A decade of complexity science — documented, explained, and brought to life.
With It’s the Complexity, Stupid, we take stock of a decade—borrowing from James Carville, who in 1992 summed up Bill Clinton’s campaign with a single line: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
“Complexity is the very condition for understanding the world we live in today,” as CSH president Stefan Thurner puts it. “And this book offers an insight into what ten years of consistently pursuing that question have produced.”
The publication covers the full breadth of what the Complexity Science Hub has built since opening its doors in 2016, including:
- forewords by CSH President Stefan Thurner, Helga Nowotny, Chair of the CSH Advisory Board, and Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen;
- insights into its 13 research topics—from supply chains and urban sustainability to algorithmic fairness and health across species—each paired with an essay by a journalist on its societal relevance;
- a section on what complexity science actually is, written for audiences ranging from curious five-year-olds to deep thinkers who see beauty in data;
- an overview of how CSH trains the next generation of complexity scientists through its Graduate Program, Postdoc Program, and initiatives such as CSH Goes School, which brings complexity science into classrooms;
- and, of course, a section on data visualization and its power to make complexity tangible and understandable.
The online version is available for download here.
Printed copies can be picked up at our offices at Metternichgasse 8. If you have any questions, please contact .
