Complexity Digest 2012.02

2012/01/20

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

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Content

  1. No entailing laws, but enablement in the evolution of the biosphere, arXiv
  2. Simultaneously Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change and Improving Human Health and Food Security, Science
  3. Five technologies to watch, McKinsey Quaterly
  4. What is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation?, edge.org
  5. Clay Shirky: Why SOPA is a bad idea, TED.com
    1. Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology, TED.com
    2. Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier, TED.com
  6. Natural selection: A concept in need of some evolution?, Complexity
  7. Frontiers in biology, Nature
  8. Evolution of increased complexity in a molecular machine, Nature
  9. The h-index, or the academic equivalent of the stag's antlers, guardian.co.uk
  10. Characterizing Interdisciplinarity of Researchers and Research Topics Using Web Search Engines, arXiv
  11. Schelling, Hegel, and Evolutionary Progress, Perspectives on Science
  12. The evolutionary basis of human social learning, Proc. R. Soc. B
  13. Neuropsychological constraints to human data production on a global scale, Eur. Phys. J. B
  14. Complexity of networks (Reprise), Complexity
    1. The influence of assortativity on the robustness of signal-integration logic in gene regulatory networks, Journal of Theoretical Biology
  15. A correlational study assessing the relationships among information technology project complexity, project complication, and project success, Capella University
    1. A Network Perspective on Software Modularity, arXiv
  16. Evolution of public cooperation on interdependent networks: The impact of biased utility functions, arXiv
  17. The earthquakes network: the role of cell size, Eur. Phys. J. B
  18. Ubiquitousness of link-density and link-pattern communities in real-world networks, Eur. Phys. J. B
    1. Community overlays upon real-world complex networks, Eur. Phys. J. B
  19. Book Announcements
    1. Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, Free Press
    2. Nonlinearity, Complexity and Randomness in Economics: Towards Algorithmic Foundations for Economics, Wiley-Blackwell
    3. Posthuman International Relations: Complexity, Ecologism and Global Politics, Zed Books
    4. The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World, Broadway
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Other Publications
    2. Event Announcements
    3. Video Announcements
    4. Other Announcements

  1. No entailing laws, but enablement in the evolution of the biosphere, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Biological evolution is a complex blend of ever changing structural stability, variability and emergence of new phenotypes, niches, ecosystems. We wish to argue that the evolution of life marks the end of a physics world view of law entailed dynamics. Our considerations depend upon discussing the variability of the very "contexts of life": the interactions between organisms, biological niches and ecosystems. These are ever changing, intrinsically indeterminate and even unprestatable: we do not know ahead of time the "niches" which constitute the boundary conditions on selection. More generally, by the mathematical unprestatability of the "phase space" (space of possibilities), no laws of motion can be formulated for evolution. We call this radical emergence, from life to life. (…)

  2. Simultaneously Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change and Improving Human Health and Food Security, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Tropospheric ozone and black carbon (BC) contribute to both degraded air quality and global warming. We considered ~400 emission control measures to reduce these pollutants by using current technology and experience. We identified 14 measures targeting methane and BC emissions that reduce projected global mean warming ~0.5°C by 2050. This strategy avoids 0.7 to 4.7 million annual premature deaths from outdoor air pollution and increases annual crop yields by 30 to 135 million metric tons due to ozone reductions in 2030 and beyond. Benefits of methane emissions reductions are valued at $700 to $5000 per metric ton, which is well above typical marginal abatement costs (less than $250). The selected controls target different sources and influence climate on shorter time scales than those of carbon dioxide"reduction measures. Implementing both substantially reduces the risks of crossing the 2°C threshold.

  3. Five technologies to watch, McKinsey Quaterly Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Innovation in energy technology is taking place rapidly. Five technologies you may not have heard of could be ready to change the energy landscape by 2020.
    1. Grid-scale storage.
    2. Digital-power conversion.
    3. Compressorless air conditioning and electrochromic windows.
    4. Clean coal.
    5. Biofuels and electrofuels.

    Editor's Note: Technology can reduce the pollution produced by burning coal. However, the ecological damage of coal extraction should also be considered.

  4. What is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation?, edge.org Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Since this question is about explanation, answers may embrace scientific thinking in the broadest sense: as the most reliable way of gaining knowledge about anything, including other fields of inquiry such as philosophy, mathematics, economics, history, political theory, literary theory, or the human spirit. The only requirement is that some simple and non-obvious idea explain some diverse and complicated set of phenomena. [192 contributors]

  5. Clay Shirky: Why SOPA is a bad idea, TED.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

    About this talk: What does a bill like PIPA/SOPA mean to our shareable world? At the TED offices, Clay Shirky delivers a proper manifesto -- a call to defend our freedom to create, discuss, link and share, rather than passively consume.

    1. Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology, TED.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

      About this talk: We have no ways to directly observe molecules and what they do -- Drew Berry wants to change that. At TEDxSydney he shows his scientifically accurate (and entertaining!) animations that help researchers see unseeable processes within our own cells.

    2. Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier, TED.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

      About this talk: We all want customized experiences and products -- but when faced with 700 options, consumers freeze up. With fascinating new research, Sheena Iyengar demonstrates how businesses (and others) can improve the experience of choosing.

  6. Natural selection: A concept in need of some evolution?, Complexity Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In some respects natural selection is a quite simple theory, arrived at through the logical integration of three propositions (the presence of variation within natural populations, an absolutely limited resources base, and procreation capacities exceeding mere replacement numbers) whose individual truths can hardly be denied. Its relation to the larger subject of evolution, however, remains problematic. It is suggested here thata scaling-down of the meaning of natural selection to “the elimination of the unfit,” as originally intended by Alfred Russel Wallace (1823"1913), might ultimately prove a more effective means of relating it to larger-scale, longer-term, evolutionary processes.

  7. Frontiers in biology, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: The Nature Insight 'Frontiers in Biology' aims to cover timely and important developments in biology, ranging from the subcellular to the organismal level, and including molecular mechanisms and biomedicine. In this Insight the reviews discuss the role of innate immune signalling in tissue homeostasis and the response to infection, how understanding the DNA damage response has guided the development of inhibitors and helped to establish new principles for treating cancer, the potential therapeutic promise of patient-derived pluripotent stem cells, the forces that govern tumour evolution and the impact of mouse genetics on the study of bone physiology.
    • Source: Frontiers in biology, Alex Eccleston, Angela Eggleston, Marie-Thérèse Heemels, Barbara Marte & Ursula Weiss, DOI: 10.1038/481277a, Nature 481, 277, 2012/01/19

  8. Evolution of increased complexity in a molecular machine, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Many cellular processes are carried out by molecular ‘machines’"assemblies of multiple differentiated proteins that physically interact to execute biological functions. Despite much speculation, strong evidence of the mechanisms by which these assemblies evolved is lacking. Here we use ancestral gene resurrectionand manipulative genetic experiments to determine how the complexity of an essential molecular machine (…) increased hundreds of millions of years ago. (…) Our experiments show that increased complexity in an essential molecular machine evolved because of simple, high-probability evolutionary processes, without the apparent evolution of novel functions. They point to a plausible mechanism for the evolution of complexity in other multi-paralogue protein complexes.

  9. The h-index, or the academic equivalent of the stag's antlers, guardian.co.uk Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Many scientists worry that theirs isn't big enough. Even those who sniff that size isn't everything probably can't resist taking a peek to see how they compare with their rivals. The truly desperate can google for dodgy techniques to make theirs bigger. I'm talking about the h-index, a number that supposedly measures the quality of a researcher's output. And if the schoolboy double entendres seem puerile, there does seem to be something decidedly male about the notion of a number that rates your prowess and ranks you in a league table. (…)

  10. Characterizing Interdisciplinarity of Researchers and Research Topics Using Web Search Engines, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Researchers' networks have been subject to active modeling and analysis. Earlier literature mostly focused on citation or co-authorship networks reconstructed from annotated scientific publication databases. General-purpose web search engines have also been utilized recently. However, the scope of those earlier studies was limited to networks reconstructed from data taken from a particular domain. Here we reconstructed, using web search engines, a network representing the relatedness of researchers to their peers as well as various research topics. Relatedness between researchers and research topics was characterized by visibility boost-increase of a researcher's visibility by focusing on a particular topic. (…)

  11. Schelling, Hegel, and Evolutionary Progress, Perspectives on Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: This article presents Schelling's claim that nature has an evolutionary process and Hegel's response that nature is the development of the concept. It then examines whether evolution is progressive. This article argues that, insofar as a notion of progress is conceptually ineliminatable from evolutionary biology or required to articulate the shape of life's history, progress should be viewed as constitutive.

  12. The evolutionary basis of human social learning, Proc. R. Soc. B Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Recent formal theory predicts that natural selection should favour adaptive learning strategies, but relevant empirical work is scarce and rarely examines multiple strategies or tasks. We tested nine hypotheses derived from theoretical models, [...] Our analysis provides strong support for the hypothesis that human social learning is regulated by adaptive learning rules.

  13. Neuropsychological constraints to human data production on a global scale, Eur. Phys. J. B Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Which are the factors underlying human information production on a global level? In order to gain an insight into this question we study a corpus of 252"633 mil. publicly available data files on the Internet corresponding to an overall storage volume of 284"675 Terabytes. Analyzing the file size distribution for several distinct data types we find indications that the neuropsychological capacity of the human brain to process and record information may constitute the dominant limiting factor for the overall growth of globally stored information, with real-world economic constraints having only a negligible influence. This supposition draws support from the observation that the files size distributions follow a power law for data without a time component, like images, and a log-normal distribution for multimedia files, for which time is a defining qualia.

  14. Complexity of networks (Reprise), Complexity Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: Network or graph structures are ubiquitous in the study of complex systems. Often, we are interested in complexity trends of these system as it evolves under some dynamic. An example might be looking at the complexity of a food web as species enter an ecosystem via migration or speciation, and leave via extinction. (…) In this article, I propose a new representation language that encodes the number of links along with the number of nodes and a representation of the linklist. This, like zcomplexity, exhibits minimal complexity for fully connected and empty networks, but is as tractable as the original measure. This measure is extended to directed and weighted links, and several real-world networks have their network complexities compared with randomly generated model networks with matched node and link counts, and matched link weight distributions. (…)

    1. The influence of assortativity on the robustness of signal-integration logic in gene regulatory networks, Journal of Theoretical Biology Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Highlights: - We study how topology affects the robustness of gene regulatory networks (GRNs). - We examine the effects on robustness of varying assortativity in models of GRNs. - Robustness increases with increasing assortativity. - Increased assortativity reduces in-component sizes, which leads to higher robustness.

  15. A correlational study assessing the relationships among information technology project complexity, project complication, and project success, Capella University Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: The specific problem addressed in this study was the low success rate of information technology (IT) projects in the U.S. Due to the abstract nature and inherent complexity of software development, IT projects are among the most complex projects encountered. Most existing schools of project management theory are based on the rational systems view; however, for projects with a high degree of complexity, a complex adaptive systems view more effectively describes the full range of project behavior. (…) Results indicated IT project complexity and IT project complication were positively correlated, but IT project complexity had a greater negative correlation with IT project success.

    1. A Network Perspective on Software Modularity, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Modularity is a desirable characteristic for software systems. In this article we propose to use a quantitative method from complex network sciences to estimate the coherence between the modularity of the dependency network of large open source Java projects and their decomposition in terms of Java packages. The results presented in this article indicate that our methodology others a promising and reasonable quantitative approach with potential impact on software engineering processes.

  16. Evolution of public cooperation on interdependent networks: The impact of biased utility functions, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: We study the evolution of public cooperation on two interdependent networks that are connected by means of a utility function, which determines to what extent payoffs in one network influence the success of players in the other network. We find that the stronger the bias in the utility function, the higher the level of public cooperation. Yet the benefits of enhanced public cooperation on the two networks are just as biased as the utility functions themselves. While cooperation may thrive on one network, the other may still be plagued by defectors. (…)

  17. The earthquakes network: the role of cell size, Eur. Phys. J. B Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: The complex network theory is a way to investigate the complex systems with minimum information about their entities and corresponding interactions. There is a growing interest to studying the earthquake phenomena by the method of networks. Several network features characterize the complexity of seismic events. Unfortunately they depend on how we construct the network. Here we study the role of cell size or in other word the resolution on the network properties for the Iran’s seismic data. We have found that all the network topological features vary as a power of the resolution. Furthermore by increasing the resolution, the networks become random and uncorrelated.

  18. Ubiquitousness of link-density and link-pattern communities in real-world networks, Eur. Phys. J. B Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Community structure appears to be an intrinsic property of many complex real-world networks. However, recent work shows that real-world networks reveal even more sophisticated modules than classical cohesive (link-density) communities. In particular, networks can also be naturally partitioned according to similar patterns of connectedness among the nodes, revealing link-pattern communities. We here propose a propagation based algorithm that can extract both link-density and link-pattern communities, without any prior knowledge of the true structure. The algorithm was first validated on different classes of synthetic benchmark networks with community structure, and also on random networks. We have further applied the algorithm to different social, information, technological and biological networks, where it indeed reveals meaningful (composites of) link-density and link-pattern communities. The results thus seem to imply that, similarly as link-density counterparts, link-pattern communities appear ubiquitous in nature and design.

    1. Community overlays upon real-world complex networks, Eur. Phys. J. B Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpt: Many networks are characterized by the presence of communities, densely intra-connected groups with sparser inter-connections between groups. We propose a community overlay network representation to capture large-scale properties of communities. (…)

  19. Book Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, Free Press Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary:
      We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages, twenty, seventy? Such feats of linguistic prowess provide a glimpse into what the human brain is capable of and hold up a mirror to our desire to live without language barriers on a shrinking planet. In this book, Michael Erard sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like the nineteenth-century Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages and was such a legend that when he died people all over Europe vied for his skull.

    2. Nonlinearity, Complexity and Randomness in Economics: Towards Algorithmic Foundations for Economics, Wiley-Blackwell Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary:
      This book presents a variety of papers by leading economists, scientists, and philosophers who focus on different aspects of nonlinearity, complexity and randomness, and their implications for economics. It features an interdisciplinary collection of papers by economists, scientists, and philosophers, presents new approaches to macroeconomic modelling, agent-based modelling, financial markets, and emergent complexity and reveals how economics today must be based on algorithmic, computable mathematical foundations.

    3. Posthuman International Relations: Complexity, Ecologism and Global Politics, Zed Books Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary:
      In this bold intervention, Cudworth and Hobden draw on recent advances in thinking about complexity theory to call for a profound re-envisioning of the study of international relations. As a discipline, IR is wedded to the enlightenment project of overcoming the "hazards" of nature, and thus remains constrained by its blinkered "human-centered" approach. Furthermore, as a means of predicting major global-political events and trends, it has failed consistently. Instead, the authors argue, it is essential we develop a much more nuanced and sophisticated analysis of global political systems, taking into account broader environmental circumstances, as well as social relations, economic practices, and formations of political power.

    4. The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World, Broadway Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary:
      This book recounts the life and work of four men who met as students at Cambridge University: Charles Babbage, John Herschel, William Whewell, and Richard Jones. Recognizing that they shared a love of science, they began to meet on Sunday mornings to talk about the state of science in Britain and the world at large. This philosophical breakfast club plotted to bring about a new scientific revolution and to a remarkable extent, they succeeded, even in ways they never intended. This book exposes the political passions, religious impulses, friendships, rivalries, and love of knowledge and power that drove these extraordinary men. Whewell (who not only invented the word "scientist" but also founded the fields of crystallography, mathematical economics, and the science of tides), Babbage (a mathematical genius who invented the modern computer), Herschel (who mapped the skies of the Southern Hemisphere and contributed to the invention of photography), and Jones (a curate who shaped the science of economics) were at the vanguard of the modernization of science.

  20. Links & Snippets Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Other Publications Next Article Bookmark and Share

    2. Event Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. 38th International Conference on Current Trends in Theory and Practice of Computer Science, Špindlerův Mlýn, Czech Republic, 2012/01/21-27
      2. 4th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - ICAART 2012, Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal, 2012/02/6-8
      3. WIVACE 2012 Italian Workshop on Artificial Life and Evolutionary Computation "Artificial Life, Evolution and Complexity" , Parma, Italy, 2012/02/20-21
      4. 3rd Workshop on Complex Networks, Melbourne, Florida, USA, 2012/03/7-9
      5. evostar - the main european events on evolutionary computation eurogp, evocop, evobio, evomusart and evoapplications, Málaga, Spain, 2012/03/11-13
      6. 9th International Conference on the Evolution of Language (Evolang IX), Kyoto, Japan, 2012/03/13-16
      7. IWSOS'12 (Sixth International Workshop on Self-Organizing Systems), Delft, The Netherlands, 2012/03/15-16
      8. 5th International Nonlinear Science Conference 2012, Barcelona, Spain, 2011/03/15-17
      9. IPCAT 2012: Ninth International Conference on Information Processing in Cells and Tissues, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2012/03/31-04/02
      10. 21st European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research, Vienna, Austria, 2012/04/10-13
      11. Collective Intelligence 2012, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2012/04/18-20
      12. 1st Annual Conference on Complexity and Human Experience: Modeling Complexity in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Charlotte, NC, USA, 2012/05/30-06/01
      13. 2012 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence, Brisbane, Australia, 2012/06/10-15
      14. CiE 2012 Turing Centenary conference: How the World Computes, Cambridge, UK, 2012/06/18-23
      15. Cellular Automata Algorithms & Architectures (CAAA 2012), Madrid, Spain, 2012/07/2-6
      16. 2012 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2012), Philadelphia, USA, 2012/07/7-11
      17. 25th European Conference on Operational Research, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2012/07/8-11
      18. ALife XIII: The Thirteenth International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems, Lansig, Michigan, USA, 2012/08/19-22
      19. 12th International Conference on Adaptive Behaviour (SAB2012), Odense, Denmark, 2012/08/27-31
      20. 12th International Conference on Parallel Problem Solving From Nature (PPSN2012), Taormina, Italy, 2012/09/1-5
      21. ECCS'12: European Conference on Complex Systems, Brussels, Belgium, 2012/09/3-7
      22. 6th IEEE International Conference on Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems (SASO 2012), Lyon, France, 2012/09/10-14
      23. Interdisciplinary Symposium on Complex Systems, Kos island, Greece, 2012/09/19-25
      24. 10th International Conference on Cellular Automata for Research and Industry (ACRI 2012), Santorini Island, Greece, 2012/09/24-27
      25. IBERAMIA 2012: 13th Ibero-American Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 2012/11/13-16

    3. Video Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Complexity Digest videos and Webcast Archive.
      2. Lakeside Labs videos.
      3. FuturICT videos.
      4. Brain-Mind Institute webinars
      5. IFISC@uib.es seminars.
      6. ASSYST Digital Library.
      7. TED Talks.
      8. Edge Videos
      9. CERN Webcast Service.
      10. Dean LeBaron's Video Casts.

    4. Other Announcements Bookmark and Share


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