Complexity Explorer Santa Few Institute

I am drawn to complex systems because they push back on rigid binaries and common understandings; instead, they invite mess and play! Complexity allows for nuance: for two things to be true and contradictory at the same time. As I pursue a dual degree in computer science and environmental analysis, I am constantly looking for connections between disparate courses, such as Programming Languages and Rhetorics of Sustainability. Studying complex systems encourages the mixing of disciplines and challenges the notion of individual academic specialization. The central theme of complex systems—that the whole is larger than the sum of its parts—is analogous to the radical collaboration required to study complex systems. This radical collaboration can be realized through computational tools, which have made the study of complex systems more accessible.

One of my very first Computer Science assignments was to create Conway’s game of life. Though I was given some visualization scaffolding, I had to encode the actual logic myself. I was shocked that such interesting behavior could emerge from such simple rules: rules that I was able to implement only a few weeks after I had coded for the first time. Through my experience with computer science, I have seen how computing has made the analysis of complex systems more equitable. Tools such as agent-based modeling make tangible large phenomena that are hard to physically experience without significant resources.