We’re delighted to welcome again Professor Geoffrey West, from the Santa Fe Institute, for a special seminar on 22nd March from 12:00 – 13:00, Room G03 Weeks Building.
“On the sustainability of the Anthroposphere: life, growth, death & innovation from organisms and ecosystems to cities”
Why do cities keep growing and the pace of life continue to accelerate, whereas companies and people stop growing and die? And how are these related to innovation, wealth creation, social networks, urbanisation and the long-term sustainability of the anthroposphere?
Almost all characteristics of living systems from cells to cities obey surprisingly simple, approximately “universal”, scaling laws which constrain the organisation and dynamics of ecological and socio-economic life. These include metabolism, growth, lifespans, energy, patents, pollution, roads, crime and disease. These laws originate in generic properties of social, infrastructural and transport networks and have dramatic implications for growth, development and long-term sustainability, including the threat of impending singularities and tipping points.
Can the resulting open-ended super-exponential growth, fueled by innovation and wealth creation, be sustained or does it sow the seeds for inevitable collapse?