This course is an accessible introduction to the application of complexity theory to the social sciences, the course will be primarily focused on the domain of sociology, but we will touch upon elements of psychology, anthropology, political science and economics.
This course is an overview of the new area of complexity economics, we start off with an overview of economic theory discussing our standard approach before going on to give a clear outline to the main ideas coming out of complexity
It is often said that we live in an increasingly complex world, the pace of change, the degree of connectivity and the scale of operations are leading to rapidly escalating complexity in many domains. As our industrial age systems of organization are ending their lifecycle, globalization, and information technology are taking us into a much more complex world and enabling the emergence of new forms of networked organization. This transition is in turn driving a fundamental transformation in our theory and methods of management, one that goes beyond our traditional paradigm designed for dealing with relatively static, hierarchical organizations within relatively stable and predictable environments, to more complex networked organizations that are adapted to operating i
Network theory is one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of science today with new breakthroughs coming every few years as we piece together a whole new way of looking at the world, a true paradigm shift that is all about connectivity. The study of network theory is a highly interdisciplinary field, which has emerged as a major topic of interest in various disciplines ranging from physics and mathematics, to biology and computer science to almost all areas of social science.
Complex adaptive systems are all around us from financial markets to ecosystems to the human immune system and even civilization itself, they consist of many agents that are acting and reacting to each other’s behavior, out of this often chaotic set of interactions emerges global patterns of organization in a dynamic world of constant change and evolution where nothing is fixed.
Emergence is one of the central concepts within systems and complexity theory as it describes a universal process of becoming or creation, a process whereby novel features and properties emerge when we put elementary parts together as they interact and self-organize to create new patterns of organization.
Thinking may come naturally to us but constructive reasoning certainly does not. Constructive thinking is a skill. It is certainly not true that we are naturally endowed with the ability to think clearly and logically; without learning how and without practicing. The same commitment, training, and skill that is required to be a good golfer, for playing tennis, building houses, or for playing some musical instrument are also required in order to be a good thinker. People who have nev
This course is an overview of the foundational concepts within system theory, in particular, it is focused on conveying what we call the systems paradigm that is the basic overarching principles that are common to all areas of systems thinking and theory. During the course we will be focused on systems thinking as a way of seeing the whole and the parts, seeing nonlinear causes instead of simple linear cause and effect, seeing dynamic patterns instead of flash shots of events.
This course is a comprehensive introduction to the area of systems thinking and theory that is designed to be accessible to a broad group of people. The course is focused on two primary achievements; Firstly providing students with the key concepts that will enable them to see the world in a whole new way from the systems perspective, what we call systems thinking.
Try our complexity theory 101 course, an introductory course designed to give you an overview of the central concepts within complexity theory
