It is my opinion that there is no greater threat to truth than the misapplication of the term "science" to systems of rational inquiry that do not adhere to reduction-ism and controlled experiment (E.g, psychology, psychiatry, economics and ecology). The danger posed by this misappropriation of science is closely followed by the erroneous belief that science is the only valid means by which to derive truth, and that it will conquer all mysteries. It is by acknowledging the limitations of the scientific method that we can transcend its inadequacies, and through the careful application of complexity theory, we can begin to tackle the higher-order mysteries lying at the beating heart of complex emergent systems such as ecology, consciousness, culture and economics.

Over the last several years I have collected this anthology of video lectures as a primer for anyone interested in the topics of chaos, emergence and complexity. All topics from 1 to 7 build upon eachother so as to encourage the emergence of a thorough and functional understanding of the nature of complexity.

I will be available for discussion in the comments and to provide whatever assistance I can to your pursuit of wisdom.

"... complex systems, an interdisciplinary field of research, that seeks to explain how large numbers of relatively simple entities organize themselves, without the benefit of any central controller, into a collective whole that creates patterns, uses information, and, in some cases, evolves and learns."

- Melanie Mitchell, on complex systems

1.) Introduction to systems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLsJWgOB5mIMBinjH9ZAbiWiVxsizC5mU_&v=ezwTPrQG9Nk

2.) Chaos

“A dynamical system that exhibits sensitive dependence on initial conditions will produce markedly different solutions for two specifications of initial states that are initially very close together." - Stephen H. Kellert

3.) The emergent limits of analysis

"The ability to reduce everything to simple fundamental laws does not imply the ability to start from those laws and reconstruct the universe. The constructionist hypothesis breaks down when confronted with the twin difficulties of scale and complexity. At each level of complexity entirely new properties appear. Psychology is not applied biology, nor is biology applied chemistry. We can now see that the whole becomes not merely more, but very different from the sum of its parts." -Anderson P.W. 1972

4.) Strong emergence, context and computational proof

5.) Complexity: Theory

"We manage the emergence of beneficial coherence within attractors within boundaries, and that is the great hope of complexity theory, because it focuses on what can be managed, we manage for emergence" - David Snowden, PhD Complexity Theorist

6.) Complexity: Science

7.) Complexity: Applied