Re: Any non-biological complex systems?

Posted by Steve Smith on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Any-non-biological-complex-systems-tp7589731p7589751.html

I just looked up "Topological Insulator" (thanks Carl) and was blown away (once again) about things discovered/developed during my professional career that I had not heard of before but find relevant/fascinating to some of my work.  I wonder if the boys (and girls?) of the Enlightenment felt the same as the scientific progress of that era unfolded so fully inside one lifetime?

By coincidence I was just at my nephew's graduation from UofA with a BS in Materials Science.  I met his dept. chair and another researcher who are leading him forward to a PhD in Material Science, working in the area of quantum phononics.  The project(s) were fascinating. 

They are already building standing acoustic waves with quantum properties and expect to be doing quantum computing with them soon...

None of this is unanticipated, the only thing I have a hard time accepting is that it is happening (it would seem) in my lifetime.

My PhD Molecular Biologist daughter was arguing against targeted gene splicing as a practicality until CRISPR happened and now, just a couple of years later, it is key to her own work!  The social implications would seem to be staggering?

I don't believe in a Kurzweilian style singularity exactly, but the exponential growth (by what measure?) of tech seems to be happening quite clearly...  the impact on everyday life, of course is another matter.

Technological optimists (like Marcus?) probably only see the upside of this, while neo-retro-luddites (like myself) have a hard time staying away from the grey-goo/dystopian futures...    I am also somewhat of a fatalist and expect that it will all happen one way or another with or without me fretting.   A couple of years ago, you may have heard me asking Schlitz about living in Ecuador as I was looking at withdrawing to the hills of Panama, not exactly for these reasons but with that in mind.   The folks with a beachhead there turned out to be nuttier than fruitcakes (why would that not surpise us) so it wasn't a real option anyway.  

Enough wandering I suppose...

Carry on!
 - Steve

On 5/25/17 12:01 PM, Carl Tollander wrote:

Metamaterials.   Topological insulators.

On May 24, 2017 6:59 PM, "Russ Abbott" <[hidden email]> wrote:

Are there any good examples of a complex system that doesn't involve biological organisms (including human beings)?

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove