Where does complexity economics find itself now? Certainly, many commentators see it as steadily moving toward the center of economics. And there’s a recognition that it is more than a new set of methods or theories: it is a different way to see the economy. It views the economy not as machinelike, perfectly rational, and essentially static, but as

Nevertheless, deeper reflection on the role of human imagination reveals its fundamental role. Put simply, the earth could not support as many people as it does today if humans had not invented the concept of government from our basic experiences of family life, or the concept of money from our experiences trading small and precious objects. All go

This paradox of comprehension was articulated explicitly by a great physicist of an earlier age: “Sir Isaac Newton, when asked what he thought of the infatuations of the people, answered that he could calculate the motions of erratic bodies, but not the madness of a multitude” (quoted from The Church of England Quarterly Review, 1850).

Redundancy provides insurance against loss. The American chestnut largely disappeared from the forests of the northeastern United States, but other species filled its niche. In 2004, though, when Chiron, one of only two companies providing flu vaccines in the US, announced that its plants in Liverpool were contaminated, our house of cards was at re

An easy way to avoid the unpleasant feelings of cognitive dissonance is to not discuss our beliefs with contacts who disagree, or to cease socializing with them altogether. As a result, our social circles become more homogeneous, and beliefs our former peers might have considered extreme are no longer challenged by anyone important to us. None

This is a “rich get richer” sort of model in which the more a word is used in the past, the more likely it is that it will attract more use in the future.

not vary.

essence, we are dealing with disgruntled young people who do unexpected or dangerous things under the social influence of their peers and role models—a.k.a. the common adolescent. And yet, only a small fraction of disgruntled young people stumble into behaviors that are significantly more dangerous than making severe fashion statements or partying

as cities grow and their networks evolve, the area or volume of the networks needed to keep them functionally connected tends to become smaller on a per capita basis. For example, in larger cities more people can share the same bus or segment of road or sewer pipe.