Complexity Research; Why and How

Sorin Solomon Racah Institute of Physics HUJ Israel

Director, Complex Multi-Agent Systems Division, ISI TurinDirector, Lagrange Interdisciplinary Laboratory

for Excellence In Complexity

Contents

• Complexity as an unifying Scientific Paradigm

• Complexity as Theoretical Applied Science

• How to promote and evaluate Complexity and High Risk / High Stakes Research

Complexity as an unifying Scientific Paradigm

COMPLEXITY= MORE IS DIFFERENT

He meant that When there are MORE then one simple agent (e.g. molecule)

those agents may self-organize in collective objects (e.g. cells)

which have emergent behavior (e.g. life) that IS DIFFERENT from the behavior of the simple agent (e.g. chemical reactions)

(Physics Nobel Laureate) Phil Anderson defined in 1972

“MORE IS DIFFERENT” Complex Systems Paradigm

MICRO - the relevant elementary agents        

INTER - their basic, simple interactions        

MACRO - the emerging collective objects

Intrinsically (3x) interdisciplinary:

-MICRO belongs to one science

-MACRO to another science

-Mechanisms: a third science

traders

orders, transactions

herds,crashes,booms

Decision making, psychology

Financial economics

statistical mechanics, physicsmath, game theory, info

950C

1Kg

1cm

97

1cm

1Kg

99

1Kg

101

The breaking of macroscopic linear extrapolation

?Extrapolation?

BOILING PHASE TRANSITIONMore is different: a single molecule does not boil at 100C0

Simplest Example of a “More is Different” Transition

Water level vs. temperature

95 97 99 101

Example of “MORE IS DIFFERENT” transition in Finance:

Instead of Water Level: -economic index(Dow-Jones etc…)

Crash = result of collective behavior of individual traders

Statistical Mechanics

Phase Transition

Atoms,Molecules

Drops,Bubbles

Anderson abstractization

Complexity MICRO

MACRO More is different

BiologySocial Science

Brain ScienceEconomics and

Finance

BusinessAdministration ICT

Semiotics and Ontology

Chemicals

E-pages

Neurons

Words

people

Customers

Traders

Cells,lifeMeaning

Social groups

WWW

Cognition, perception

Markets

Herds, Crashes

Chemicals

Ion channels

neurons

brain

Thoughts

Economy, Culture Social groups,

The “MORE IS DIFFERENT” transition often marks the conceptual boundaries between disciplines.

-It helps to bridge them by addressing Within a common conceptual frameworkthe fundamental problems of one of them in terms of the collective phenomena of another.

- MORE IS DIFFERENT is a new universal grammar with new interrogative forms allowing to express novel questions of a kind un-uttered until now

- We need to foster a new generation of bi- or multi-lingual scientists with this grammar as their mother-language.

- We need to recognize MORE IS DIFFERENT interdisciplinary expertise as a crucial tool for future research on equal footing with disciplinary professional expertise.

- develop, reward and support Complexity approach as such.

“MORE IS DIFFERENT” Agent-Based Complexity Research is a fusion of knowledge rather then merely a juxtaposition of expertises

- implies a coordinated shift in the - objectives, - scope and - ethos of the involved disciplines (including healing academic vs. technology / industry dichotomy)Sometimes this caused opposition from some leaders of the affected disciplines which felt that the identity of their science is threatenedby this fusion and shift in scope.

=> To avoid conflict in the future, complexity should be given space and support on its own right rather then sending it to beg or steal from the established disciplines.

Complexity as Theoretical Applied science

Complexity Induces a New relation Theoretical Science Real Life Applications: Traditional Applied Science applied hardware devices (results of experimental science)

to material / physical reality. Modern Complexity rather applies theoretical methods - new (self-)organization concepts and

- (self-)adaptation emergence theories to real life, but not necessarily material / physical items:

- social and economic change, - individual and collective creativity, - the information flow in life

Applications of Complexity are thus of a new brand: "Theoretical Applied Science" and should be recognized as such when evaluating their expected practical impact

EXAMPLE of Theoretical Applied Science

APPLICATION: Liberalization Experiment Poland Economy after 1989

+ MICRO growth___________________

=> MACRO growth

1990 MACRO decay (90)

1992 MACRO growth (92)

1991 MICRO growth (91)

GNP

89 90 91 92

THEOREM (RG, RW) one of the fundamental laws of complexity

Global analysis prediction

Complexity prediction

Education 88

MACRO decay

Maps Andrzej Nowak’s group (Warsaw U.), CO3 collaboration

How to promote complexity and High Risk Research

- The tenure-track can end in tenured (ECIR) European Interdisciplinary Professorships

- Main Task: to host “instant” “disposable” institutes on emerging interdisciplinary / high risk/ high stakes issues

- Researchers will be selected / promoted at ECIR on the basis of their proven expertise to carry out interdisciplinary research as such.

-The members of the “disposable institutes”

will hold Tenure-Track European Interdisciplinary Chairs independent on the fate of the disposable institutes

Thus ECIR will “insure”/“cover” their risk taking

How to Promote Interdisciplinary / High Risk Research?-establish an European Center for Interdisciplinary Research it could be distributed and / or itinerant (like CNRS)

Instruments of the European Center for Interdisciplinary Research

b) 6-12 month interdisciplinary institute programs (500 K €) (buy sabbaticals for professors + bring students)

a) triangle: 2 advisors+ bridge PhD student (100K €) (support summer schools for meeting, visits, fellowship)

c) 3-5 year “disposable” institutes (3-5 M €) university hosting it, should be well compensated

and could keep the institute after the 3 years. participants: local people + students + visitors + holders of the - European Interdisciplinary tenure(-track) chairs to provide expertise with interdisciplinary projects

- gradual, according to how ripe is the recipient subject

- map the interdisciplinary cooperation network(- people are nodes - cooperations andcommon papers, are links).

- give priority to people with high interdisciplinarity

rather then high rank / disciplinary authority

Discipline 2

Discipline 1

Subjects that need synthesis

Objective Algorithm to Evaluate Interdisciplinary researchers relevance

Discipline3

Thus the judges should consider the overall - interdisciplinary - expertise - scientific connections and - past achievements - ease in navigating within dynamic research networks

rather then - individual disciplinary authority and position - ease in managing static large disciplinary research groups

In emergent research situations beyond the known frontiers it is not clear what knowledge will be relevant next.

Thus strong professional expertise in a strictly limited area is less important than the generic capability / know-how to conduct research

in situations of uncertainty and in unchartered trans-/ extra- disciplinary territory

Evaluating interdisciplinary proposals

If you wish to recall just 3 words of the talk:

“instant” “disposable” institutes