Complexity Digest 2011.13

2011/07/08

Editor-in-Chief: Carlos Gershenson
Founding Editor: Gottfried Mayer

Follow Lakeside Research Days 2011 (July 11-15) ow.ly/5zyxswith hashtag #LRD11 or at https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23LRD11

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Previous issue 2011.12 | Next issue 2011.14

Content

  1. Ten Simple Rules for Building and Maintaining a Scientific Reputation, PLoS Comput Biol
  2. A Universe of Galaxies, Science
  3. Eurekometrics: Analyzing the Nature of Discovery, PLoS Comput Biol
  4. Following the Crowd: Brain Substrates of Long-Term Memory Conformity, Science
  5. Jonathan Drori: The beautiful tricks of flowers, TED.com
    1. Nathan Myhrvold: Cooking as never seen before, TED.com
  6. Self-Organization Leads to Supraoptimal Performance in Public Transportation Systems, PLoS ONE
  7. Sex, Death, and the Red Queen, Science
    1. Running with the Red Queen: Host-Parasite Coevolution Selects for Biparental Sex, Science
  8. Organizational health: The ultimate competitive advantage, McKinsey Quaterly
  9. How Cells Cope with Obesity, PLoS Biol
  10. Corporate competition: A self-organized network, arXiv
  11. Learning, Memory, and the Role of Neural Network Architecture, PLoS Comput Biol
  12. Experiments on wireless power transfer with metamaterials, Appl. Phys. Lett.
  13. Multiagent System Applied to the Modeling and Simulation of Pedestrian Traffic in Counterflow, JASSS
  14. Reallocation Problems in Agent Societies: A Local Mechanism to Maximize Social Welfare, JASSS
  15. Statistical mechanics for natural flocks of birds, arXiv
  16. Review: Game theory of public goods in one-shot social dilemmas without assortment, Journal of Theoretical Biology
  17. Cash Advance, New Approach Aim to Relaunch Biosphere 2, Science
  18. Effective Theories for Circuits and Automata, arXiv
  19. Book Announcements
    1. The Biologist's Mistress: Rethinking Self-Organization in Art, Literature, and Nature, Emergent Publications
    2. Twenty Questions About a Unified Theory of Information: A Short Exploration into Information from a Complex Systems View, Emergent Publications
    3. Lo que cabe en el espacio: La geometría como pretexto para explorar nuestra realidad física y matemática, CopIt Arxives
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Other Publications
    2. Event Announcements
    3. Webcast Announcements
    4. Other Announcements

  1. Ten Simple Rules for Building and Maintaining a Scientific Reputation, PLoS Comput Biol Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Rule 1: Think Before You Act
    Rule 2: Do Not Ignore Criticism
    Rule 3: Do Not Ignore People
    Rule 4: Diligently Check Everything You Publish and Take Publishing Seriously
    Rule 5: Always Declare Conflicts of Interest
    Rule 6: Do Your Share for the Community
    Rule 7: Do Not Commit to Tasks You Cannot Complete
    Rule 8: Do Not Write Poor Reviews of Grants and Papers
    Rule 9: Do Not Write References for People Who Do Not Deserve It
    Rule 10: Never Plagiarize or Doctor Your Data

  2. A Universe of Galaxies, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: It wasn't until the 1920s that astronomers realized that there were other galaxies in the universe besides our own. (...) Nowadays there is no doubt that the universe extends well beyond the confines of the Milky Way and that our galaxy is just one among many. Telescopes much more powerful than those used by Hubble have produced ever-larger and more comprehensive surveys of galaxies. The detailed understanding of our galaxy has also evolved dramatically.
    • Source: A Universe of Galaxies, Maria Cruz, Robert Coontz, DOI: 10.1126/science.333.6039.169, Science Vol. 333 no. 6039 p. 169, 2011/07/08

  3. Eurekometrics: Analyzing the Nature of Discovery, PLoS Comput Biol Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Until recently, the quantitative study of science has focused on studying patterns in publications, such as citation counts to discern impact, and in coauthorship networks to discern collaboration. However, two major trends are converging that offer the field of scientometrics a novel opportunity to understand scientific discovery and also to influence how science is done. The first is the advent of vast computational resources and storage capacity available to scientists, and the second is automated science. These innovations offer the potential for a new type of scientometrics: quantitatively examining scientific discoveries themselves

  4. Following the Crowd: Brain Substrates of Long-Term Memory Conformity, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Human memory is strikingly susceptible to social influences, yet we know little about the underlying mechanisms. We examined how socially induced memory errors are generated in the brain by studying the memory of individuals exposed to recollections of others. Participants exhibited a strong tendency to conform to erroneous recollections of the group, producing both long-lasting and temporary errors, even when their initial memory was strong and accurate.

  5. Jonathan Drori: The beautiful tricks of flowers, TED.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

    About this talk: In this visually dazzling talk, Jonathan Drori shows the extraordinary ways flowering plants -- over a quarter million species -- have evolved to attract insects to spread their pollen: growing 'landing-strips' to guide the insects in, shining in ultraviolet, building elaborate traps, and even mimicking other insects in heat.

    1. Nathan Myhrvold: Cooking as never seen before, TED.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

      About this talk: Cookbook author (and geek) Nathan Myhrvold talks about his magisterial work, "Modernist Cuisine" -- and shares the secret of its cool photographic illustrations, which show cross-sections of food in the very act of being cooked.

  6. Self-Organization Leads to Supraoptimal Performance in Public Transportation Systems, PLoS ONE Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: In this paper, it is shown that self-organization can improve the performance of public transportation systems beyond the theoretical optimum by responding adaptively to local conditions.

  7. Sex, Death, and the Red Queen, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Sex is hard to explain. Since males can't reproduce by themselves and often contribute nothing except genes to offspring, a population of asexual females can grow at double the rate of a population that reproduces sexually. Why then, given this “cost of males,” do most plants and animals indulge in biparental sex? One possible solution is that sex accelerates adaptation; the Red Queen hypothesis, for example, proposes that sex gives plants and animals an edge in the never-ending battle against their coevolving parasites (...)

    1. Running with the Red Queen: Host-Parasite Coevolution Selects for Biparental Sex, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Most organisms reproduce through outcrossing, even though it comes with substantial costs. The Red Queen hypothesis proposes that selection from coevolving pathogens facilitates the persistence of outcrossing despite these costs. We used experimental coevolution to test the Red Queen hypothesis and found that coevolution with a bacterial pathogen (Serratia marcescens) resulted in significantly more outcrossing in mixed mating experimental populations of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Furthermore, we found that coevolution with the pathogen rapidly drove obligately selfing populations to extinction, whereas outcrossing populations persisted through reciprocal coevolution. Thus, consistent with the Red Queen hypothesis, coevolving pathogens can select for biparental sex.

  8. Organizational health: The ultimate competitive advantage, McKinsey Quaterly Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Our central message is that focusing on organizational health"the ability of your organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than your competitors can"is just as important as focusing on the traditional drivers of business performance. Organizational health is about adapting to the present and shaping the future faster and better than the competition. Healthy organizations don’t merely learn to adjust themselves to their current context or to challenges that lie just ahead; they create a capacity to learn and keep changing over time. This, we believe, is where ultimate competitive advantage

  9. How Cells Cope with Obesity, PLoS Biol Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Summary: This synopsis article explores a new approach to studying cellular lipid profiles, and how this approach leads to the proposal a compensatory mechanism that may help maintain the normal membrane function of adipocytes in the context of obesity.

  10. Corporate competition: A self-organized network, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: (...) we present a complex networks perspective on interfirm organizational networks by mapping, analyzing and modeling the spatial structure of a large interfirm competition network across a variety of sectors and industries within the United States. We propose two micro-dynamic models that are able to reproduce empirically observed characteristics of competition networks as a natural outcome of a minimal set of general mechanisms governing the formation of competition networks.

  11. Learning, Memory, and the Role of Neural Network Architecture, PLoS Comput Biol Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Information processing systems, such as natural biological networks and artificial computational networks, exhibit a strong interdependence between structural organization and functional performance. However, the extent to which variations in structure impact performance is not well understood, particularly in systems whose functionality must be simultaneously flexible and stable. By statistically analyzing the behavior of network systems during flexible learning and stable memory processes, we quantify the impact of structural variations on the ability of the network to learn, modify, and retain representations of information.

  12. Experiments on wireless power transfer with metamaterials, Appl. Phys. Lett. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In this letter, we propose the use of metamaterials to enhance the evanescent wave coupling and improve the transfer efficiency of a wireless power transfer system based on coupled resonators. A magnetic metamaterial is designed and built for a wireless power transfer system. We show with measurement results that the power transfer efficiency of the system can be improved significantly by the metamaterial. We also show that the fabricated system can be used to transfer power wirelessly to a 40 W light bulb.

  13. Multiagent System Applied to the Modeling and Simulation of Pedestrian Traffic in Counterflow, JASSS Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: The main contribution of this work is the definition of a pedestrian crowd model by applying ideas from the field of the kinetic theory of living systems on the one hand, and ideas from the field of computational agents on the other hand.

  14. Reallocation Problems in Agent Societies: A Local Mechanism to Maximize Social Welfare, JASSS Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Resource reallocation problems are common in real life and therefore gain an increasing interest in Computer Science and Economics [...] We propose a multi-agent method based on autonomous agents endowed with a local knowledge and local interactions. Our approach features a more realistic environment based on social networks, inside which we provide the behavior for the agents and the negotiation settings required for them to lead the negotiation processes towards socially optimal allocations.

  15. Statistical mechanics for natural flocks of birds, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Interactions among neighboring birds in a flock cause an alignment of their flight directions. We show that the minimally structured (maximum entropy) model consistent with these local correlations correctly predicts the propagation of order throughout entire flocks of starlings, with no free parameters. These models are mathematically equivalent to the Heisenberg model of magnetism (...)

  16. Review: Game theory of public goods in one-shot social dilemmas without assortment, Journal of Theoretical Biology Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: We review the theory of public goods in biology.

  17. Cash Advance, New Approach Aim to Relaunch Biosphere 2, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Summary: The University of Arizona, aided by two major gifts last week, is pushing ahead with plans to revive the scientific fortunes of Biosphere 2, the massive, enclosed facility in the Arizona desert.

  18. Effective Theories for Circuits and Automata, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Abstracting an effective theory from a complicated process is central to the study of complexity. Even when the underlying mechanisms are understood, or at least measurable, the presence of dissipation and irreversibility in biological, computational and social systems makes the problem harder. Here we demonstrate the construction of effective theories in the presence of both irreversibility and noise, in a dynamical model with underlying feedback. We use the Krohn-Rhodes theorem to show how the composition of underlying mechanisms can lead to innovations in the emergent effective theory. We show how dissipation fundamentally limits the lifetimes of these emergent structures, even though, on short timescales, the group properties may be enriched compared to their noiseless counterparts.

  19. Book Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. The Biologist's Mistress: Rethinking Self-Organization in Art, Literature, and Nature, Emergent Publications Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Description:
      Drawing on her experiences as a complexity theorist, novelist and art theorist, Victoria Alexander takes us "inside" paradoxically purposeful self-organizing entities (which somehow make themselves without having selves yet to do the making), and she shows us how poetic-like relationships--things coincidentally like each other or metaphoric, and things coincidentally near each other or metonymic--help form organization where there was none before. She suggests that it is these chance language-like processes that result in emergent design and selfhood, thereby offering an alternative to postmodern theories that have unfairly snubbed the purposeful artist. Alexander claims that what has been missing from the general discussion of purposefulness is a theory of creativity, without which there can be no purposeful action, only robotic execution of inherited design. Thus revising while reviving teleology, she offers us a non-essentialist conception of selfhood as an achievement that can be more than a momentary stay against the second law.

    2. Twenty Questions About a Unified Theory of Information: A Short Exploration into Information from a Complex Systems View, Emergent Publications Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Description:
      While a considerable number of scientists still today disbelieve in the feasibility of a single generic concept of information, there are several attempts to hypothesize or theorize information in a unifying manner carried out by a strong minority of scientists. However, the camp of the "unifiers" itself is heterogeneous. The 'Unified Theory of Information', as Wolfgang Hofkirchner came to term his own approach, links information to self-organization. It elaborates on arguments of dialectical philosophy in order to avoid both the pitfalls of reductionism and dualism and seeks to reconcile the 'hard' and 'soft' science perspectives of information.

    3. Lo que cabe en el espacio: La geometría como pretexto para explorar nuestra realidad física y matemática, CopIt Arxives Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Description:
      ¿Cuánto cabe en nuestro espacio? ¿Por qué sólo pueden existir cinco poliedros regulares y no seis? ¿Qué figuras llenan el plano y el espacio? ¿Es el espacio una generalización trivial del plano? ¿Podemos notar si estamos en un plano curveado o si estamos sobre él? En lenguaje casi coloquial, despegaremos figuras del espacio para rotarlas en cuatro dimensiones, contaremos poliedros en dimensiones superiores y nos preguntaremos acerca de las propiedades fundamentales del espacio. En este libro se devela cómo una parte de las matemáticas describen las propiedades más fundamentales del espacio en que vivimos y por lo tanto de la realidad en la que estamos inmersos.

  20. Links & Snippets Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Other Publications Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Topological conditions of scale-free networks for cooperation to evolve, Dong-Ping Yang, Hai Lin, Chen-Xu Wu and Jianwei Shuai, 2011/06/27, arXiv:1106.5386
      2. Towards a characterization of behavior-disease models, Nicola Perra, Duygu Balcan, Bruno Gonçalves, Alessandro Vespignani, 2011/07/05, arXiv:1107.0997
      3. Complexity measures, emergence, and multiparticle correlations, Tobias Galla, Otfried Gühne, 2011/07/06, arXiv:1107.1180
      4. Defining the role of cooperation in early tumor progression, Krepkin K, Costa J, July 2011, Journal of Theoretical Biology, in Press, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.06.035

    2. Event Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Lipari School on the Game Theoretic Approach to Computational Complex Systems, Lipari Island, Italy, 2011/07/9-16
      2. Applications of Self-Organization in Technology (Research Days 2011, Lakeside Labs), Klagenfurt, Austria, 2011/07/11-15 Follow reports @cxdig
      3. GECCO 2011: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 2011/07/12-16
      4. IJCAI 2011, the 22nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Barcelona, Spain, 2011/07/16-22
      5. The 10th International Conference on Artificial Immune Systems, Cambridge, UK, 2011/07/18-21
      6. 29th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, Washington, DC, USA, 2011/07/24-28
      7. The 7th International Conference on Intelligent Environments - IE'11, Nottingham, UK, 2011/07/25-26
      8. Third International Workshop on nonlinear Dynamics and Synchronization -- INDS'11 Sixteenth International Symposium on Theoretical Electrical Engineering -- ISTET'11, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria, 2011/07/25-27
      9. International Workshop on Game Theory and Society: Models of Social Interaction in Sociological Research, Zurich, 2011/07/27-30
      10. Summer School Course: Emergence, Explanation and Complexity. Prof. Alan Baker, Aarhus, Denmark, 2011/08/1-26
      11. ECAL 11: European Conference on Artificial Life, Paris, France, 2011/08/8-12
      12. The Effect of DNA Sequence and Structure on Genome Evolution, Rutgers University, NJ, USA, 2011/08/9-11
      13. 1st Annual Conference on Integral Biomathics, Stirling, Scotland, 2011/08/29-31
      14. TAROS 2011: 12th Conference Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems, Sheffield, UK, 2011/08/31-09/02
      15. The 2011 International Conference on Adaptive & Intelligent Systems - ICAIS'11, Klagenfurt, Austria, 2011/09/06-08
      16. ICMC 2011 - 2nd International Conference on Morphological Computation, Venice, Italy, 2011/09/12-14
      17. European Conference on Complex Systems 2011, Vienna, Austria, 2011/09/12-16
      18. The 15th WOSC INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS on CYBERNETICS and SYSTEMS, Nanjing, China, 2011/09/15-18
      19. Interdisciplinary Symposium on Complex Systems, Halkidiki, Greece, 2011/09/19-25
      20. ICCCI 2011 3rd International Conference on Computational Collective Intelligence: Technologies and Applications, Gdynia, Poland, 2011/09/21-23
      21. World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, 2011/09/26-30
      22. SCIENCE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT - ENVIRONMENT FOR SOCIETY, Aarhus, Denmark, 2011/10/5-6
      23. The Third International Conference on Social Informatics (SocInfo2011), Singapore, 2011/10/6-8
      24. SSS 2011 - 13th International Symposium on Stabilization, Safety, and Security of Distributed Systems, Grenoble, France, 2011/10/10-12
      25. EPIA2011 - 15th Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Lisbon, Portugal, 2011/10/10-13
      26. XII Latin American Workshop on Nonlinear Phenomena (LAWNP-2011), San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 2011/10/10-15
      27. Complexity in Business Conference, Washington, DC, USA, 2011/10/14
      28. 2nd International Business Complexity & the Global Leader Conference, Boston, MA, USA, 2011/10/17-19
      29. Third World Congress on Nature and Biologically Inspired Computing (NaBIC2011), Salamanca, Spain, 2011/10/19-21
      30. AMBIENT 2011: The First International Conference on Ambient Computing, Applications, Services and Technologies and SIMUL 2011: The Third International Conference on Advances in System Simulation, Barcelona, Spain, 2011/10/23-28
      31. 3rd International Joint Conference on Computational Intelligence, Paris, France, 2011/10/24-26
      32. Complex Adaptive Systems: Energy, Information, and Intelligence, AAAI Fall Symposium; Arlington, VA, 2011/11/4-6
      33. Workshop on Complex Systems as Computing Models (WCSCM2011), Mexico City, Mexico, 2011/11/9-10
      34. VI Congreso Bienal Internacional Complejidad 2012, Havana, Cuba, 2012/01/10-13
      35. 38th International Conference on Current Trends in Theory and Practice of Computer Science, Špindlerův Mlýn, Czech Republic, 2012/01/21"27
      36. 4th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - ICAART 2012, Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal, 2012/02/6-8
      37. Collective Intelligence 2012, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2012/04/18-20

    3. Webcast Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Complex Systems: The Challenge of Prediction, Yaneer Bar-Yam, NECSI and MIT/ESD Seminar, 2011/04/08
      2. Lakeside Research Days 2010.
      3. Smarter Cities NYC. Posted on 2009/10/05
      4. ASSYST Digital Library. Since 09/09
      5. Complex Systems Teleconferences. Since 09/09
      6. Symmetry Festival 2009, Budapest, Hungary, 09/08/1-4.
      7. International Workshop on Coping with Crises in Complex Socio-Economic Systems, Zurich, Switzerland, 09/06/8-12
      8. Memorial Service for Dr Gottfried Mayer, Founding Editor Complexity Digest, Taipei, Taiwan (1954-2009). Video [RM], 09/02/13
      9. Making Connections: In Memory and Celebration of the Life of Dr. Gottfried Mayer (1954-2009). Video [RM] [MPG], 09/02/13
      10. Eulogy for Gottfried Mayer by Dean LeBaron [WMV, 25 Mb], [RM, 10 Mb], 09/02/10
      11. Can Ants Solve Traffic Jams?, Danielle Parsons, Slatev.com, 08/07/22
      12. Reseau Nationale des Systemes Complexes , (in French), 2007
      13. World Economic Forum , Davos, Switzerland, 08/01/22-27
      14. TED Talks, TED Conferences LLC , since 2006
      15. Talking Robots: The PodCast on Robotics and AI, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 06/11/03
      16. Potentials of Complexity Science for Business, Governments, and the Media 2006, Budapest, Hungary, 06/08/03-05
      17. 6th Intl Conf on Complex Systems (ICCS), Boston, MA, 06/06/25-30
      18. Artificial Life X, 10th Intl Conf on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems, Bloomington, IN, USA. 2006/06/03-07
      19. 6th Understanding Complex Systems Symposium, Urbana-Champaign, Il, 06/05/15-18
      20. Illuminating the Shadow of the Future, Ann Arbor, Mi 05/09/23-25
      21. Open Network of Centres of Excellence in Complex Systems - Brainstorming Meeting, Paris, France 05/09/19-23
      22. Complexity, Science & Society Conference 2005, U. Liverpool, UK 2005/09/11-14
      23. ECAL 2005 - VIIIth European Conference on Artificial Life, Canterbury, Kent, UK 2005/09/5-9
      24. T. Irene Sanders, Executive Director and Founder, The Washington Center for Complexity & Public Policy, 05/08/27, QuickTime video (10:38 min), Podcast
      25. North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity 2005 Conference, Virtual Conference Network, St. Pete's Beach, Florida, 05/06/09-11
      26. Understanding Complex Systems - Computational Complexity and Bioinformatics, Virtual Conference Network, Urbana-Champaign, Il, UIUC, 05/05/16-19
      27. Nonlinearity, Fluctuations, and Complexity, with a celebration of the 65th birthday of Gregoire Nicolis. , Complexity Session, Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, 05/03/16
      28. 1st European Conference on Complex Systems, Torino, Italy, 04/12/5-7
      29. From Autopoiesis to Neurophenomenology: A Tribute to Francisco Varela (1946-2001), Paris, France, 2004/06/18-20
      30. Evolutionary Epistemology, Language, and Culture, Brussels, Belgium, 04/05/26-28
      31. International Conference on Complex Systems 2004, Boston, 04/05/16-21
      32. Nonlinear Dynamics And Chaos: Lab Demonstrations, Strogatz, Steven H., Internet-First University Press, 1994
      33. CERN Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and Live Events
      34. Dean LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since February 1998
      35. Edge Videos

    4. Other Announcements Bookmark and Share


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