Complexity Theory from Machines to Ecosystems

In this video we look at some of the key themes within complex systems theory contrasting this new paradigm with that of the Newtonian mechanistic paradigm. Complexity has proven to be a fundamental feature to our world that is not amenable to our traditional methods of modern science, and thus as researchers have encountered it within many different areas from computer science to ecology to engineering they have had to develop new sets of models and methods for approaching it. Out of these different frameworks has emerged a core set of commonalities that over the past few decades has come to be recognized as a generic framework for studying complex systems in the abstract. Complexity theory encompasses a very broad and very diverse set of models and methods, as yet there is no proper formulation to structure and give definition to this framework, thus we will present it as a composite of four main areas that encompasses the different major perspective on complex systems and how to best interpret them.