This book propagates a new way of thinking about managing our resources by integrating the perspectives of complex systems theory and social psychology. By resources, the authors mean objects, such as cell phones and cars, and human resources, such as family members, friends, and the small and large communities they belong to. As we all face the “replace or repair” dichotomy, readers will understand how to repair themselves, their relationships, and communities, accept the “new normal,” and contribute to repairing the world. The book is offered to Zoomers, growing up in a world where it seems everything is falling apart; people in their 30s and 40s, who are thinking about how to live a fulfilling life; people from the Boomers generation, who are thinking back on life and how to repair relationships. The Reader will enjoy the intellectual adventure of connecting the natural and social worlds and understanding the transition’s pathways from a “throwaway society” to a “repair society.

More at: link.springer.com

from Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution by Carlo Rovelli

From subatomic particles to human beings, interaction is what shapes reality (…)

Perhaps this is precisely what “properties” are: the effects of interactions. A good scientific theory, then, should not be about how things “are”, or what they “do”: it should be about how they affect one another. (…)

Reality is not a collection of things, it’s a network of processes. If this is correct, I think it comes with a lesson. We understand reality better if we think of it in terms of interactions, not individuals. 

Read the full article at: www.theguardian.com

Oriol Artime, Barbara Benigni, Giulia Bertagnolli, Valeria d’Andrea, Riccardo Gallotti, Arsham Ghavasieh, Sebastian Raimondo, and Manlio De Domenico

Networks are convenient mathematical models to represent the structure of complex systems, from cells to societies. In the last decade, multilayer network science – the branch of the field dealing with units interacting in multiple distinct ways, simultaneously – was demonstrated to be an effective modeling and analytical framework for a wide spectrum of empirical systems, from biopolymers networks (such as interactome and metabolomes) to neuronal networks (such as connectomes), from social networks to urban and transportation networks. In this Element, a decade after one of the most seminal papers on this topic, the authors review the most salient features of multilayer network science, covering both theoretical aspects and direct applications to real-world coupled/interdependent systems, from the point of view of multilayer structure, dynamics and function. The authors discuss potential frontiers for this topic and the corresponding challenges in the field for the next future.

More at: www.cambridge.org

This volume presents the proceedings of the 2022 Conference on Artificial Life (ALIFE 2022) which took place in Trento,
18-22 July 2022 (https://2022.alife.org/). The conference was held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The ALIFE 2022 conference theme is ‘La DOLCE vita. Discoveries on Life Complexity and Evolution for the improvement
of real lives’. The conference theme explores how to improve the quality of real life using techniques and discoveries from
the ALife field. This covers various topics including (but not limited to): the creation of artificial cells and organisms for
health and technological applications, engineered ecosystems for improved environmental quality and sustainable agriculture,
virtual/augmented reality creations with positive social impact, the well-being of our digital infrastructure, AI and ALife algorithms for equitable access to resources and accurate information, AI, ALife or robot assistance for those in need, AI, ALife
or robot applications for food production and distribution, the regeneration, redistribution and reuse of everyday resources,
microbial fuel cell systems for renewable energy, and other innovative technologies for social good.

Read the full book at: direct.mit.edu

Anne Dambricourt Malassé (ed.)

Shows how the new synthesis integrates scientific models of self-organization

Summarizes modern observations in paleontology and biology

Highlights various examples of self-organization as observed in the human lineage.

More at: link.springer.com