SIOC 216A Introduction to the Physics of Complex Systems

ANNOUNCEMENTS
• 021824: because Monday, Feb 19 is a holiday, there will be no office hours. office hours this week are tue thurs 1230-130pm at Mandeville cafe, or by appointment - for an appointment, e-mail me your availability.
•013124: Because of forecast intense rain, class on Thursday, February 1 will be both In-Person and Online. For the online link, see the Links page. If you are traveling to campus, please be careful in the streets!

In SIOC 216A, we will discuss the philosophical underpinnings of complexity and its implications, the conceptual and mathematical apparatus that has been developed (and continues to be developed) for analyzing comp[lex systems, specific tools for probing different kinds of complex systems, modeling, measurement and data analysis strategies, and a framework for asking questions and answering them for any complex system.

Some of the questions we will seek answers for include:
--What qualitative and quantitative techniques exist to provide greater insight into the dynamics of complex systems?
--What dynamical properties do fluids have in common with capitalist, colonizing societies?
--What dynamical properties of global systems of power and wealth have made it so difficult to properly address the climate crisis?
--What roles do science, prediction and uncertainty play in determining the future?
--What impacts do resistance movements have on society and societal-environmental interactions?
--Does, as the saying goes, capitalism kill love?
Complexity can address (and, in some cases, answer) all of these questions.

Applications discussed in SIO 216A will include physical systems from canyons to climate, biological systems from flagella to forests, human systems from consciousness to culture, economic systems from stock markets to socialism, and political systems from colonialism to collectivism.

You will finish the course with a working knowledge of the concepts and methods used in the study of complex systems and how they have been and can be applied in the natural and social sciences.

Winter Quarter 2024
Tuesdays/Thursdays 200-320PM
OAR 150 (Keck Complex Conference Room) at SIO
If you are coming from the main UCSD campus, there are a number of ways to get to OAR 150, which is near the top of the hill @ Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The classroom is about a 20 minute walk from main campus, about a 10 minute trip via skate or cycle (be careful on the hill!), or take the SIO shuttle to the Southwest Fisheries stop, carefully cross the street and walk across the parking lot towards the Keck Building. you want to go around that building to the left into a court yard. walk across the sunken courtyard near the center and go up a few stairs to a door, enter and you hopefully will be in OAR 150! Click on the map below.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the instructor, bt werner bwerner AT ucsd DOT edu

Download a SIO 216A Flyer for Winter 2024:
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