate account of what it means to be human”, DeDeo explains that we are not infinitely predictable creatures, rather we harness extreme capacity to evolve and create. Professor DeDeo also shares more about his course and research at the Santa Fe Institute.

In this episode, Angie talks with network science researchers, Brennan Klein and Sarah Shugars, at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. Both Klein and Shugars are network science PhD students at Northeastern University, but they share very different stories for why they decided to study network science and how they plan to approach and apply their research. (The image used in this episode cover is ©JK Rofling)

In this episode, Haley interviews Jose Mateos at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. Mateos is a physicist and network researcher at the National University of Mexico. He is also on the Steering Committee for the Complex Systems Society, an international scientific community which organizes the annual Conference on Complex Systems (taking place this year from September 23-28 in Thessaloniki, Greece). Mateos talks with Haley about what makes conferences on complex systems so unique and important for solving real-world problems. He also describes his research on mobility within networks where he explores how things, like viruses and rumors, propagate within social networks.

In this episode, Angie talks with Irene Bosch and Elena Naumova at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. Irene Bosch is a research scientist at MIT who works with Tropical diseases and viruses like Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya. Bosch discusses the lack of research and understanding around how diseases are diagnosed and spread. She also talks about the potential benefits of interdisciplinary collaborations in forecasting epidemics and bringing solutions for diagnostics. Bosch’s work colleague, Elena Naumova, a Mathematician and Director of the Tufts University Initiative for Forecasting and Modeling of Infectious Diseases, also talks with Angie about how she applies mathematical models to better understand different kinds of biological phenomenon.