Friday, 26 September 2003
Challenges of Complexity:
Information and Computational Dynamics in Nature and Society
Klaus Mainzer, University of Augsburg
12:05 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning

Abstract: The theory of nonlinear complex systems has become a proven problem-solving approach in natural and computer science. It is now recognized that many of our social, ecological, economic, and political problems are also of a global, complex, and nonlinear nature. The human brain is governed largely by the nonlinear dynamics of complex systems. And the complexity of information and computational systems is analyzed for global networking. What is the common methodological framework behind these endeavors? Are there degrees of complexity indicating thresholds for the emergence of chaos and randomness? In the age of globalization, our understanding and managing of complex systems in nature and society is an interdisciplinary challenge of computer science, natural and social sciences, and last but not least, humanities and philosophy.