Ants Are Model for Tiny Powerful Robots Researchers have developed a team of robot that can apply tiny amounts of force in concert to move objects thousands of times their own weight. The team members are six microrobots weighing a mere 3.5 ounces together, and they can pull car that weighs more two tons. The micro-robots, modeled after ants, are so tiny their pieces had to be put together with tweezers. The car is the one that researcher David Christensen [...]
There is little debate that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is essential to the evolution of continually emerging technology ecosystems. Computer systems through increasingly sophisticated algorithms (the DNA of AI) can now routinely perform tasks that previously required “human” intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, rule based decision-making, and problem solving. The opportunities to leverage the potential of AI across all sectors has created the next paradigm shift in the complex relationship of how we think about humans and machines. From [...]
How can a mother feel a drug is more important than her baby? That question has perplexed policy makers, anguished families, and tormented women facing the complex challenges of addiction, recovery and childcare. Nancy E. Suchman, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine is working on answering that question and helping mothers coping with addiction and caring for their children. One Answer is Rooted in Science "What happens on a biological level with chronic substance [...]
This post was adapted from several articles by Arnold Beekes, who shared his work in a Pop-Up Conversation. You are invited to listen to the second half of the conversation. Do you believe that you will be an employee from graduation until retirement? Do you know what it means to be employed? The changes in the conditions and patterns of employment are shifting so rapidly that it is virtually impossible to plan for your entire work life. The speed [...]
Visualizing and drawing can help us think and communicate, especially when it comes to complexity. Amanda Lyons, is a visual practitioner. "I was excited to find complexity as I could see the amazing impact visuals can have in complex situations. Whether trying to understand something deeply myself or communicate it with others, visuals are my vehicle of choice." Amanda is a Plexus Catalyst, and her work brings an important new perspective to how we engage with complexity. Visuals allow Amanda [...]
A recent discussion on LinkedIn in the Harvard Business Review Group asked, “Wouldn't it be great if managing a team was as easy as herding sheep?” Several comments opposed the comparison of people to sheep but there are important insights for influencing pattern-based change in teams and organizations through understanding the self-organizing behaviors that arise from the interaction of individual agents (birds, bees and humans) when they adhere to a set of Simple Rules. The concept of simple rules is [...]
Understanding the Dynamics of Disruptive Experience...to Achieve Optimal Response Written by: Bruce Waltuck and Denise Easton A new series of blog posts will focus on how Plexus network members and clients build on and apply principles of complexity in innovative new ways. In this post, written by Plexus Catalysts Denise Easton and Bruce Waltuck, they describe their ongoing research and work about how Self-Organization and Emergence - two fundamental aspects of Complex Adaptive Systems - result in new insights about [...]
The rise in awareness of the principles of complexity continues to be both a boon and a problem for many scientific disciplines, resulting in intense discussions about how best to integrate this method of scientific discovery with established practices. The major divisions in the development and application of “complexity informed” models and tools have been between the legitimacy of mathematics versus conceptual models both for discovery and proof. This divergence of approaches in clearly evident in the field of healthcare; [...]
"Scientific knowledge, originally seen to make possible the prediction and manipulation of nature, appears now to be pointing us toward a new relationship with the natural world based on sensitive observation and participation, rather than control." Brian Goodwin During 2018, Plexus Institute’s Thursday Complexity Matters posts will continue to offer stories, new thinking, research and practices related to complexity in action. And, we will also be sharing fundamentals of "complexity" by reviewing the language, distinctions and metaphors that define complexity. [...]
In an early PlexusCall (September, 2003) guests Birute Regine, Eileen Hoffman and Justina Trott held a wide ranging conversation that explored how the distinctions in the “nature” of women aligned with the theory and insights of complexity science to human systems. “The system becomes more complex when you bring your whole self into it. For women who need to have their stories told and understood, that changes the whole dynamic of the profession of medicine, and the dynamic of the [...]
Gathering and sharing stories is a human behavior both ancient and universal. Our stories express our understanding even of the most complex situations; reflect our core values; and articulate our intentions for future action. Story telling is also one of the most enduring tools available to every person and every organization regardless of specific social, economic or cultural contexts. In the HBR article, The Irrestible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool, author Harrison Monarth understands that "stories" add measurable [...]
From Marc Narkus-Kramer a Plexus Catalyst and Plexus Institute board member. My interest in Plexus began when I was working at the MITRE Corporation and experienced the power of complexity thinking and practice that Plexus introduced to a project. I recently retired from MITRE and decided to explore how to build a process for organizational understanding and implementation of an integrated method of using complexity as a guiding principle for outcome management. I recognize how projects and conversations that include [...]
