Systems Stream at OR66, Bangor University, 10th -12th September 2024

The Chair of the Systems thinking SIG at The OR Society is hoping that members of the Centre for Systems Studies Community will be interested in presenting at the OR66 Conference which is being held at Bangor University on the 10th -12th September. Please join us and contribute to the growing community of systems thinkers in OR who are building the necessary capabilities to make our organisations, communities and ecosystems better places to live for current and future generations. We welcome the widest possible diversity of practitioners and academics, whatever systems thinking specialism you bring or research community you have engaged with previously. The deadline to submit an abstract is the 6th May 2024. The link for the portal to submit is here. Details of the conference can be found here.

Overcoming the counter-resistance of sponsoring systemsby philipjboxer on June 13, 2024

Overcoming the counter-resistance of sponsoring systems – Asymmetric Leadership

• The Doubling of the Double Task
• The regulation of ecosystems under different forms of governmentality
• The ‘Value Stairs’ and the ‘Double Diamond’
• The governance of corporations as holobionts
• Balancing normative and ‘edge’ roles in turbulent environments
• Triple articulation and the quadripod of a living system
• The Three Asymmetries necessary to describing agency in living biological systems
• What might it mean to ‘surrender sovereignty’ using biological metaphors?

Robert Reamer

Published online: 07 Jun 2024

• ttps://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2024.2354648

ABSTRACT

Both James C. Scott and Friedrich Hayek articulate critiques of centralised state planning that are fundamentally epistemological in character. In particular, both emphasize the loss of knowledge resulting from attempts to achieve synoptic legibility of complex social practices. Yet while Hayek’s critique of central planning leads to an emphasis on the indispensability of the price system, Scott argues that capitalist markets are also mechanisms of perverse simplification. This paper explores the roots of this disagreement and seeks to articulate the insights that emerge from reading Hayek and Scott together on questions of markets, knowledge, and the state.

Full article: Markets and Metis: Reading Hayek with Scott

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08913811.2024.2354648

[I realise now I don’t always label preprints – heyho.

Twitter thread introducing and summarising:

“[A]ny factual AI systems created in the short-run are at best decoys. When we think these systems capture something deep about ourselves and our thinking, we induce distorted and impoverished images of ourselves and our cognition.”

https://x.com/IrisVanRooij/status/1695414718221926498

]

Last edited: June 20, 2024

Download preprint

https://plaudit.pub/widget/?pid=doi%3A10.31234%2Fosf.io%2F4cbuv&embedder_id=osf_preprints&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fosf.io%2Fpreprints%2Fpsyarxiv%2F4cbuv

Abstract

The idea that human cognition is, or can be understood as, a form of computation is a useful conceptual tool for cognitive science. It was a foundational assumption during the birth of cognitive science as a multidisciplinary field, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) as one of its contributing fields. One conception of AI in this context is as a provider of computational tools (frameworks, concepts, formalisms, models, proofs, simulations, etc.) that support theory building in cognitive science. The contemporary field of AI, however, has taken the theoretical possibility of explaining human cognition as a form of computation to imply the practical feasibility of realising human(-like or -level) cognition in factual computational systems; and, the field frames this realisation as a short-term inevitability. Yet, as we formally prove herein, creating systems with human(-like or -level) cognition is intrinsically computationally intractable. This means that any factual AI systems created in the short-run are at best decoys. When we think these systems capture something deep about ourselves and our thinking, we induce distorted and impoverished images of ourselves and our cognition. In other words, AI in current practice is deteriorating our theoretical understanding of cognition rather than advancing and enhancing it. The situation could be remediated by releasing the grip of the currently dominant view on AI and by returning to the idea of AI as a theoretical tool for cognitive science. In reclaiming this older idea of AI, however, it is important not to repeat conceptual mistakes of the past (and present) that brought us to where we are today.

Reclaiming AI as a theoretical tool for cognitive scienceAUTHORSIris van Rooij, Olivia Guest, Federico G Adolfi, Ronald de Haan, Antonina Kolokolova, and Patricia RichAUTHOR ASSERTIONSCONFLICT OF INTERESTNo PUBLIC DATANot applicable PREREGISTRATIONNot applicable ReclAIming_AI_2023.pdfVersion: 2Download previous versionsCreated: August 01, 2023|Last edited: June 20, 2024Expand Download preprintViews: 22140 | Downloads: 6243AbstractThe idea that human cognition is, or can be understood as, a form of computation is a useful conceptual tool for cognitive science. It was a foundational assumption during the birth of cognitive science as a multidisciplinary field, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) as one of its contributing fields. One conception of AI in this context is as a provider of computational tools (frameworks, concepts, formalisms, models, proofs, simulations, etc.) that support theory building in cognitive science. The contemporary field of AI, however, has taken the theoretical possibility of explaining human cognition as a form of computation to imply the practical feasibility of realising human(-like or -level) cognition in factual computational systems; and, the field frames this realisation as a short-term inevitability. Yet, as we formally prove herein, creating systems with human(-like or -level) cognition is intrinsically computationally intractable. This means that any factual AI systems created in the short-run are at best decoys. When we think these systems capture something deep about ourselves and our thinking, we induce distorted and impoverished images of ourselves and our cognition. In other words, AI in current practice is deteriorating our theoretical understanding of cognition rather than advancing and enhancing it. The situation could be remediated by releasing the grip of the currently dominant view on AI and by returning to the idea of AI as a theoretical tool for cognitive science. In reclaiming this older idea of AI, however, it is important not to repeat conceptual mistakes of the past (and present) that brought us to where we are today.

PsyArXiv Preprints | Reclaiming AI as a theoretical tool for cognitive science

https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/4cbuv

[I believe I haven’t shared this tweet before regarding John McCarthy talking about coining the phase ‘artificial intelligence’ in distinction to ‘cybernetics’ for funding and out of dislike of Wiener? (In my mind, Evgeny Morozov was not the first to share this, but I can’t find an earlier tweet… oh, ok, there’s a lot more on twitter – see search below – including claim this was a self-deprecating claim (and other evidence of Wiener not being easy to get along with!)

Editorial comment ends]

Jan Krikke·

Jan 21, 2024

Plan, Quantify, Steer

Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the future has been making all the headlines in recent years, and rightly so, but few people realize that AI is built on a Cybernetic platform. AI is a “derivative” of Cybernetics. The latter is not only a computer science, it is a way of looking at the world.

Cybernetics vs Artificial IntelligenceJan Krikke·Following3 min read·Jan 21, 2024281Plan, Quantify, SteerArtificial Intelligence and its impact on the future has been making all the headlines in recent years, and rightly so, but few people realize that AI is built on a Cybernetic platform. AI is a “derivative” of Cybernetics. The latter is not only a computer science, it is a way of looking at the world.

Cybernetics vs Artificial Intelligence | by Jan Krikke | Medium

https://jankrikke2020.medium.com/cybernetics-vs-artificial-intelligence-39689186e346

[Can’t say I understand it all yet – but I have a hunch it’s extremely interesting, maybe important]

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2024

Andrej Spiridonov[Opens in a new window] and

Niles Eldredge

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/bretskyan-hierarchy-multiscale-allopatry-and-geobiomeson-the-nature-of-evolutionary-things/DB8A87F669AB8EA50E27D007EF55C033

Explicated by a 25-tweet thread from one author:

And here’s an LLM generated summary of the tweet thread:

Article published in “Paleobiology” on the third (Bretskyan) hierarchy of life, called the “zipper hierarchy” of eco-genealogical units.

The synthesis of major themes in hierarchical evolution theory: ecological (Vernadskyan) and genealogical (Linnaean) hierarchies, and major transitions in evolution.

Connection between ecosystem evolution, biogeography, and the Geological Time Scale hierarchy.

Bretskyan hierarchy composed of eco-genealogical units at various scales; smallest scales involve communities integrated by biotic interactions, potentially merging into holobionts.

As spatial and temporal scales grow, biotic integration becomes less likely, with geological structures playing a central role.

Geological structures determine geomorphology, geochemistry, and climate, leading to the separation and compartmentalization of biotas by abiotic barriers.

Larger geological structures enhance the individuality of biotas, exemplified by allopatric speciation.

[Definition: Allopatry, meaning ‘in another place‘, describes a population or species that is physically isolated from other similar groups by an extrinsic barrier to dispersal.]

Hierarchical allopatry works across all time and space scales, achieving greater importance at larger scales.

Biotic entities defined by geological structures are termed Geobiomes, which emerge, persist, and fuse due to geodynamics and planetary complexity scaling.

The largest and most integrated geobiome is Gaia, confined by the outer space barrier.

On LinkedIn he says:

Dr Mike C Jackson OBE

Pleased to say that my new book ‘Critical Systems Thinking: A Practitioner’s Guide’ has landed. It is available from Wiley, Amazon, etc. from 19th June.
The book is my best attempt to distil 40+ years experience of researching and using Systems Thinking (ST) in a way that is accessible to practitioners.
The book offers an introduction to Systems Thinking and Critical Systems Thinking (CST); a description of the best known systems approaches; a guide to the mindset needed to become a systems thinker; advice on Critical Systems Practice (CSP) and case studies; and a discussion of Systemic Leadership.
It is designed for leaders and managers in government, business, the public sector, the professions, and beyond who want to understand the potential of ST and use it in their work.
It complements ‘Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity’ , Wiley, 2019, my earlier comprehensive account of the history of ST and the different systems approaches.
I hope you like it and find it useful.

Post | LinkedIn

June 2024	“Resequencing Systems Thinking: Practising, Theorizing and Philosophizing as Systems Changes Learning, at Year 6 of 10” [view abstract and presentation slides]	David Ing	Presentation at 68th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, Washington, DC
May 2024	“Resequencing Systems Thinking: Practising, Theorizing and Philosophizing as Systems Changes Learning” [view abstract and presentation slides]	David Ing	Expert Led Session for Centre for System Studies, University of Hull, UK

Publications | Coevolving Innovations

https://coevolving.com/commons/publications

how developmental biology might contain the secrets to life, intelligence, and immortality

KASRA

JUN 08, 2024

Prelude: Michael Levin is a scientist at Tufts University who many have described as one of the most revolutionary biologists of our age. His work has been featured everywhere from Scientific American to the Lex Fridman podcast and The New Yorker. I spent the past month reading a bunch of his papers and interviews in an attempt to answer the question: what is Michael Levin on about and why does it matter? The essay below is the result of that investigation.

A Revolution in Biology – by Kasra – Bits of Wonder

https://www.bitsofwonder.co/p/a-revolution-in-biology

[Gerald now has an excellent one-hour whistlestop intro to systems thinking and practice, which he’s been kind enough to deliver several times for Commissioning Academies – I think this is a version of that]

In today’s uncertain world, we need innovative tools to address novel challenges. This course introduces a systems approach to understanding and influencing human action, enabling you to more effectively navigate risks and seize opportunities in contexts where people play a crucial role.

While this course is designed for anyone interested in behavior change, it holds particular relevance for individuals looking to drive strategic change in organizations, policymaking (especially health and security), or service design.

Dates: June 24th through June 28th, 2024
Start: 9:30 am EST / 3:30 pm CET / 6:30 am PST
End: 12:30 pm EST / 6:30 pm CET / 9:30 am PST

Registration Open: Wednesday, April 12th, 2024

Early Bird Registration Prices Apply: April 12th – May 31st

Understanding and Shaping Complex Social Psychological Systems In today’s uncertain world, we need innovative tools to address novel challenges. This course introduces a systems approach to understanding and influencing human action, enabling you to more effectively navigate risks and seize opportunities in contexts where people play a crucial role.While this course is designed for anyone interested in behavior change, it holds particular relevance for individuals looking to drive strategic change in organizations, policymaking (especially health and security), or service design.Dates: June 24th through June 28th, 2024Start: 9:30 am EST / 3:30 pm CET / 6:30 am PSTEnd: 12:30 pm EST / 6:30 pm CET / 9:30 am PSTRegistration Open: Wednesday, April 12th, 2024Early Bird Registration Prices Apply: April 12th – May 31st

Understanding and Shaping Complex Social Psychological Systems — New England Complex Systems Institute

This is the end-May 2024 monthly events mailing from SCiO.  Click on the flags or group titles below to go to the events that interest you. Please remember that you can attend online events organised by any of the SCiO groups if they are held in a language you speak/understand (and you are a member if it is a member-only meeting). Further details of events may be available by clicking on the event titles below and you can also book each event directly from the Book now text.

Only SCiO UK and SCiO Nederland are continuing to have meetings over the next two months but do please note that some groups post events and add details quite late, so it is always worth checking the website – also for changes to dates and times. Please click here to see all the events in a browser.

SCiO Belgium	SCiO DACH
SCiO Espana	SCiO Finland
SCiO India	SCiO Ireland
SCiO Nederland	SCiO UK

___________________________

Several professional development courses are taking place over the next two months:

07 June 2024                PoS2 Patterns of Strategy – Core Module (1.0d),  £500 +VAT

14 June 2024                 PoS3 Patterns of Strategy – Core Module (1.0d),  £500 +VAT

21 June 2024                 Grammar of Systems 3 (1.0d),  £500 +VAT

Click on the titles for more details and to enquire about booking.

Best Regards

Steve

SCiO – Systems & Complexity in Organisation

Mobile      07712 140422         

e-mail      steve.hales@systemspractice.org                       

website    www.systemspractice.org  

This message is confidential to the intended recipient. It does not constitute a legally binding document on the part of either the sender or the recipient. If this message has been received by you in error please reply to: steve.hales@systemspractice.org  with UNSUBSCRIBE as the title  

Systems and Complexity in Organisation Ltd is a company registered in England with Company Number: 3499590 Registered address: Unit 14 Tower Street, Century Building, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool  L3 4BJ  UK

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO UK

SCiO UK Virtual Development Event – June 2024

Tue, June 18, 2024 – 18:30 – 20:30 GMT+1

SCiO’s Development Events offer an opportunity to draw upon the collective expertise of SCiO members in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. By taking Development Events online, using the Zoom meeting platform, we aim to make them accessible to more SCiO members Development Events are both for members who are just starting out on a journey to explore Systems Thinking approaches, and for those who have many years of exploration and practice.

Members only; FREE; Online event; English Book now

SCiO UK Virtual Open Meeting – July 2024

Mon, Jul 8, 2024 – 18:30 – 21:00 GMT+1

SCiO organises Open Meetings to provide opportunities for practitioners to learn and develop new practice, to build relationships, network, hear about skills, tools, practice and experiences. This virtual session will be held on Zoom.

Disability inequality in the healthcare workforce: how my journey through the systems thinking apprenticeship helped to add a new perspective to the problem – Elisse Grint

Interactive Planning in Action? – Dr Tim Curtis

All welcome; FREE; Online event; English  Book now

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Nederland

SCIO-NL webinar (in English): Selling Horses, and Seeing Systems on a Road Less Travelled by Bill Bellows

Wed, Jun 12, 2024 – 19:00 – 20:30 CET+1

Coming month, the 12th of June, we are happy to have Bill Bellows join us for an inspiring talk.Bill is an old-time friend and collaborator with our member Frans Leijse; both of them are experts in the work of W.E. Deming and have recently been successful in bringing together a group of professionals in a purposeful and liberating way.On the 12th of July(!) Bill will be in the Netherlands and we will continue the conversation live in Vianen for anybody who wants to join us there.

This is what Bill himself wrote on his talk: From The Road Not Taken to Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, poet Robert Frost crafted timeless images of rural scenes as well as life’s everyday journeys. Through his prose, he also gave sage advice, including guidance on the secret to selling a horse; “Take care to sell your horse before he dies. The art of life is passing losses on.”  Yet, what can be said of those who will receive these losses, be they co-workers, customers, or, more broadly, fellow members of society?  And, how does this impact how systems are managed?
In a very pragmatic sense, our ability to manage systems depends on our ability to see and think about systems. To paraphrase Robert Frost in his poem, The Road Not Taken, this presentation will provide insights to seeing and managing systems on a road less travelled, in which the focus shifts from actions to interactions, with a detailed explanation of both paths.All welcome; Free; Online Event; English  Book now

SCIO-NL monthly meeting June 2024 (live in Vianen and in Dutch)

Fri, Jun 14, 2024 – 12:30 – 16:00 CET+1

SCIO-NL komt elke 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen in Vianen (Hagenweg 3c). Er staan geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp. Toegankelijk voor iedereen die de jaarlijkse fee voor de live-bijeenkomsten (€50,-) hiervoor betaald. En voor gasten. Neem contact op via ed@doitogether.nl als je interesse hebt, maar nog geen lid van de club bent.

Restricted; Free; Hagenweg 3c, Vianen, Netherlands;  Dutch  Book now

SCIO-NL monthly meeting July 2024 (live in Vianen)

Fri, Jul 12, 2024 – 14:00 – 17:00 CET+1

This time we will be joined by Bill Bellows from the United States. We will continue the conversation of his presentation of the month before (12th of June).

See the 12 June meeting above for more details.

Restricted; Free; Hagenweg 3c, Vianen, Netherlands;  English  Book now

https://www.systemspractice.org/events

[Some discounted tickets may be available – email benjamin.taylor@redquadrant.com if you are interested]

The map is not the territory, the word is not the thing it describes. Whenever the map is confused with the territory, a ‘semantic disturbance’ is set up in the organism. The disturbance continues until the limitation of the map is recognized.

⏤Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity

Korzybski’s study of language, perception, and consciousness provides us with some of the most essential and least recognized theories and methods to make sense of this era in which communication has become polarizing, and media is stirring the storm of confusion.

General semantics is the name of the tradition of inquiry into language, thought, and abstracting that Korzybski founded. Join the Institute of General Semantics (based in New York City) in London, UK, for three days of theory and practical application, story and experiential learning, via an in-person seminar on general semantics and related non-aristotelian systems. The 3-day intensive course will include lecture, discussion, and exercises designed to provide participants with a thorough grounding in the discipline and its applications.

For those unfamiliar with general semantics, the seminar will provide a comprehensive introduction to the tradition and its 21st century evolution. For those already familiar with the non-aristotelian approach, the course will provide reinforcement, enrichment, and an updating and expansion of the discipline. And for those interested in and/or involved in teaching, the seminar will provide useful guidance on pedagogy related to topics such as language, symbolic communication, thought and behavior, and epistemology and evaluation.

During the seminar, we will explore how unexamined language behaviors perpetuate misperceptions of past and present controversies in professional and personal spaces. And we will determine which language and listening behaviors respect the infinite worth of each person in the interaction.

The seminar leaders will include four trustees of the Institute of General Semantics: 

Lance Strate, Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, President of the Institute of General Semantics, and author of 10 books including Media Ecology: An Approach to Understanding the Human Condition, and Concerning Communication: Epic Quests and Lyric Excursions Within the Human Lifeworld.

Mary P. Lahman, Professor Emerita of Communication Studies at Manchester University, Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, ECHO Certified Listening Practitioner, and author of Awareness and Action: A Travel Companion.

Nora Bateson, President of the International Bateson Institute, Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, Creator of Warm Data and the Warm Data labs, complexity/systems teacher, filmmaker, artist, and author of Small Arcs of Larger Circles, and Combining.

Dom Heffer, East Yorkshire-based artist, Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, Art Editor of the journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics, founding member of Feral Art School, and previously associated with The Estate of Francis Bacon, 2021 Visual Arts Centre, Ferens Art Gallery, Cultural Olympiad 2012, and UK City of Culture 2017.

The seminar will be held over 3 full days (9 AM to 5 PM) on July 25th to 27th in London, UK, at the October Gallery. 

The seminar fee is $500 for IGS members, $600 for non-members, and will cover the cost of course materials. Participants will be responsible for their own transportation, room, and board.

We will try to accommodate everyone interested in attending the seminar, but space will necessarily will be limited, so register early to insure your participation!

Navigating the Now: A Guide to RecognizingWhat Is Going OnA 3-Day In-PersonGeneral Semantics SeminarJuly 25-27LondonThe map is not the territory, the word is not the thing it describes. Whenever the map is confused with the territory, a ‘semantic disturbance’ is set up in the organism. The disturbance continues until the limitation of the map is recognized.⏤Alfred Korzybski, Science and SanityKorzybski’s study of language, perception, and consciousness provides us with some of the most essential and least recognized theories and methods to make sense of this era in which communication has become polarizing, and media is stirring the storm of confusion.General semantics is the name of the tradition of inquiry into language, thought, and abstracting that Korzybski founded. Join the Institute of General Semantics (based in New York City) in London, UK, for three days of theory and practical application, story and experiential learning, via an in-person seminar on general semantics and related non-aristotelian systems. The 3-day intensive course will include lecture, discussion, and exercises designed to provide participants with a thorough grounding in the discipline and its applications.For those unfamiliar with general semantics, the seminar will provide a comprehensive introduction to the tradition and its 21st century evolution. For those already familiar with the non-aristotelian approach, the course will provide reinforcement, enrichment, and an updating and expansion of the discipline. And for those interested in and/or involved in teaching, the seminar will provide useful guidance on pedagogy related to topics such as language, symbolic communication, thought and behavior, and epistemology and evaluation.During the seminar, we will explore how unexamined language behaviors perpetuate misperceptions of past and present controversies in professional and personal spaces. And we will determine which language and listening behaviors respect the infinite worth of each person in the interaction.The seminar leaders will include four trustees of the Institute of General Semantics: Lance Strate, Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, President of the Institute of General Semantics, and author of 10 books including Media Ecology: An Approach to Understanding the Human Condition, and Concerning Communication: Epic Quests and Lyric Excursions Within the Human Lifeworld.Mary P. Lahman, Professor Emerita of Communication Studies at Manchester University, Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, ECHO Certified Listening Practitioner, and author of Awareness and Action: A Travel Companion.Nora Bateson, President of the International Bateson Institute, Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, Creator of Warm Data and the Warm Data labs, complexity/systems teacher, filmmaker, artist, and author of Small Arcs of Larger Circles, and Combining.Dom Heffer, East Yorkshire-based artist, Trustee of the Institute of General Semantics, Art Editor of the journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics, founding member of Feral Art School, and previously associated with The Estate of Francis Bacon, 2021 Visual Arts Centre, Ferens Art Gallery, Cultural Olympiad 2012, and UK City of Culture 2017.The seminar will be held over 3 full days (9 AM to 5 PM) on July 25th to 27th in London, UK, at the October Gallery. The seminar fee is $500 for IGS members, $600 for non-members, and will cover the cost of course materials. Participants will be responsible for their own transportation, room, and board.We will try to accommodate everyone interested in attending the seminar, but space will necessarily will be limited, so register early to insure your participation!

Institute of General Semantics – Navigating the Now: A Guide to Recognizing What is Going On? A 3-Day General Semantics Seminar

https://generalsemantics.org/event-5704040?fbclid=IwAR1cMkyZfkh62PRpMLRcWZUyhM6LcGiDvg6GvOkdw7cCmkwn16oPb-FQkmU

[In response to this week’s LinkedIn post, Liz Rykert https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7201116972317581312?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28activity%3A7201116972317581312%2C7201912539662749696%29&dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287201912539662749696%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7201116972317581312%29 introduced the work of Scott Kelso (and collaborators) in the book The Complementary Nature. It appears this is another whole ‘chunk’ of stuff in the systems | complexity | cybernetics space – haven’t found one of them for quite a while! So this is by way of being a kind of promissory note for potentially more here – looks like lots of stuff with lots of overlaps]

HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Front. Hum. Neurosci., 14 August 2020
Sec. Motor Neuroscience
Volume 14 – 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00317

This article is part of the Research Topic

Sensorimotor Foundations of Social Cognition

View all 22 Articles 

Coordination Dynamics: A Foundation for Understanding Social Behavior

Emmanuelle Tognoli^1,2* Mengsen Zhang^1,3 Armin Fuchs^1,4† Christopher Beetle⁴ J. A. Scott Kelso^1,5*

• ¹Human Brain and Behavior Laboratory, Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
• ²Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
• ³Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
• ⁴Department of Physics, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
• ⁵Intelligent Systems Research Centre, Ulster University, Londonderry, United Kingdom

Humans’ interactions with each other or with socially competent machines exhibit lawful coordination patterns at multiple levels of description. According to Coordination Dynamics, such laws specify the flow of coordination states produced by functional synergies of elements (e.g., cells, body parts, brain areas, people…) that are temporarily organized as single, coherent units. These coordinative structures or synergies may be mathematically characterized as informationally coupled self-organizing dynamical systems (Coordination Dynamics). In this paper, we start from a simple foundation, an elemental model system for social interactions, whose behavior has been captured in the Haken-Kelso-Bunz (HKB) model. We follow a tried and tested scientific method that tightly interweaves experimental neurobehavioral studies and mathematical models. We use this method to further develop a body of empirical research that advances the theory toward more generalized forms. In concordance with this interdisciplinary spirit, the present paper is written both as an overview of relevant advances and as an introduction to its mathematical underpinnings. We demonstrate HKB’s evolution in the context of social coordination along several directions, with its applicability growing to increasingly complex scenarios. In particular, we show that accommodating for symmetry breaking in intrinsic dynamics and coupling, multiscale generalization and adaptation are principal evolutions. We conclude that a general framework for social coordination dynamics is on the horizon, in which models support experiments with hypothesis generation and mechanistic insights.

Frontiers | Coordination Dynamics: A Foundation for Understanding Social Behavior

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00317/full

28 May 2024

By Gerrit Van Wyk

Edgar Morin on Systems and Complexity – The Complexity of Health Care

Edgar Morin on Systems and Complexity