110 | Neil Johnson on Complexity, Conflict, and Infodemiology

110 | Neil Johnson on Complexity, Conflict, and Infodemiology

Physicists have traditionally simplified systems as much as possible, in order to shed light on fundamental properties. But small, simple parts build up into large, complex wholes. Are there new rules and laws of nature that apply specifically to the realm of complexity? This has been a popular question for a few decades now, and we have some answers but not as many as we would like. Neil Johnson is an expert on complex systems generally, and information networks in particular. We discuss how self-organization can arise from individual units following their own agendas, and how we can mathematically characterize such behavior. Then we talk about information networks in the modern world, including how they have been used to spread disinformation and find recruits for radical fringe groups.

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Neil Johnson received his Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University. He is currently professor of physics at George Washington University, where he heads an initiative in Complexity and Data Science. In 1999 he presented the annual Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution in London. He was the recipient of the Burton Award from the American Physical Society in 2018. Among his books are the textbook Financial Market Complexity and the trade book Simply Complexity.

Jaksot(418)

293 | Doyne Farmer on Chaos, Crashes, and Economic Complexity

293 | Doyne Farmer on Chaos, Crashes, and Economic Complexity

A large economy is one of the best examples we have of complex dynamics. There are multiple components arranged in complicated overlapping hierarchies, out-of-equilibrium dynamics, nonlinear coupling ...

21 Loka 20241h 11min

292 | Jonathan Birch on Animal Sentience

292 | Jonathan Birch on Animal Sentience

It's not immoral to kick a rock; it is immoral to kick a baby. At what point do we start saying that it is wrong to cause pain to something? This question has less to do with "consciousness" and more ...

14 Loka 20241h 10min

AMA | October 2024

AMA | October 2024

Welcome to the October 2024 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Pat...

7 Loka 20244h 29min

291 | Venki Ramakrishnan on the Biology of Death and Aging

291 | Venki Ramakrishnan on the Biology of Death and Aging

Aging and death happen to the best of us, but there are increasing efforts to do something about it. That effort requires that we have some reasonable understanding of why aging happens, and what proc...

30 Syys 20241h 20min

290 | Hahrie Han on Making Multicultural Democracy Work

290 | Hahrie Han on Making Multicultural Democracy Work

It's a wonder democracy works at all -- a collection of people with potentially different interests have to agree to abide by majority vote even when it goes against their desires. But as we know, it ...

23 Syys 20241h 15min

289 | Cari Cesarotti on the Next Generation of Particle Experiments

289 | Cari Cesarotti on the Next Generation of Particle Experiments

As an experimental facility, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva has been extraordinarily successful, discovering the Higgs boson and measuring multiple features of particle-physics interactio...

16 Syys 20241h 21min

288 | Max Richter on the Meaning of Classical Music Today

288 | Max Richter on the Meaning of Classical Music Today

It wasn't that long ago, historically speaking, that you might put on your tuxedo or floor-length evening gown to go out and hear a live opera or symphony. But today's world is faster, more technologi...

9 Syys 20241h 6min

AMA | September 2024

AMA | September 2024

Welcome to the September 2024 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by P...

2 Syys 20243h 50min

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