Universal Rules Discovered that Allow Anticipation of Critical Transitions

phys.org - October 22, 2012

Sudden shifts in complex systems such as the climate, financial markets, ecosystems and even the human body can be preceded by surprisingly comparable warning signals. It is crucial to be able to predict such transitions, but this is notoriously difficult. In an article in the journal Science of October 19, a group of Wageningen University scientists and colleagues showed that systems that are on the verge of a critical transition often emit comparable signals.

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Critical Transitions in Nature and Society: (Princeton Studies in Complexity) - by Marten Scheffer
"...demonstrates how to deal with these transitions, offering practical guidance on how to predict tipping points, how to prevent "bad" transitions, and how to promote critical transitions that work for us and not against us. Scheffer shows the time is ripe for understanding and managing critical transitions in the vast and complex systems in which we live."
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Transitions-Nature-Society-Complexity/dp/0691122040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350938586&sr=8-1

Centre for Nonlinear Dynamics in Economics and Finance