, Complexity Science 1
Chapter 1
Exercise 1
For example, atoms forming molecules, molecules forming proteins etc.
Exercise 2
For example, both stress how essential complex phenomenon are and that they can be classified.
Anderson even argues that understanding emergence is a conceptually fundamental activity at least as
important as is particle physics.
Exercise 3
For example, an ontology consisting of hierarchies of processes seems to contain emergence as a defining
aspect of the world. It appears that the distinction between weak and strong emergence evaporates and
is replaced by an investigation of relationships between processes at different levels of the hierarchy.
Project 1
a) Epistemic: Phenomena that emerge because of the way we represent the world or obtain knowledge
about the world.
Ontological: genuinely new entities at higher levels such as objects, properties or causes.
b) Perhaps it would be interesting to discuss this in relation to optical phenomena such as the colour of
an object and the lightning or gestalt images such as the duck-rabbit drawing.
c) A short answer could be that we know the world epistemologically.
d) Simon seems to think in terms of epistemic complexity when he says "... not in an ultimate,
metaphysical sense, but in the important pragmatic sense...". His discussions of evolution and the
advantage of hierarchies is ontological. The summary blends epistemic and ontological emergence:
Simon mentions that the level of complexity depends on the description but the processes he
mentions appear to have an ontological status. Anderson’s description of emergence through
symmetry breaking is about ontology.
e) Seems that if at the deepest ontological level we have processes rather than things and if we
understand the world as processes the distinction between ontology and epistemology may fade away.
Project 2
a) Biology for example in cells, organs, organisms,..., flocks etc. Also, society for example with
individuals, families, organisations etc.
b) The answer may include a discussion about hierarchies of selective pressure, the relationship
between reproductive unit, the relation between "genotype" and "phenotype", and the difference
between adaptive change and evolutionary change.
c) Both ecosystems and society is organised hierarchically and even if ideal definitions of the building
blocks of these hierarchies are at present lacking it appears to be impossible to describe the
functionality and structure of, say, an ecosystem or, say, a political strucutre without some notion of
building blocks consisting of collections (a species for example)of individuals sharing some
relevant relations.
,2 Complexity Science
d) First to answer this, think about how to define biological species and social classes. One would then
probably conclude that we (at present) only can use these concepts at an epistemological level.
Project 3
a) Carefully go through Section 1.1
b) For example, when using a bicycle pump it feels like the air inside the pump is an elastic medium.
That the pressure of the gas gives rise to elasticity.
c) No, Anderson will not consider pressure as an emergent property belonging to the "more is
different" category.
d) If we go with Wheeler, any accumulated property seems to acquire "emergent property" status.
e) No, I cannot think of any.
, Complexity Science 3
Chapter 2
Exercise 1
a) Wolf packs, ant colonies, beehives, human tribes, companies, resting state neural network. Perhaps
neurosis, depression.
b) Punctuated equilibrium in macro-evolution. Social history is interspersed with political, cultural,
and technological revolutions. Neuronal bursts (or avalanches) In psychology, attention and
distraction are examples as well.
Exercise 2
Biology: Fireflies, crickets etc.
Physics: Coupled pendula, electronic circuits, etc.
Economics: Herding behaviour, exchange rate variation, etc.
Neuroscience: Epileptic seizures, circadian clock, brain waves as measured by EEG, etc.
Exercise 3
Social class as given by income level is an emergent structure in society. Self-perception emerges as a
consequence of our personal experience and history. Manstead demonstrates how the two are linked.
Exercise 4
Simon discusses typically shared properties amongst complex systems. He focuses on hierarchical
structure and presents arguments for why hierarchies naturally arise in heterogeneous many component
systems. The key term is "near decomposability". Simon concentrates on epistemology, in the conclusion
he writes: " How complex or simple a structure is dependent critically upon the way in which we describe
it." Anderson focuses on the ontological differences between the whole and the components. He refers
to symmetry breaking to describe the new reality that can emerge when many (in principle infinitely
many) interacting (and possibly identical) components form coherent structures.
Exercise 5
Below are some snapshots of possible considerations:
a) The individual scale: 1
The family scale: 2, ..., 10
The town or city: 103 - 106
Nations: 106 - 109
b) The biological cell: 10´6 m - 10´4 m
Plants: 10´3 m - 10m (perhaps 102 )
Clusters of trees: 102 m
Forests: 103 m - 104 m
c) Cell body of neuron: 10´6 - 10´4
𝑁
The axon 𝑚
Brain regions linear size: 10´2 m
Entire brain linear size 0.15m
d) The answer will depend on whether we think of the size of structures in terms of money or the
number of employees. One also needs to decide what to include in the structures of the financial
system. For example, one could focus on banks and find data on bank-size in Italy and China, it
would be of interest to look at the distribution of bank sizes. Perhaps look up the paper: Rank-size
Chapter 1
Exercise 1
For example, atoms forming molecules, molecules forming proteins etc.
Exercise 2
For example, both stress how essential complex phenomenon are and that they can be classified.
Anderson even argues that understanding emergence is a conceptually fundamental activity at least as
important as is particle physics.
Exercise 3
For example, an ontology consisting of hierarchies of processes seems to contain emergence as a defining
aspect of the world. It appears that the distinction between weak and strong emergence evaporates and
is replaced by an investigation of relationships between processes at different levels of the hierarchy.
Project 1
a) Epistemic: Phenomena that emerge because of the way we represent the world or obtain knowledge
about the world.
Ontological: genuinely new entities at higher levels such as objects, properties or causes.
b) Perhaps it would be interesting to discuss this in relation to optical phenomena such as the colour of
an object and the lightning or gestalt images such as the duck-rabbit drawing.
c) A short answer could be that we know the world epistemologically.
d) Simon seems to think in terms of epistemic complexity when he says "... not in an ultimate,
metaphysical sense, but in the important pragmatic sense...". His discussions of evolution and the
advantage of hierarchies is ontological. The summary blends epistemic and ontological emergence:
Simon mentions that the level of complexity depends on the description but the processes he
mentions appear to have an ontological status. Anderson’s description of emergence through
symmetry breaking is about ontology.
e) Seems that if at the deepest ontological level we have processes rather than things and if we
understand the world as processes the distinction between ontology and epistemology may fade away.
Project 2
a) Biology for example in cells, organs, organisms,..., flocks etc. Also, society for example with
individuals, families, organisations etc.
b) The answer may include a discussion about hierarchies of selective pressure, the relationship
between reproductive unit, the relation between "genotype" and "phenotype", and the difference
between adaptive change and evolutionary change.
c) Both ecosystems and society is organised hierarchically and even if ideal definitions of the building
blocks of these hierarchies are at present lacking it appears to be impossible to describe the
functionality and structure of, say, an ecosystem or, say, a political strucutre without some notion of
building blocks consisting of collections (a species for example)of individuals sharing some
relevant relations.
,2 Complexity Science
d) First to answer this, think about how to define biological species and social classes. One would then
probably conclude that we (at present) only can use these concepts at an epistemological level.
Project 3
a) Carefully go through Section 1.1
b) For example, when using a bicycle pump it feels like the air inside the pump is an elastic medium.
That the pressure of the gas gives rise to elasticity.
c) No, Anderson will not consider pressure as an emergent property belonging to the "more is
different" category.
d) If we go with Wheeler, any accumulated property seems to acquire "emergent property" status.
e) No, I cannot think of any.
, Complexity Science 3
Chapter 2
Exercise 1
a) Wolf packs, ant colonies, beehives, human tribes, companies, resting state neural network. Perhaps
neurosis, depression.
b) Punctuated equilibrium in macro-evolution. Social history is interspersed with political, cultural,
and technological revolutions. Neuronal bursts (or avalanches) In psychology, attention and
distraction are examples as well.
Exercise 2
Biology: Fireflies, crickets etc.
Physics: Coupled pendula, electronic circuits, etc.
Economics: Herding behaviour, exchange rate variation, etc.
Neuroscience: Epileptic seizures, circadian clock, brain waves as measured by EEG, etc.
Exercise 3
Social class as given by income level is an emergent structure in society. Self-perception emerges as a
consequence of our personal experience and history. Manstead demonstrates how the two are linked.
Exercise 4
Simon discusses typically shared properties amongst complex systems. He focuses on hierarchical
structure and presents arguments for why hierarchies naturally arise in heterogeneous many component
systems. The key term is "near decomposability". Simon concentrates on epistemology, in the conclusion
he writes: " How complex or simple a structure is dependent critically upon the way in which we describe
it." Anderson focuses on the ontological differences between the whole and the components. He refers
to symmetry breaking to describe the new reality that can emerge when many (in principle infinitely
many) interacting (and possibly identical) components form coherent structures.
Exercise 5
Below are some snapshots of possible considerations:
a) The individual scale: 1
The family scale: 2, ..., 10
The town or city: 103 - 106
Nations: 106 - 109
b) The biological cell: 10´6 m - 10´4 m
Plants: 10´3 m - 10m (perhaps 102 )
Clusters of trees: 102 m
Forests: 103 m - 104 m
c) Cell body of neuron: 10´6 - 10´4
𝑁
The axon 𝑚
Brain regions linear size: 10´2 m
Entire brain linear size 0.15m
d) The answer will depend on whether we think of the size of structures in terms of money or the
number of employees. One also needs to decide what to include in the structures of the financial
system. For example, one could focus on banks and find data on bank-size in Italy and China, it
would be of interest to look at the distribution of bank sizes. Perhaps look up the paper: Rank-size
