8 Nov 2019

Information processing in complex systems

Rick Quax

University of Amsterdam

A network of dynamical units can generate a complex systemic behavior. Examples include human cognition emerging from a network of neural cells, ecosystems from food webs, and cellular regulatory processes from protein-protein interactions. One important common question is: which agents are the ‘drivers’ of the systemic behavior? A second common question is: can we detect emergent phenomena, such as ‘criticality’ (susceptibility to perturbations)? We address these questions using information theory. One of the surprising findings is that the most influential nodes are not the most well-connected or central nodes. This has important consequences for many domains. I will present work on addressing the above questions through analytical results, computational modeling, and data analysis

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Advanced Concepts Team