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Amira .

Complexity Rising: From Human Beings to Human Civilization, a Complexity Profile by Yan... - 0 views

necsi.edu/...Civilization.html

philosophy Civilizations Human being culture society History

shared by Amira . on 15 Jan 11 - Cached
  • This article analyzes the human social environment using the "complexity profile," a mathematical tool for characterizing the collective behavior of a system. The analysis is used to justify the qualitative observation that complexity of existence has increased and is increasing. The increase in complexity is directly related to sweeping changes in the structure and dynamics of human civilizationthe increasing interdependence of the global economic and social system and the instabilities of dictatorships, communism and corporate hierarchies. Our complex social environment is consistent with identifying global human civilization as an organism capable of complex behavior that protects its components (us) and which should be capable of responding effectively to complex environmental demands.
  • What is generally not recognized is that the relationship between collective global behavior and the internal structure of human civilization can be characterized through mathematical concepts that apply to all complex systems. An analysis based upon these mathematical concepts suggests that human civilization itself is an organism capable of behaviors that are of greater complexity than those of an individual human being. In order to understand the significance of this statement, one must recognize that collective behaviors are typically simpler than the behavior of components. Only when the components are connected in networks of specialized function can complex collective behaviors arise.
  • The goal of this article is to extend the systematic understanding of collective or cooperative behavior so as to characterize such behavior in physical, biological and social systems.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Random, coherent and correlated behaviors illustrate the relationship between the behavior of parts and the collective behavior of a system. In both random and coherent behavior the collective behavior of the system is simple. Correlated behavior gives rise to complex collective behavior. Examples illustrating these types of behavior can be found in physical, biological and social systems.
  • The complexity profile is a mathematical tool that is designed to capture important aspects of the relationship between the behavior of parts of a system and the behavior of the entire system. Behaviors of the system are assigned a scale which is related to the ability of an observer to see that behavior. Typically, larger scale behaviors involve coordination between more parts and/or larger amounts of energy. The complexity profile counts the number of behaviors that are observable at a particular scale, which includes all behaviors assigned to that scale or larger scales. When a system is formed out of independent parts, the behaviors are on a small scale. When a system is formed out of parts that all move in the same direction, the behavior is on the largest scale. When a system is formed out of parts whose behaviors are partially correlated and partially independent then as we look at the system on finer and finer scales we see more and more details. This is characteristic of complex systems formed out of specialized and correlated parts. Such systems have a complexity profile that declines gradually with scale.
  • Hierarchical organizations are designed to impose correlations in human behavior primarily through the influence of the hierarchical control structure. In an ideal hierarchy all influences/communications between two "workers" must travel through a common manager. As the complexity of collective behavior increases, the number of independent influences increases, and a manager becomes unable to process/communicate all of them. Increasing the number of managers and decreasing the branching ratio (the number of individuals supervised by one manager) helps. However, this strategy is defeated when the complexity of collective behavior increases beyond the complexity of an individual. Networks allowing more direct lateral interactions do not suffer from this limitation.
  • From this argument it is possible to begin to understand processes of historical change in human organizational structures. Human organizations exist within an environment that places demands upon them. If the complexity of these demands exceeds the complexity of an organization, the organization will be likely to fail. Thus, those organizations that survive must have a complexity sufficiently large to respond to the complexity of environmental demands at the scale of these demands. As a result, a form of evolutionary change occurs due to competition. Competition is relevant because for human organizations, the environment itself is formed in part out of organizations of human beings. According to this argument, one can expect a self-consistent process of complexity increase where competition between organizations causes the behavior of one organization to serve as part of the environment in which others must survive.
  • he history of human civilization reflects a progressive increase in the complexity of large scale behaviors. Early civilizations introduced a few relatively simple large scale behaviors by use of many individuals (slaves or soldiers) performing the same repetitive task. Progressive specialization with coordination increased the complexity of large scale behaviors. The industrial revolution accelerated this process which continues till today. When the complexity of collective behaviors increases beyond that of an individual human being then hierarchical controls become ineffective. Hierarchically controled systems must yield to networked systems. Note that a system which has fixed energy and material can change its complexity profile only by transfering activities from one scale to another. Increasing complexity at one scale must be compensated by decreasing complexity at another scale. However, an increasing human population, and the addition of sources of energy during the industrial revolution (coal, oil and gas), violated these conditions, enabling the complexity to increase on all scales. As indicated on the horizontal axis, the scale of human civilization also increased.
  • The most dramatic increases in the complexity of organizational behavior followed the industrial revolution. The use of new energy sources and automation enabled larger scale behavior in and of itself. This, in turn, enabled higher complexity behaviors of human systems because the amplification of the behavior to a larger scale can be accomplished by the use of energy rather than by task repetition.
  • A schematic history of human civilization reflects a growing complexity of the collective behavior of human organizations. The internal structure of organizations changed from the large branching ratio hierarchies of ancient civilizations, through decreasing branching ratios of massive hierarchical bureaucracies, to hybrid systems where lateral connections appear to be more important than the hierarchy. As the importance of lateral interactions increases, the boundaries between subsystems become porous. The increasing collective complexity also is manifest in the increaseing specialization and diversity of professions. Among the possible future organizational structures are fully networked systems where hierarchical structures are unimportant.
  • Amira . on 15 Jan 11
     
    Since time immemorial humans have complained that life is becoming more complex, but it is only now that we have a hope to analyze formally and verify this lament. This article analyzes the human social environment using the "complexity profile," a mathematical tool for characterizing the collective behavior of a system. The analysis is used to justify the qualitative observation that complexity of existence has increased and is increasing. The increase in complexity is directly related to sweeping changes in the structure and dynamics of human civilizationthe increasing interdependence of the global economic and social system and the instabilities of dictatorships, communism and corporate hierarchies. Our complex social environment is consistent with identifying global human civilization as an organism capable of complex behavior that protects its components (us) and which should be capable of responding effectively to complex environmental demands.
Amira .

How is the Internet Changing the Way We Think? The collective conscious by J. Brockman,... - 5 views

www.edge.org/q10_1.html

Collective intelligence internet collaboration media sociology mind & brain Age of informations

shared by Amira . on 23 Jan 10 - Cached
trippyshrimp liked it
  • Amira . on 23 Jan 10
     
    "Love Intermedia Kinetic Environments." John Brockman speaking - partly kidding, but conveying the notion that Intermedia Kinetic Environments are In in the places where the action is - an Experience, an Event, an Environment, a humming electric world.
thinkahol *

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson - YouTube - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson - YouTube

shared by thinkahol * on 05 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 05 Oct 11
     
    One of our most innovative, popular thinkers takes on-in exhilarating style-one of our key questions: Where do good ideas come from? With Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson pairs the insight of his bestselling Everything Bad Is Good for You and the dazzling erudition of The Ghost Map and The Invention of Air to address an urgent and universal question: What sparks the flash of brilliance? How does groundbreaking innovation happen? Answering in his infectious, culturally omnivorous style, using his fluency in fields from neurobiology to popular culture, Johnson provides the complete, exciting, and encouraging story of how we generate the ideas that push our careers, our lives, our society, and our culture forward. Beginning with Charles Darwin's first encounter with the teeming ecosystem of the coral reef and drawing connections to the intellectual hyperproductivity of modern megacities and to the instant success of YouTube, Johnson shows us that the question we need to ask is, What kind of environment fosters the development of good ideas? His answers are never less than revelatory, convincing, and inspiring as Johnson identifies the seven key principles to the genesis of such ideas, and traces them across time and disciplines. Most exhilarating is Johnson's conclusion that with today's tools and environment, radical innovation is extraordinarily accessible to those who know how to cultivate it. Where Good Ideas Come From is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how to come up with tomorrow's great ideas.
india art n design

School environs that integrate the vernacular within the contemporary - 0 views

inditerrain.indiaartndesign.com/...l-environs-that-integrate.html

institutional design architecture sustainable sustainability interior landscape school building

shared by india art n design on 19 Feb 19 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 19 Feb 19
     
    Creative Group weaves a sustainable narrative with the Gems International School at Kochi, pronounced with fluid spaces, carved volumes, percolating environs and panoramic views to the riverfront. Check it out here
india art n design

'Architectures for a Better World' addresses societal issues integral to the built envi... - 0 views

inditerrain.indiaartndesign.com/...tectures-for-better-world.html

building design exhibits exhibition design travelling exhibition design event interior architecture

shared by india art n design on 09 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 09 Oct 15
     
    What solutions can architecture offer to those segments of the global population that currently has no access to a well-designed environment? Check out the ongoing exhibition at Bengaluru that tugs at some crucial issues and leave us your views…
india art n design

Miki Agrawal: Breaking taboos with contemporary design - 0 views

inditerrain.indiaartndesign.com/...awal-breaking-taboos-with.html

Underwear womenswear women fashion environment eco-friendly product design design sustainable design sanitation women empowerment health

shared by india art n design on 09 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 09 Jan 16
     
    Read IAnD's story on Miki Agrawal, a young social entrepreneur from New York, whose innovative design is not only empowering women but working towards a greener environment
india art n design

Eco-friendly Office Design: Leading by Example - 0 views

inditerrain.indiaartndesign.com/...-office-design-leading-by.html

corporate design| commercial interior architecture| environment-friendly sustainability| sustainable Green rating| office

shared by india art n design on 26 Feb 20 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 26 Feb 20
     
    Integrating environmental systems to enhance overall building performance, Studio Design Cosmos creates a contemporary working environment within this corporate office space.
india art n design

Interiors to friend the social media generation - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...rs-to-friend-social-media.html

restaurant design hospitality interior styling lighting youthful environment commercial

shared by india art n design on 13 May 17 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 13 May 17
     
    Designed by @Superfusionlab from London, Beleaf offers customers an energized and inviting atmosphere, and achieves a photogenic environment, making it social media friendly. Check it out and leave us your comments
cities compare

living in one place or always moving for a good job ,house,or even climate: - 0 views

Hi there! You're new citizen and you're crestfallen about this new environment. Don't be worry. I gonna tell you how to find a place to live. Well, if you want a place to live you need to find a g...

perfect finery defeat grim

started by cities compare on 03 Oct 12 no follow-up yet
india art n design

Manchester's Maggie Cancer Centre: where built form fosters healing! - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...aggie-cancer-centre-where.html

hospital medical facility rehabilitation architecture landscape + building design health Care

shared by india art n design on 28 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 28 Apr 16
     
    Healing necessitates an innately comforting environment - the new Maggie's Cancer Centre provides just that and more. Check out the story and leave us your views...
thinkahol *

YouTube - Living in the End Times According to Slavoj Zizek - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

YouTube - Living in the End Times According to Slavoj Zizek

shared by thinkahol * on 30 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 30 Nov 10
     
    Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, akaThe Elvis of cultural theory, is given the floor to show of his polemic style and whirlwind-like performance. The Giant of Ljubljana is bombarded with clips of popular media images and quotes by modern-day thinkers revolving around four major issues: the economical crisis, environment, Afghanistan and the end of democracy. Zizek grabs the opportunity to ruthlessly criticize modern capitalism and to give his view on our common future. We communists are back! is the closing remark of Slavoj Zižeks provocative performance. Our current capitalist system, that everyone believed would be smoothly spread around the globe, is untenable. We find ourselves on the brink of big problems that call for big solutions. Whatever is left of the left, has been hedged in by western liberal democracy and seems to lack the energy to come up with radical solutions. Not Zižek. Interview: Chris Kijne Director: Marije Meerman Production: Mariska Schneider /Pepijn Boonstra Research: Marijntje Denters/Maren Merckx Commissioning editors: Henneke Hagen/Jos de Putter
thinkahol *

YouTube - Peak Oil and a Changing Climate - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

YouTube - Peak Oil and a Changing Climate

shared by thinkahol * on 19 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 19 Jan 11
     
    The scientific community has long agreed that our dependence on fossil fuels inflicts massive damage on the environment and our health, while warming the globe in the process. But beyond the damage these fuels cause to us now, what will happen when the world's supply of oil runs out? In a new video series from The Nation magazine and On The Earth Productions, Bill McKibben, Noam Chomsky, Nicole Foss, Richard Heinberg and other scientists, researchers and writers explain. Visit TheNation.com for more videos in this series.
thinkahol *

Technology: Necessary but Insufficient for Human Survival | Thinkahol's Blog - 0 views

thinkahol.wordpress.com/...nsufficient-for-human-survival

Technology: Necessary but Insufficient for Human Survival | Thinkahol's Blog

shared by thinkahol * on 29 May 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 29 May 11
     
    In the context of technology the only way out is through. Global society is dependent on artificially inflated energy resources-i.e. oil-that are directly leading us toward total collapse. Technology is being used to most efficiently maximize wealth of the largest corporate conglomerates at the expense of the social fabric and a living environment. The biosphere is in fact collapsing. The technology exists to solve our technical problems but the solutions do not seem like they will be effectively put to use. The power structures concentrating money off the status quo are too entrenched. Each human is called on to become more aware.
india art n design

India Art n Design Global Hop : Arvo Pärt Sound Cloud - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...arvo-part-sound-cloud.html

design cloud sound spectrogram iconic Avant Garde Architecture

shared by india art n design on 01 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 01 Sep 14
     
    Sound Cloud is a symphonic embodiment of music dedicated to Estonian musician par excellence, Avro Pärt. Read here and leave us your views on the surreal structure and its tranquil environs…
india art n design

Of Volumes & Voids - Yogananda Library - 0 views

inditerrain.indiaartndesign.com/...s-voids-yogananda-library.html

Institutional Architecture Culture Event + Exhibition library building climatic architecture climate responsive architecture receding elevation natural light

shared by india art n design on 04 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 04 Apr 15
     
    The Yogananda Library in Himachal Pradesh exudes a strong architectural vocabulary that not only defines its functions but empowers its serene yet pulsating environment. Check it out her and leave us your views...
india art n design

Real-life fantasy living - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...real-life-fantasy-living.html

science fiction movies crazy homes house design fantasy residential interior theme and decor architecture iconic

shared by india art n design on 08 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 08 Apr 16
     
    Sci-fi marries architecture in this bizzaire environment where designer Steven Rude brings to life the spaces we see only on screens. Check out this crazy home and leave us your views…
india art n design

Healing with design! - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...healing-with-design.html

Commercial Interior Furniture Graphic Health + Wellness Institutional healthcare design

shared by india art n design on 29 Nov 18 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 29 Nov 18
     
    #MMEKExperienceArchitects creates #environments that #transform key life moments and #brand messages into unforgettable experiences seamlessly combining #digital, #physical and #spatial elements. Check out how they once again endorse their already-strong track record in #healthcare with the #PrincessMáximaCentre in #Netherlands…
india art n design

A medley of light and colour - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...edley-of-light-and-colour.html

office design interior architecture architecture+colour commercial corporate design+colour lighting design+décor

shared by india art n design on 28 Aug 18 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 28 Aug 18
     
    mimaristudio uses a striking palette of light and colour to infuse vibrancy and a socially progressive work environment in ISPAK's headquarters in Istanbul. Check out the space here
india art n design

Transforming treatment into play - 0 views

globalhop.indiaartndesign.com/...rming-treatment-into-play.html

Commercial Interior Design Architecture Health + Wellness Institutional Multimedia Sustainable Development

shared by india art n design on 29 Jun 18 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 29 Jun 18
     
    @tinker-imagineers design an array of interactive games and a genial environment to make this centre designed especially for the treatment of obese youngsters a go-to place in The Netherlands. Check out the full story here
india art n design

Reconciling the modern-day workspace - 0 views

inditerrain.indiaartndesign.com/...ling-modern-day-workspace.html

commercial interior design office workplace culture collaborative workspaces architecture

shared by india art n design on 12 Mar 19 - No Cached
  • india art n design on 12 Mar 19
     
    A careful balance of formal and informal, the TATA Communications office, Pune, by Arvind Vivek Associates sets the stage for #work #environments that are unorthodox, energising and synergetic. Check out the office interior here…
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