Madras Complexity Collective

Ever wondered how #altruism evolved in humans, despite #evolution apparently being opposed to it? Samir Okasha attempts to answer this question as we discuss his work on levels of selection in evolutionary biology: youtu.be/Sd5nDZflEr0

Ever wondered how the wide variety of #languages in #India came about? Peggy Mohan discusses her theory explaining the evolution of languages and linguistic diversity in India: youtu.be/QVHqSYlGFgw

Weve heard about the #souks, #bazaars, & #casbahs of #Algiers, #Casablanca, & #Cairo. But what do we know about the #evolution of these cities? Mustapha Benhamouche explains how local traditions & Islamic law shaped the #fractal geometry of Muslim cities youtube.com/watch?v=iOZ-WE…

What is #emergence in complex systems? It's a hard to define, you-know-it-when-you-see-it concept, that lies at the very heart of complexity science, and we try to delve deep into it with Henrik Jensen of @imperialcollege #complexity #interaction youtube.com/watch?v=hTk6w-…

3/ What is happening to the density of living in Chinese cities over time? youtube.com/watch?v=me8bqj…

2/ How does urban land scale with population – specifically, are there different scaling relationships for different land types? youtube.com/watch?v=1EwIVO…

China's economic rise has been the most significant global development of the last 50 years. A big part of this story is the transformation of a rural society to an urban one. Gang Xu discusses the Chinese urban system and its evolution ... youtube.com/watch?v=BGfu6f…

6/ The emergence of complexity is closely related to parametric design youtube.com/watch?v=ee5_F1…

5/ The notion of modularity and scale in temple design youtube.com/watch?v=RH_mPE…

So, here we go. Prof. Kirti Trivedi talks about the #fractal design of Hindu #temples, and how their design arises from #algorithmic processes laid out in ancient architectural texts & ultimately derived from philosophical & cosmological considerations youtube.com/watch?v=xZoUYm…

Indian cities are dotted with temples. What is it about the jaggedness of edges, repetition of motifs, & self-similarity in designs that makes temples visually striking & arresting? How is temple design related to coastlines, snowflakes, & trees? Watch this space...

6/ What can urban scaling tell us about the properties of slums in India? youtube.com/watch?v=yzTkc8…

5/ So, given the network models underlying urban scaling theory, how can we explain the less than proportional increase of crime in Indian cities with population? youtube.com/watch?v=rFTMnE…

In our second discussion of the Science of Cities series, we explore the Indian urban system w/ Anand Sahasranaman, particularly how scale & geography impact urban properties, and what this tells us about the evolution of the urban fabric of the country. youtube.com/watch?v=yk28ok…