Big Data, Complex Systems and Quantum Mechanics

But, the worlds of the very small, as well as the very large, are not the only ones that exhibit counter-intuitive, seemingly magical behaviors.  So is the world of highly complex systems, especially those systems whose components and interrelationships are themselves quite complex, as is the case with systems biology and evolution. 

Such is also the case with organizational and sociotechnical systems whose main components are people.  Even though these chaotic systems are in principle deterministic, their dynamic, non-linear nature renders them increasingly unpredictable and accounts for their emergent behavior.  New terms, like long tails, Freakonomics and black swan theory, – every bit as fanciful as quarks, charm and strangeness, – have begun to enter our lexicon. 

It’s always been beyond our ken, that’s what bounded rationality is about. But hope springs eternal that something will solve the understanding problem for us.

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