A podcast that explores the underlying principles of complex systems - systems that defy our rational view of the world. By Sean Brady (@BradyHeywood).
Feb 12 • 18 tweets • 5 min read
1/ Geoffrey West of @sfiscienceon why bigger is better in complex systems - as animals get larger, they become more efficient. Double the size of an animal, and you only have to increase it's metabolic rate by 75%. You get a 25% saving. 2/ 'despite the vagaries and accidents inherent in evolutionary dynamics, almost all of the most fundamental and complex measurable characteristics of organisms scale with size in a remarkably simple and regular fashion.
'Here was this elusive "Santa Fe approach": Instead of emphasizing decreasing returns, static equilibrium, and perfect rationality, as in the neoclassical view,' 2/ 'the Santa Fe team would emphasize increasing returns, bounded rationality, and the dynamics of evolution and learning.'