A broad research program on the sciences of complexity

Technical Report · Fri Jan 26 00:00:00 EST 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7019850· OSTI ID:7019850

The second full-fledged academic year at the Santa Fe Institute saw it extend its research activities centered on its organizing principle: complex systems. While there is not generally accepted definition of a complex system, common properties appear in the behavior of such systems. Complex systems typically have many components which interact nonlinearly. They frequently exhibit collective and emergent properties such as adaptation, pattern formation, and learning. There is often a hierarchy of length or time scales, and sensitivity to initial conditions. Dissipative time evolution is characteristic; the system may be open to an environment that presents it with perpetual challenge; it may operate far from equilibrium and have a stochastic aspect. Typically there are many differing modes of behavior (solutions) of varying likelihood, as exemplified in evolutionary biology, turbulent flows, or glasses. Many complex systems have information storage capacity or memory and some are capable of extrapolating stored information to anticipate the future. At the beginning of 1989 many of the SFI research initiatives described in this report were already well established. Preliminary workshops had been held, in some cases subsequent full workshops were planned or had been held, collaborations were well established, and a residential research program was underway.

• Research Organization: Santa Fe Inst., NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: FG05-88ER25054
• OSTI ID: 7019850
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/25054-2; ON: DE90009625
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BIOLOGY
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
COMPUTERS
ECONOMICS
SOCIOLOGY
BUDGETS
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
DYNAMICS
ENTROPY
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GENETICS
GRANTS
HOMOGENEOUS PLASMA
HUMAN FACTORS
IMMUNOLOGY
IMPLEMENTATION
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PLANNING
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
PROGRESS REPORT
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SUPERCOMPUTERS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TURBULENCE
DIGITAL COMPUTERS
DOCUMENT TYPES
MANAGEMENT
MECHANICS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
990200* - Mathematics & Computers
550200 - Biochemistry
550400 - Genetics
990300 - Information Handling