A quiet revolution – the science of complex systems
Further reading
April 2006, pages 26-29
Can science foretell the future (by Julian Cribb)
Reports on the analysis of thresholds to predict Earthquakes, floods, stockmarket crashes and other major events.
June 2005, pages 32-34
The science of complex systems (by John Finnigan)
Explains how scientists are probing the complex interactions that influence the behaviour of bushfires, cyclones and the stock market.
13 May 2009
The era of complex science (by Peter Doherty)
Comments on the emergence of complex analysis in science and its relevance to climate change.
Business Week
17 May, 2002
Stephen Wolfram's simple science (by Michael Arndt)
An article about Stephen Wolfram and his idea that all phenomena are programmed by basic rules.
29 January 2004, page 399
Engineering complex systems (by J M Ottino)
Looks at the role of engineers in the development of complex systems.
9 August 2008, pages 28-31
Why complex systems do better without us (by Mark Buchanan)
Proposes that complex systems are more efficient if allowed to self-organise.
5 April 2008, pages 28-31
Will a pandemic bring down civilisation? (by Deborah MacKenzie)
Raises the question of whether a pandemic could cause social collapse
5 April 2008, pages 33-35
Why the demise of civilisation may be inevitable (by Deborah MacKenzie)
Discusses the vulnerability of civilisation due to its complexity.
4 July 2006
The net reloaded (Kim Krieger)
Looks at the 'scale-free' network theory.
26 February 2005, pages 32-35
Too much information (by Mark Buchanan)
Discusses cellular automata and the ability to predict events.
7 August 2003
Email experiment confirms six degrees of separation (by Will Knight)
Describes the email version of the experiment that demonstrated the six degrees of separation.
13 April 2002, page 24
All the world's a net (by David Cohen)
Describes a variety of networks that are complex systems.
2 April 1999
This special issue is dedicated to complex system science.
2 April 1999, page 79
Beyond reductionism (by Richard Gallagher and Tim Appenzeller)
Provides an introduction to the technical articles in the special issue.
March 2006, pages 54-61
The limits of reason (by Gregory Chaitin)
Provides an historical background to complexity and a discussion of mathematical axioms.
May 2003, pages 50-59
Scale-free networks (by Albert-László Barabási and Eric Bonabeau)
Provides an overview and potential implications of scale-free networks.
10 May 2001
Complexity research and its challenge to other disciplines
A discussion about how complexity theory can reshape the way scholars examine evolution, economics and many other fields.
9 October, 2003
Modelling complexity
Looks at agent-based networks, including financial markets, crime networks and commercial supply chains.
Page updated August 2009.