Professor Stephen Blundell, University of Oxford
Marta Bielińska, University of Oxford
Alex Spies, Imperial College London
Matthew Oulton, Institute of Fiscal Studies
Yannik Herbert, University of Oxford
Justine Varga, Ruskin School of Fine Art
Seb Wilkes (juan.martinezwilkes@physics.ox.ac.uk)
Abstract
The 20th century most famously brought physics the theories of quantum mechanics (the physics of the very small) and general relativity (the physics of the very large). Piecing them together has been a difficult preoccupation of very many physicists since. However, a comparatively less spoken-about revolution in describing mesoscopic physics also happened in the 20th century.
New ideas of understanding nonlinear systems emerged, such as the phenomenon of chaos. Similarly, researchers found new ways to understand how simple subsystems interacted. The field of complex systems was born. Its hallmark was that of ‘emergence’: seeing macroscopically rich patterns and features that the underlying rules would themselves not code for.
Though the word of ‘emergence’ was used before this discovery, I was curious to see if indeed our very understanding of the word should be shaped by ideas from physics. Indeed, one can ask if other disciplines engage with emergence in similar ways?
To attempt to answer this, I'm bringing together experts from a range of fields in a symposium titled Emergence. The speakers will share their research and use this to explain how this has shaped their understanding of ‘emergence’. By starting in physics, we shall plot a course into the humanities to discover if there are any common threads. Come join this journey through academic landscapes on our quest to see a definition of ‘emergence’ … emerge.
This lecture is free to attend (please register via the link below).