CALResCo Information
1. Ten Second Quick Summary
2. CALResCo Outline
CALResCo was set up in 1996 to fulfil a perceived need on the Internet to integrate the information about Complex Systems, in all its various guises, and present it in a way useful to both beginners and those already familiar with one or more of the fields. As an educational resource it provides comprehensive links to tutorial materials around the world, as well as to more technical papers and resources. A large part of our efforts is dedicated to raising familiarity about the concepts of Complex Systems within the traditional scientific and human disciplines, and to this end we present interdisciplinary papers introducing and relating these concepts to more familiar subjects and situations. Many of the fields that we consider go back many years, yet it is only with the advent of cheap computer resources that we have seen their blossoming into mainstream research. Simulations and iterations on a computer are the essence of Complex Systems research, and allow
us to explore the infinite space of possible systems in a way not previously possible. As we enter the third millennium we will see the value of this approach, as a way to analyse and understand systems too complex for Newtonian analysis and too simple for Statistical averaging - in other words, Life.
3. Research activities
Our work considers many aspects of complex systems, from quantum theory and
cosmology, through biological evolution to psychology and social systems. We
also devote attention to the arts, humanities, parapsychology and the mystical
realms, where this proves useful and scientifically valid. The team members all
pursue their own specialised interests as well as pooling ideas where useful.
We are looking chiefly to make connections between behaviours in these wider fields
and the findings of those ALife and Complexity researchers doing primary
work in the specialist fields. I personally have a particular interest in attractor theory
and the dynamics of systems at the edge of chaos. I am looking to develop
sets of criteria with which to explain self-organization, and hopefully to
illuminate methods of control and prediction that are commonly applicable
over a wide range of fields, inorganic, organic and cultural. My current work concentrates
upon the incorporation of values into complexity science, and in the use of
systems concepts and synergetic thinking to develop sustainable and diversity
related new metaperspectives or worldviews suitable for a multicultural world.
My philosophy is transdisciplinary, but biased towards scientific
areas and to the search for a rigorous and quantitative theory of complex
systems, which will allow future predictive applications. I follow the
paradigms being developed and espoused by the Santa Fe Institute,
particularly in the realms of Boolean and NKC networks with their attractor
and co-evolutionary fitness spaces. One area of special interest to me is
in those areas of state space not currently being explored and the new
concepts we may need to approach these creatively.
Some of the Questions for which we seek answers:
- Explanations of wayward, one-off events and how they relate to chaotic concepts.
- Why the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, i.e. the meaning of emergence.
- Physical, Intellectual, Emotional balance criteria for social optimisation.
- What is reality, multidimensional models and their relationship to non-material structures.
- Ethics of co-operation and interaction, i.e. the understanding of synergic possibility.
- Dynamics of non-chaotic evolving systems without fixed attractors or state cycles
- Using edge-of-chaos not preventing it - managing ill-behaved systems
- Constraints on state space, and escaping local optima into unexplored state space
- Transient effects of perturbation and instability on social systems
- Scale independent properties common to all systems
- Relevance of holographic transforms within the brain as a parallel processing methodology
- The possibility of fact independent consciousness and alternative realities
- Intrinsic meaning of bifurcation and choice, i.e. autonomy and teleology
- Field theories of complex systems and their relationship to quantum field concepts
- Consciousness levels as a function of complexity and their criteria
- Relativity of the concept of self and its possible underlying invalidity
Our world view is extensively relativistic, concentrating on probability, view transformations,
and the meaning of connectedness, at both quantum and macro levels. I concentrate on
dynamic science, within the paradigm of hard science but without the conceptual restrictions that often constrain the viewpoints of traditional science. I'm also interested in the application of complexity research to political and social issues and for improving the quality of life throughout the world . This requires I think an evolutionary view of all things, a bottom up synthesis merging with a top down holism.
4. Educational activities
Our prime concern is to provide free information to anyone interested in this subject. Our web site here is
currently our main method of providing this information. We can also offer our materials by EMail to those
without Internet access, although this is restricted at present to text or HTML documents. We will attempt to answer any general questions within any of the fields
we cover (although specialist questions should be addressed to the appropriate newsgroup), and if we have no
online material covering a specific query will attempt to locate or provide such materials.
5. Relevant Personnel
I'm Chris Lucas, a researcher working
on the philosophy and new sciences of Complexity Theory and Artificial Life. I have been involved full time
in this area since 1994, and previously did related research in my spare time. I am the founder of CALResCo
and Director of Research. I also handle the site maintenance and evaluation aspects of our work.
I hold a 1st in physics and computer science and am a member of the Institute for the Management
of Information Systems (IMIS). I have an extensive background in telecommunications, networks, computer
science, finance and management. I live in Manchester, England, U.K. and am single. Resume.
Heading our marketing effort we have David Kirshbaum
of Altanta, Georgia, U.S.A. David holds an MA in Clinical Psychology and is handling the advertising and public
relations for our site. He is married with a young boy and twin daughters.Web Site.
The other members of our current dynamic team (in order of joining) are:
Physicist Dr Yuri Milov previously with the Institute of
Content and Methodology for Education, Kiev, Ukraine and now in Toronto, Canada, Yuri is married with a son and daughter.
Web Site
Neurobiologist Dr Vyacheslav L. Kalmykov from the Institute of Cell Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Pushchino (near Moscow), Russia. Slava is also married with two sons.Web Site
Dr. Linda P. Beckerman, former Director of Systems Engineering for Science Applications International Corporation in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. Her interests included the application of Complex Systems Science to military and
business strategy. She is now writing on politically relevant topics. Web Site
Mathematician Dr. Jiri Donat from Prague in the Czech Republic, currently head of corporate strategy at Siemiens s.r.o. Resume.
Classical Musician David Bethe, a spiritually enlightened human being from Chicago, U.S.A. who uses mysticism, religion and metaphysics from all cultures in order to merge scientific and religious philosophies using complexity concepts, within a viewpoint of holographic mind. Web Site
Ecologist Dan Fiscus teaches and does research at Frostburg State University in rural Western Maryland, U.S.A. He is married with three kids and holds a PhD in environmental science and an MSc in ecology. He is interested in environmental sustainability, forest ecology and permaculture and the origin, definition and mental models of life. Web Site.
6. Joining the CALResCo Group
There is much work to be done in the area of Complex Systems Research and
Education and we would be interested in hearing from anyone who believes they
can contribute positively to this site and to the work of CALResCo. Some of the tasks
yet to be pursued in depth are applications, link integrity, research, software links, educational ratings, experiments and documentation. If you are interested in any of these areas or can
suggest other ways by which you could contribute, please mail us with your details,
including specific interests.
7. Suggestions and Feedback
We would welcome suggestions for links or papers worth adding to our site, either your own or
those you have found useful. Any link we have adds value, either by containing
useful primary materials (tutorials, papers, discussions or illustrations), by being a specialist
resource in a field related to complex systems, or by demonstrating applications of complex system
ideas within some conventional academic discipline or business area.
We wish to make this site as comprehensive as possible, therefore critical comments on our material, suggestions for additions or corrections, questions on any aspect of Complex Systems or
just your first impressions on our presentation are warmly encouraged, just
EMail us.
Page Version 4.83 June 2008 (Original June 1997)