Complexity Digest 2003.15
  Archive: http://comdig.unam.mx
  "I think the next century will be the century of complexity." Stephen Hawking, 2000.
  1. Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable, Conference Webcast
    1. Smart Heuristics, edge.org
  2. Predator Or Prey? Parasitic Enterprises In Economic Development, Euro. Econ. Rev.
  3. New Fusion Method Offers Hope of New Energy Source, NYTimes
  4. A Brief History of the Multiverse, NYTimes
    1. The Dark Side, Nature
  5. Genetics To Unlock Secrets Of Our African Past, Nature
  6. Play-by-Play Imaging Rewrites Cells' Rules, Science
    1. Cell Motility: Making Streams, Nature
  7. “Shyness Gene” Discovered, Health-News.co.uk
  8. Spying on the Brain, One Neuron at a Time, Science
    1. Emergence Of Synchronous Oscillations In Neural Networks Excited By Noise, Physica D
  9. What Does It Take To Evolve Behaviorally Complex Organisms?, Biosystems
    1. A Wish List for Learning About Learning, Science
  10. Coot Birds Can Count, Study Says, National Geographic News
  11. That Bug Is No Insect: A New Branch On The Tree Of Life, ScienceDaily
  12. Ants and Floods, NYTimes
    1. Genetic Evidence For Intra- And Interspecific Slavery In Honey Ants, Proc. Biol. Sc.
    2. Texans Call In a Monster Fish to Tame a Monster Weed, NYTimes
  13. Song As An Honest Signal Of Past Developmental Stress In The European Starling, Alphagalileo & Proc. Biol. Sc.
  14. How Can The Senses Project And Receive Information At The Same Time?, ScienceDaily
  15. Biomechanics: Are Fast-Moving Elephants Really Running?, Nature
  16. Unifying Principles in Complex Systems, Converging Technology for Improving Human Performance
  17. Conservation: Dynamic Diversity, Nature
  18. Seeking Calm in the Chaos, Nature
    1. Speed and Flexibility, NYTimes
    2. In Baghdad, Free of Hussein, a Day of Mayhem, NYTimes
    3. Risk of Being Killed by Own Side Increases, NYTimes
  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
    1. Digging Through Data For Omens, usnews.com
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Other Publications
    2. Coming and Ongoing Webcasts
    3. Conference Announcements & Call for Papers
      1. Public Conference Calls
    4. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test

  1. Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable, Conference Webcast Bookmark and Share

    • Fundamental Unknowability In Science And Social Science
      • Peter Allen, Understanding Social And Economic Systems As Evolutionary Complex Systems, (mp3 audio, visuals)
      • Linda Reichl, Fundamental Uncertainty in Science, (mp3 audio)
      • Scott Kelso, Brain Synchronization, (mp3 audio (part1, part2))
      • Bruce West, Under the Tyranny of Many Dimensionless Constants, (mp3 audio)
      • Panel Discussion, (mp3 audio)
    • Organizational Issues of Uncertainty
      • Karl Weick, Managing the Unexpected, (mp3 audio)
      • Larry Liebovitch, Chaos, (mp3 audio)
      • Erich Baier, View from the Inside, Task of Managing Uncertainty and Surprise, (mp3 audio)
      • Jim Begun, The Social Construction of Uncertainty in Healthcare Delivery, (mp3 audio)
      • Panel Discussion, (mp3 audio)
      • Ilya Prigogine - Uncertainty and the Arrow of Time, (mp3 audio (part1 , part2 ))
    • Fundamental Uncertainty And The Delivery Of Health Care
      • Benjamin Crabtree, Primary Care Practice: Surprise & Uncertainty, (mp3 audio, vis uals)
      • John Pierce, Medical Errors and Micro-Systems "The Best Things Cannot be Told", (mp3 audio, visuals)
      • James Taylor, Organization and Leadership in Hospitals , (mp3 audio)
    • Fundamental Uncertainty In Business And Business Decision-Making
      • James Dyer, Fundamental Uncertainty in Business: Real Options, (mp3 audio)
      • June Holley, Approaching the Unknown in Appalachia, (mp3 audio)
      • Tom Petzinger, Uncertainty as Certainty (mp3 audio)
      • Full Group Exploration, (mp3 audio)


    1. Smart Heuristics, edge.org Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: What interests me is the question of how humans learn to live with uncertainty. Before the scientific revolution determinism was a strong ideal. (...) How do we avoid the illusion of certainty to produce the understanding that everything, whether it be a medical test or deciding on the best cure for a particular kind of cancer, has a fundamental element of uncertainty? (...) "If we want to have an educated citizenship in a modern technological society, we need to teach them three things: reading, writing, and statistical thinking."
      • Source: Smart Heuristics, Gerd Gigerenzer, edge.org,03/03/31,, EdgeVideo DSL - http://63.112.131.198/ram/ggdsl.ram, +, Modem - http://63.112.131.198/ram/gg56k.ram

  2. Predator Or Prey? Parasitic Enterprises In Economic Development, Euro. Econ. Rev. Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: In many developing and transition economies Mafia-like activities are rampant. Extortion and other forms of predation lower profitability in private businesses and distort investment incentives. Incorporated in a model of industrialization, bimodal club convergence may result. Economies may get stuck in a Predators' Club characterized by a vicious cycle of poverty and predation. Societies with a low flow of new entrepreneurs are especially vulnerable to predation and never get out of this club. Poor societies with a high flow of new entrepreneurs, however, may grow out of the trap and join the rich Producers' Club.

  3. New Fusion Method Offers Hope of New Energy Source, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: With a blast of X-rays compressing a capsule of hydrogen to conditions approaching those at the center of the Sun, scientists from Sandia National Laboratories reported today that they had achieved thermonuclear fusion, (...). Such controlled explosions would not be large enough to be dangerous and might offer an alternative way of generating electricity by harnessing fusion, the process that powers the Sun. Fusion combines hydrogen atoms into helium, producing bountiful energy as a byproduct. "It's the first observation of fusion for a pulsed power source,"

  4. A Brief History of the Multiverse, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Among the myriad universes similar to ours will be some in which technological civilizations advance to the point of being able to simulate consciousness. Eventually, entire virtual worlds will be created inside computers, their conscious inhabitants unaware that they are the simulated products of somebody else's technology. For every original world, there will be a stupendous number of available virtual worlds - some of which would even include machines simulating virtual worlds of their own, and so on ad infinitum.

    1. The Dark Side, Nature Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: We have reached a basic understanding of the evolution of the Universe, and of the formation of large-scale structure within it, that relies on the presence of cold dark matter, as well as dark energy. In fairness, there are a few aspects of astrophysics that the cold-dark-matter hypothesis struggles to explain - such as small-scale structure and galaxy formation. The challenge now is to solve these problems and, once the true nature of dark matter is discovered, to complete the cosmological picture of our Universe.
      • Source: The Dark Side, Masataka Fukugita, Nature 422, 489 - 491 (2003); doi:10.1038/422489a

  5. Genetics To Unlock Secrets Of Our African Past, Nature Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: It is widely accepted that humans evolved from hominids that left Africa during the past 200,000 years - but little is known about the location or genetic diversity of the African groups. African fossil hominids have very diverse morphology compared with those from Europe, where only two distinct groups - the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons (the progenitors of modern humans) - have been found. "The sheer size of Africa may mean that it could conserve diversity in genetic material, and innovations in human behaviour, better than other areas," Stringer says.

  6. Play-by-Play Imaging Rewrites Cells' Rules, Science Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Time-lapse movies show a wave of brilliant, differently colored axons crashing into the muscle, then all filaments but one withering away. Lichtman found it impossible to predict which neuron would win control of the muscle piece in the end. Some axons waned a bit but came back full force to overwhelm a rival. And axons thinned not just before receding but also when losing the fight. The monumental amount of activity surprised the researchers. "We had no sense of the dynamism," Lichtman says, before seeing the neurons in action.

    1. Cell Motility: Making Streams, Nature Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: (...) mechanism by which cells can increase the efficiency of chemotaxis. Presumably, the close contact between the adenylyl cyclase in the rear of one cell and the front of the cell behind provides some of the advantages of a neurological synapse, restricting the signal and keeping the amoebae heading in the right direction as quickly as possible. Perhaps mammalian cells can do the same, whether they are white blood cells moving to sites of inflammation, skin cells participating in wound healing, or embryonic cells during the heroic voyages of development.

  7. "Shyness Gene" Discovered, Health-News.co.uk Bookmark and Share

    Contributing Editor's Note:: Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) - is a neurotrasmitter which is involved in many behavioural processes: depression, feeling of hunger as well as human violence, aggressive behaviors, and suicide have all been associated with reduced levels of serotonin in the brain. Some drugs which distort perception (e.g. LSD) bind to one type of serotonin receptor(5-HT2). Serotonin synapses are abundant in the cerebral cortex making it likely that they are involved in the processes of perception in some way. In this article researchers are showing that there is a link between a gene polymorphism (serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR)) and shyness among children.
    Excerpts: Israeli scientists say they have identified a gene that appears to confer shyness in young children. (...) Previous studies have shown that polymorphisms in the 5-HTTLPR gene are related to anxiety-related personality traits. Because it has been suggested that shyness is an antecedent of later anxiety disorders (especially social phobia) in adolescents and adults, researchers examined whether the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism also had a role in shyness in young children.

  8. Spying on the Brain, One Neuron at a Time, Science Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: "The prevailing idea in [adult] cortex would have been that things are quite stable," he says. "If it's really true that synapses are turning over at the rate they suspect, it's remarkable." Svoboda's group suggests that synaptic turnover serves an important purpose. When the researchers trimmed every other whisker on some mice--a manipulation shown previously to change which neurons in the barrel cortex respond to which whiskers--the daily turnover rate jumped to about 30%, which suggests that spine turnover is important for this rewiring.

    1. Emergence Of Synchronous Oscillations In Neural Networks Excited By Noise, Physica D Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: The presence of noise in nonlinear dynamical systems can play a constructive role, increasing the degree of order and coherence or evoking improvements in the performance of the system. An example of this positive influence in a biological system is the impulse transmission in neurons and the synchronization of a neural network. Integrating numerically the Fokker-Planck (FP) equation we show a self-induced synchronized oscillation. Such an oscillatory state appears in a neural network coupled with a feedback term, when this system is excited by noise and the noise strength is within a certain range.

  9. What Does It Take To Evolve Behaviorally Complex Organisms?, Biosystems Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: The genotype of behaviorally complex organisms may be more likely to encode modular neural architectures because neural modules dedicated to distinct tasks avoid neural interference, i.e. the arrival of conflicting messages for changing the value of connection weights during learning. However, if the connection weights for the various modules are genetically inherited, this raises the problem of genetic linkage: favorable mutations may fall on one portion of the genotype encoding one neural module and unfavorable mutations on another portion encoding another module. We show that this can prevent the genotype from reaching an adaptive optimum.

    1. A Wish List for Learning About Learning, Science Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The degree to which learning in the mature brain depends on physically remodeling the contact points, or synapses, between neurons is a major question in neuroscience (see main text). Researchers have recently found anatomical signs of synapse formation in live mice, but it's difficult to tell whether these correspond to working synapses. (...) "We'd like to see synapses come online as they're made and see the synaptic strength," he says. The biggest obstacle is that many of the currently used dyes are toxic or work best at cool temperatures, (...).

  10. Coot Birds Can Count, Study Says, National Geographic News Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Females usually stop laying when their overall clutch reaches a certain size, but those that discriminate against parasitic eggs keep on going. This suggests they can tell how many eggs they have laid themselves. "I found that birds that are unable to distinguish parasitic eggs lay one fewer egg for each parasitic egg received," Lyon explained. "In contrast, birds that ultimately reject parasitic eggs do not reduce their clutch sizes. It's the comparison of these two different responses that really indicates counting."

  11. That Bug Is No Insect: A New Branch On The Tree Of Life, ScienceDaily Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Genetic studies comparing mitochondrial DNA have revealed that what has long been thought to be the group from which insects arose, the Collembola - wingless hexapods (or "six legs") commonly called springtails - turns out not to be closely related to insects after all. Instead, these creatures belong to a separate evolutionary lineage that predates even the separation of insects and crustaceans "Our study shows that they evolved separately from insects and independently adapted to life on land. The collembolan appear to branch off the evolutionary line leading to the insects at a much earlier stage than previously thought (...)."

  12. Ants and Floods, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Not all ants nest in the ground, so they are not equally vulnerable to downpours. Burrowing species have a large variety of nest designs that may limit damage and mortality. Some dig complex, well-drained tunnels. Some build mounds with waterproof roofs. (...) An even more remarkable system is used by the Solenopsis invicta, in the American Southwest, and Solenopsis saevissima, (...). These fire ants move up through the nests to ground level, form large masses that include adults, the queen and her brood, and float on the rising waters.
    • Source: Ants and Floods, C. Claiborne Ray, NYTimes, 03/04/08, This week's question: How do ants survive a deluge of rain?

    1. Genetic Evidence For Intra- And Interspecific Slavery In Honey Ants, Proc. Biol. Sc. Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The New World honey ant species Myrmecocystus mimicus is well known for its highly stereotyped territorial tournaments, and for the raids on conspecific nests that can lead to intraspecific slavery. (...) the raided brood emerges in the raiding colony and is subsequently incorporated into the colony's worker force. We also found enslaved conspecifics in a second honey ant species (...). Slavery in ants has evolved repeatedly and supposedly by different means. We propose that, in honey ants, secondary contact between two closely related species that both exhibit intraspecific slavery gave rise to an early form of facultative interspecific slavery.

    2. Texans Call In a Monster Fish to Tame a Monster Weed, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The 1,600 grass carp released into Lake Austin in February could become an even bigger environmental problem than the one they were supposed to solve.(...) Growing in long strands upward from its roots in the sediment and branching out profusely at the surface,(...). Twenty years ago though, nearly 300,000 fertile grass carp were released in Lake Conroe, Tex. "Lake Conroe went from being a world-class bass fishery to a big mudhole," said Mr. Anderson, describing the lake as an unmitigated disaster, stripped of vegetation, foreign and native.

  13. Song As An Honest Signal Of Past Developmental Stress In The European Starling, Alphagalileo & Proc. Biol. Sc. Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Complex song repertoires are known to be used in mate choice decisions by females in many bird species. It has recently been proposed that song complexity may indicate early developmental stress, through effects on neural development. We tested this hypothesis by keeping juvenile starlings on predictable and unpredictable food supplies during the autumn and testing their song output the following spring. We found that male starlings kept on unpredictable food supplies produced less song and in shorter song bouts. Our results suggest that female choice for song complexity occurs because complex song repertoires act as indicators of past developmental stress.

  14. How Can The Senses Project And Receive Information At The Same Time?, ScienceDaily Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: How do we hear when some of us chatter all day? The answer to these questions may be found in the simple male cricket, which sing for hours at over 100 decibels sound pressure levels in order to attract females. The "songs" of crickets are generated by rhythmically rubbing the fore wings together resulting in a form of sound production called stridulation. As crickets' ears are located on the forelegs, they are fully exposed to the self-generated sounds. This strongly suggests that the inhibition of the auditory pathway is the result of a corollary discharge from the stridulation motor network.

  15. Biomechanics: Are Fast-Moving Elephants Really Running?, Nature Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: It is generally thought that elephants do not run1-5, but there is confusion about how fast they can move across open terrain and what gait they use at top speed. Here we use video analysis to show that Asian elephants (Elephas maximus L.) can move at surprisingly high speeds of up to 6.8 m s-1 (25 km h-1) and that, although their gait might seem to be a walk even at this speed, some features of their locomotion conform to definitions of running.

  16. Unifying Principles in Complex Systems, Converging Technology for Improving Human Performance Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt: The ability of science and technology to augment human performance depends on an understanding of systems, not just components. The convergence of technologies is an essential aspect of the effort to enable functioning systems that include human beings and technology; and serve the human beings to enhance their well-being directly and indirectly through what they do, and what they do for other human beings. The recognition today that human beings function in teams, rather than as individuals, implies that technological efforts that integrate human beings across scales of tools, communication, biological and cognitive function are essential. Understanding the role of complex systems concepts in technology integration requires a perspective on how the concept of complexity is affecting science, engineering, and finally, technology integration.

  17. Conservation: Dynamic Diversity, Nature Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Effective conservation of both resilience and interconnectivity will require the input of science. Without an understanding of which species live in which habitats, how they interact, their relationships through both ecological and evolutionary time and how they are affected by human activities, how can we possibly do anything other than fence off great portions of the globe and hope for the best? Conservation of a dynamic, resilient natural world will require a great deal of cooperation and an immense synthesis of existing information.

  18. Seeking Calm in the Chaos, Nature Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: American troops are attempting to restore order while continuing the push toward unconquered territory. (...) But soon after the column rolled past a cheering crowd, it came under small-arms fire. The soldiers decided to turn back, only to run into an ambush by two men who were

    1. Speed and Flexibility, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: As they neared Baghdad, the American forces adapted their tactics. Their initial plan called for patiently gathering intelligence and carrying out probes before conducting raids in the city. American commanders, however, concluded that the Iraqi command and control was weakening and pressed their advantage. (...) For the first time since the war began, planes from the Third Marine Air Wing returned to base with some of their bombs. With most of the Iraqi force routed, the Marines could not find enough targets to strike.

    2. In Baghdad, Free of Hussein, a Day of Mayhem, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: U.S. troops cleared wide swathes of Baghdad from enemy forces, but seemed powerless before a fresh wave of looting. (...) The Bush administration appeared to have little prepared in the way of a quick response. (...) Rumsfeld (...)"It's untidy. And freedom's untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes." (...) But the widespread anarchy that followed the first moments of liberty here this week has become a central problem for American soldiers and marines, who constitute the only visible presence of any form of order.

    3. Risk of Being Killed by Own Side Increases, NYTimes Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The Pentagon has developed technology to discern friend from foe, and American forces train with an arsenal of devices including infrared goggles, adhesive thermal identification strips, specialized radios and digital maps to separate blue forces, or allies, from red, the enemy. Old-fashioned technology is still used on the battlefield - splashes of an unusual color of paint or even national flags - but a clever adversary quickly notices these markings and can copy them. (...) Initial inquiries indicate some of these deaths appear to have been error or oversight:

  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks Bookmark and Share


    1. Digging Through Data For Omens, usnews.com Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Identification of terrorism suspects by their suspicious purchasing patterns, phone use, and travel arrangements is being facilitated by the coordination of multiple government and commercial databases using a technique called data mining.
      • Source: Digging Through Data For Omens, The government begins sifting databases to find clues to terrorism in the making, Dana Hawkins, usnews.com, 03/04/07

  20. Links & Snippets Bookmark and Share


    1. Other Publications Bookmark and Share

      1. Cell Biology: Developmental Predisposition To Cancer, Steven A. Frank, Martin A. Nowak, Nature 422, 494 (2003); doi:10.1038/422494a
      2. Visualizing Signals Moving in Cells, Cornelis J. Weijer, Science 2003 300: 96-100
      3. Quantum Dots Get Wet, Caroline Seydel, Science 2003 300: 80
      4. Conservation Of Total Synaptic Weight Through Balanced Synaptic Depression And Potentiation, Sebastien Royer And Denis Pare, Nature 422, 518 - 522 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature01530
      5. Event-Driven Simulation of Spiking Neurons with Stochastic Dynamics, Jan Reutimann, Michele Giugliano, , Stefano Fusi, Neural Comp. 2003 April 1; 15(4): p. 811-830
      6. Business: Details Given on Contract Halliburton Was Awarded, Elizabeth Becker, NYTimes, 03/04/11, The Pentagon contract to fight oil well fires in Iraq was given without competition and is worth as much as $7 billion.
      7. Autism Advance: Mutated Genes Disrupt Nerve Cell Proteins, Two gene mutations that cause autism suggest that nerve cell connections called synapses are key to the disorder.
      8. Wrong Number: Plastic Ingredient Spurs Chromosomal Defects, The primary chemical in some plastics causes female mice to produce eggs with abnormal numbers of chromosomes.
      9. Cosmic Blowout: Black Holes Spew As Much As They Consume, Ron Cowen, Science News, Vol. 163, No. 14, April 5, 2003, p. 214., Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies can blow out as much material as they swallow, creating high-speed winds that may seed the universe with oxygen, carbon, iron, and other elements essential for life.
      10. The Vaccinia Dilemma, To inform the current debate on who should be vaccinated for smallpox given the possibility of-or in the event of-a bioterrorism attack, researchers are using mathematical models and data from vaccination campaigns and past smallpox outbreaks.
      11. Sleep Debt Exacts Deceptive Cost, Moderate but sustained sleep deficits undermine alertness and other mental faculties to a potentially dangerous extent, although people who experience this level of sleep loss usually don't feel particularly drowsy.
      12. An Aggregate Model For The European Union, A. Bagnai & F. Carlucci, Econ. Modelling, Vol. 20, Issue 3, pp:623-649, May 2003, doi:10.1016/S0264-9993(01)00104-3
      13. Allometry Of Human Fertility And Energy Use, M. E. Moses & J. H. Brown, Ecol. Lett., Vol. 6, Issue 4, pp:295, Apr. 2003
      14. Good Housekeeping: Why Do Shelter-Dwelling Caterpillars Fling Their Frass?, M. R. Weiss, Ecol. Lett., Vol. 6, Issue 4, pp:361, Apr. 2003
      15. Lead Exposure Potentiates Predatory Attack Behavior In The Cat, W. Li, S. Han, T. R. Gregg, F. W. Kemp, A. L. Davidow, D. B. Louria, A. Siegel & J. D. Bogden, Environ. Research, In Press, 2003/03/29, doi:10.1016/S0013-9351(02)00083-X
      16. Autonomous Recovery from Hostile Code Insertion Using Distributed Reflection, Catriona M. Kennedy, Aaron Sloman, 2003-06, DOI: 10.1016/S1389-0417(02)00096-7, Cognitive Systems Research 4(2):89-117
      17. Does Mental Simulation of Following a Path Improve Navigation Performance Without Vision?, Stephane Vieilledent, Stephen M. Kosslyn, Alain Berthoz, Marie Dominique Giraudo, 2003-04, DOI: 10.1016/S0926-6410(02)00279-3, Cognitive Brain Research 16(2):238-249
      18. Evolution of Evolvability via Adaptation of Mutation Rates, Mark A. Bedau, Norman H. Packard, 2003-05, DOI: 10.1016/S0303-2647(02)00137-5, Biosystems 69(2-3):143-162
      19. Modelling the Dynamics of Reasoning Processes: Reasoning by Assumption, Catholijn M. Jonker, Jan Treur, 2003-06, Cognitive Systems Research
      20. A Temporal-Interactivist Perspective on the Dynamics of Mental States, Catholijn M. Jonker, Jan Treur, 2003-06, Cognitive Systems Research
      21. Recent Results on No-Free-Lunch Theorems for Optimization, Christian Igel, Marc Toussaint, 2003-03-31, arXiv
      22. Individual Communication Complexity, Harry Buhrman, Hartmut Klauck, Nikolai Vereshchagin, Paul Vitanyi, 2003-04-8, arXiv
      23. The Cellular Automaton Model of Investment Behavior in the Stock Market, Yi-ming Wei, Shang-jun Ying, Ying Fan, Bing-Hong Wang, In Press, Physica A
      24. Critical Market Crashes, D. Sornette, 2003-04, Physics Reports Volume 378, Issue 1, Pages 1-98
      25. Wrinkle-free Mice Provide Clues About Obesity, Wrinkles And Hair Growth, 2003-04-09, Washington University School Of Medicine
      26. Self-Similarity Limits Of Genomic Signatures, Z. B. Wu, Fractals, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp:19-25, Mar. 2003, doi:10.1142/S0218348X03001574
      27. The Golden Mean, Scale Free Extension Of Real Number System, Fuzzy Sets And 1/f Spectrum In Physics And Biology, D. P. Datta , Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Vol. 17, Issue 4, pp:781-788, Aug. 2003,  doi:10.1016/S0960-0779(02)00531-3
      28. A ge-Related Changes In The Neural Correlates Of Motor Performance, N. S. Ward  & R. S. J. Frackowiak, Brain, Vol. 126, No. 4, pp:873-888, Apr. 2003, doi: 10.1093/brain/awg071
      29. Signs Of REM Sleep Dependent Enhancement Of Implicit Face Memory: A Repetition Priming Study, U. Wagner,  M. Hallschmid, R. Verleger & J. Born, Biol. Psychology, Vol. 62, Issue 3, pp:197-210, Mar. 2003, doi:10.1016/S0301-0511(02)00125-4
      30. Helping Plants Avoid The Price Of War, S. Blackford, Alphagalileo, 2003/04/03
      31. Conspicuous, Ultraviolet-Rich Mouth Colours In Begging Chicks, S. Hunt, R. M. Kilner, N. E. Langmore & A. T. D. Bennett, Alphagalileo & Biol. Lett., 2003/04/07
      32. Does Information Sharing Promote Group Foraging?, E. Sernland & N. Holmgren, Alphagalileo & Proc. Biol. Sc., 2003/04/07
      33. Think Small When Powering Today's Electronic Soldier, ScienceDaily, 2003/04/04
      34. UCLA Imaging Study Reveals How Active Empathy Charges Emotions; Physical Mimicry Of Others Jump-starts Key Brain Activity, ScienceDaily, 2003/04/08
      35. Understanding Obesity: New Research Examines How Hunger Signals Work In The Brain, ScienceDaily, 2003/04/10

       



    2. Coming and Ongoing Webcasts Bookmark and Share

      1. Autonomous Agents, Stuart Kauffman, FRIAM Group sponsored Applied Complexity Lecture Series at the Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 03/03/13
      2. New Trends In Industrial Partnership And Innovation Management At European Research Laboratories, CERN, Geneva, 03/03/19 (with webcast)
        1. CERN Webcast Service, Streamed videos of Archived Lectures and Live Events
      3. "New Frontiers of Neuroscience" Symposium, Taipei, Taiwan, 03/03/07
      4. Television & Children's Media Policy: Where Do We Go From Here?, Washinghton, DC, 03/02/28, c-span, (clip12657), 1:35
      5. INSC 2003, International Nonlinear Sciences Conference, Vienna, Austria, 03/02/07-09
      6. World Economic Forum Meeting "Building Trust", Davos, Switzerland, 03/01/23-28
      7. 2002 Financial Management Conference, 02/10/16-19
      8. Artificial Life Conference (A-Life 8), Sydney, Australia, 02/12/09-13
      9. Dean LeBaron's Archive of Daily Video Commentary, Ongoing Since February 1998

       



    3. Conference Announcements & Call for Papers Bookmark and Share

      1. 7th Annual Swarm Researchers and Users Meeting (SwarmFest2003), Notre Dame, IN, 03/04/13-14
      2. Agent-Based Simulation 4, Montpellier, France, 03/04/28-30
      3. 2003 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, Santa Clara, CA, 03/04/22-25
      4. Managing Complex Organizations in a Complex World, Cambridge, MA, 03/05/01-02
      5. NAS Sackler Colloquium on Mapping Knowledge Domains, The Beckman Center, Irvine, CA, 03/05/09-11
      6. Understanding Complex Systems Symposium, UIUC, Urbana-Champaign, Il, 03/05/19-21
      7. The Opening of Systems Theory, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, DK, 03/05/23-25
      8. SPIE's 1st Intl Symp on Fluctuations and Noise, Santa Fe, NM, 03/06/01-04
      9. 21st ICDE World Conf on Open Learning and Distance Education, Hong Kong, 03/06/01-05
      10. Summer School on Nonlinear Phenomena In Computational Chemical Physics, Barcelona, Spain, 03/06/09-14
      11. 17th Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Simulation (PADS 2003), San Diego, California, 03/06/10-13
      12. One-Week Intensive Course: Complex Physical, Biological and Social Systems, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 03/06/16-20
      13. 2003 Summer Computer Simulation Conference (SCSC '03), Montreal, Canada, 03/06/20-24
      14. 5th Intl Conf "Symmetry in Nonlinear Mathematical Physics", Kiev, Ukraine, 03/06/23-29, Mirror
      15. Workshops of Dynamical Systems with Applications to Biology, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 03/06/24-28
      16. 47th Meeting of the Intl Soc for the System Sciences: Conscious Evolution Of Humanity: Using Systems Thinking To Construct Agoras Of The Global Village, Iraklion, Crete, Greec, 03/07/07-11
      17. 9th International Conference on Auditory Display, Boston, MA, 03/07/07-09, Wkshp on Assistive Technologies for the Blind, 03/07/06
      18. 2003 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2003), Chicago, IL,03/07/12-16
      19. 2nd Intl Joint Conf on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS-2003), Melbourne, Australia, 03/07/14-18
      20. 7th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (SCI 2003), Orlando, Florida, 03/07/27-30
      21. Intl Conf on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics: SPIC '03, Orlando, Fl, USA, 03/07/31-08/02
      22. 13th Annual International Conference, Soc f Chaos Theory in Psych & Life Sciences,Boston, MA, USA, 03/08/08-10
      23. Call for Papers on Dynamical Hierarchies, Special Issue of Artificial Life, Deadline: 03/09/05
      24. 1st German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies (MATES'03), Erfurt, Germany, 03/09/22-25
      25. 7th European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL-2003), Dortmund, Germany, 03/09/14-17
      26. 2003 IEEE/WIC Intl Joint Conf. Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, Beijing, China, 03/10/13-17
      27. ICDM '03: The Third IEEE International Conference on Data Mining, Melbourne, Florida, USA, 03/11/19-22
      28. 3rd International Workshop on Meta-Synthesis and Complex System, Guangzhou, China, 03/11/29-30
      29. 2nd International Workshop on the Mathematics and Algorithms of Social Insects, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 03/12/15-17
      30. Fractal 2004, "Complexity and Fractals in Nature", 8th Intl Multidisciplinary Conf , Vancouver, Canada, 04/04/04-07
      31. Fifth International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2004), Boston, MA, USA, 04/05/16-21

       



      1. Public Conference Calls Bookmark and Share

        1. PlexusCalls: "Surprise! Surprise!", McDaniel, Reuben, Audio File Available Now, mp3
        2. Complexity And Medical Practice, Pat Rush & Bob Lindberg, PlexusCalls, 03/01/10, Audio File Available Now, mp3
        3. John Holland in Conversation, PlexusCalls, - Audio File Available Now, mp3
        4. Are Disease and Aging Information/Complexity Loss Syndromes?, PlexusCalls, 02/11/08, 1 - 2 pm EST (To learn more about Ary Goldberger’s work and HeartSongs, Music of the Heart.) Audio File Available Now, mp3
        5. Brenda Zimmerman in Conversation, PlexusCalls, Audio File Available Now, mp3
        6. The Complexity of Entrepreneurship: A Launchcyte Story, Tom Petzinger, PlexusCalls, 02/11/22, Audio File Available Now, mp3
        7. A Practical and Appreciative Approach to Complex and Chronic Challenges, Keith McCandless, PlexusCalls, Jan 2003, Audio File Available Now, mp3

         



    4. ComDig Announcement: New ComDig Archive in Beta Test Bookmark and Share

      We are in the process of upgrading the Complexity Digest archives to a format with improved search capabilities. Also, we will finally be able to adequately publish the valuable feedback and comments from our knowledgable readers. You are cordially invited to become a beta tester of our new ComDig2 archive.


Complexity Digest is an independent publication available to organizations that may wish to repost ComDig to their own mailing lists. ComDig is published by the Computer Sciences Department, IIMAS and the C3, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and edited by Carlos Gershenson. To unsubscribe from this list, please go to Subscriptions.
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