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On Complexity Science — LessWrong

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I have a long and confused love-hate relationship with the field of complex systems. People there never want to give me a simple, straightforward explanation about what its about, and much of what they say sounds a lot like woo ("edge of chaos" anyone?). But it also seems to promise a lot! This from the primary textbook on the subject: The present situation can be compared to an archaeological project, where a mosaic floor has been discovered and is being excavated. While the mosaic is only partly visible and the full picture is still missing, several facts are becoming clear: the mosaic exists; it shows identifiable elements (for instance, people and animals engaged in recognizable activities); there are large patches missing or still invisible, but experts can already tell that the mosaic represents a scene from, say, Homer’s Odyssey. Similarly, for dynamical complex adaptive systems, it is clear that a theory exists that, eventually, can be fully developed. Of course, that textbook

x On Complexity Science — LessWrong Embedded Agency World Modeling Frontpage 54 On Complexity Science by Garrett Baker 5th Apr 2024 5 min read 21 54 I have a long and confused love-hate relationship with the field of complex systems. People there never want to give me a simple, straightforward explanation about what its about, and much of what they say sounds a lot like woo ("edge of chaos" anyone?). But it also seems to promise a lot! This from the primary textbook on the subject: The present situation can be compared to an archaeological project, where a mosaic floor has been discovered and

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