Simplifying Complexity

After almost three years of deep discussions with world-renowned experts to try to understand the underlying principles of the most complex systems in our universe, this is the final episode of Simplifying Complexity. However, we’re pleased to announce the return of the Brady Heywood Podcast from hiatus. The Brady Heywood Podcast is a show about engineering failures and disasters where we ex...

Dave Snowden is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Cynefin Company. The Cynefin Company is an action research and development hub that uses complexity science principles to provide organisations with better tools and frameworks to solve complex problems and improve management practices. In this episode, Dave reveals how the Cynefin Framework aids in people management and how leaders c...

This is part two of our discussion with Marten Scheffer about societal collapse. Marten Scheffer is a Professor at Wageningen University and Research Centre and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. In this episode, Marten explores the concept of critical slowing down as a precursor to collapse and how this concept is applied to understand modern issues such as climate change, mental he...

Throughout history, we’ve seen societies rise and dramatically fall, but why?  In this episode, Marten Scheffer, a Professor at Wageningen University and Research Centre and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, explains how social, political, and environmental factors contribute to a decrease in resilience over time, leaving previously powerful societies vulnerable to collap...

Jim Rutt is the Host of The Jim Rutt Show podcast, former Chair of the Santa Fe Institute, Co-founder of the GameB Social Change Movement, and “Retired Business Dude” after a long career as a businessman in the tech industry. In this episode, Jim outlines how his career as a tech executive intersected with complexity science to contribute to groundbreaking research in genetic algorithm...

This is part two of our discussion with Lee Cronin on Assembly Theory. Lee Cronin is Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow and the Founder & CEO of Chemify.  In this episode, Lee explains how assembly theory can actually be measured in the laboratory using mass spectrometry and other techniques, reveals the critical threshold of 15 that separates living from non-livin...

In 2023, a highly controversial paper titled ‘Assembly theory explains and quantifies selection and evolution’ was released to the world. In today’s episode, we’re chatting to one of the its authors, Lee Cronin, Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow and the Founder & CEO of Chemify, to discuss assembly theory and the motivation behind the paper, as...

In the last episode, Christopher Lynn, Assistant Professor of Physics at Yale University, discussed how we can better understand brain function and consciousness using statistical mechanics and information theory. In this episode, Christopher expands on the practical applications of statistical mechanics and information theory for modelling neuron firing rates and predicting brain activity pattern...

We're welcoming back Christopher Lynn, Assistant Professor of Physics at Yale University, to chat about how the brain works. In this episode, Christopher discusses how statistical mechanics and information theory can help us gain a deeper understanding of brain function and consciousness.   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood w...

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, and Nicholas Gruen, CEO of Lateral Economics, have both returned to debate the efficacy and limitations of applying systems thinking to complex problems.   Resources and links: Ogilvy UK website Lateral Economics website   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on X Simplifying Complexity on YouTube Sean Brady on X Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywoo...

In the last episode, Paul Smaldino, Professor of Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced, and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute discussed how human behaviour is shaped by cultural evolution. In this episode, Paul discusses social learning and identity signalling and how they’re both being affected by rapidly changing technologies.   Conne...

We all know that we are shaped by evolution, but we're also shaped by cultural evolution. In this episode, we’re joined by Paul Smaldino, Professor of Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced, and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, to explain how cultural evolution has shaped human behaviour.   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Se...

Ricardo Hausmann is the Founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab and the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School. In this episode, Ricardo explains how the amount and diversity of knowledge within an economy shapes its current capabilities and influences a country’s possible economic growth.   Resources and links: The...

In the last episode, Kevin Mitchell, Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, compared human brains with single-celled organisms to introduce us to the impact of genetics on conscious thought. In this episode, Kevin discusses metacognition, or how humans think about thinking, and its implications on free will versus determinism.   Connect: Simplifying Comple...

In this episode, Kevin Mitchell, Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, takes us on a journey from single-celled organisms to human consciousness to explore if we have free will.   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Vi...

Today we're joined by Michal Shur-Ofry, Associate Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem law faculty, as she discusses the law and complex systems. In this episode, you'll hear how traditional legal approaches often take an overly simplistic view of the systems they're trying to regulate, how the patent system could be improved by using network science to measure true innovation, and why...

In the last episode, Jimmy Soni introduced Dr Claude Shannon, whose work laid the foundation for the technologies we use today. In this episode, Jimmy dives into the significance of Dr Shannon’s 1948 paper “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” to the creation of information theory.    Resources and links: Jimmy Soni’s website Jimmy Soni on X Jimmy Soni on Insta...

Dr Claude Shannon is one of the most influential scientists you’ve likely never heard of whose work laid the foundations for the information age.  To explain the significance of Dr Shannon’s impact on modern computing, we’re joined by Jimmy Soni, author of “A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age” and “The Founders: The Story of PayP...

Steve Keen is an Economist and Honorary Professor at University College London and is currently lecturing at the University of Amsterdam. In this episode, Steve explains the differences between neoclassical and post-Keynesian economics before discussing how concepts from complexity science and chaos theory can be used to develop economic models that actually factor in booms and busts.   Resou...

How does the brain actually work? In this episode, Christopher Lynn, Assistant Professor of Physics at Yale University, explains how network science can help us understand how our brains work.   Connect: Simplifying Complexity on Twitter Sean Brady on Twitter Sean Brady on LinkedIn Brady Heywood website This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com f...

In our last two episodes with Professor Jennifer Dunne, the Vice President for Science at the Santa Fe Institute, she explained food webs with a focus on her work in the Gulf of Alaska. In this episode, Jennifer discusses how fossil records are helping researchers reconstruct food webs from half a billion years ago and the insights we can glean from comparing ancient food webs to modern ones.   Co...

Today we're joined again by Dmitri Tymoczko, Professor of Music at Princeton University. Last time, Dmitri discussed the underlying principles that make music sound ‘good’. In this episode, Dmitri explores the integration of music theory into improvisational and algorithmic music. He discusses how modern technology allows musicians to blend traditional and improvisational elements with algorithms...

Today we’re joined by Dani S. Bassett, J. Peter Skirkanich Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and Perry Zurn, Visiting Associate Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Cornell University and Provost Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University. In today’s episode, Dani and Perry explore the concept of curiosity...

In our last episode, Professor Michael Batty from The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London explained the evolution of city planning and the fundamentals needed to understand city structures and models. In today’s episode, Michael delves into various theories and laws for explaining urban systems, the role of different models in understanding and predicting cit...

In this episode, we’re joined by Michael Batty, Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London and Chair of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, to discuss the evolution of city planning and the shift away from traditional mechanical views. In today’s episode, Michael lays the groundwork for understanding cities that will be essential for part two of this conversation.   Connect:...