presentations

Here are a few presentations which may be of interest.

An audio of the introduction to the Dao of Complexity
This is a recording of me reading the Introduction to the Dao of Complexity. It was harder to do than I had expected!

The Dao of Complexity; on the personal
The Dao of Complexity: on the personal is a recording of a talk hosted by SI Bristol on January 16^th 2025, in which I discuss the implications of process complexity for how we understand personal change and agency.

Complexity in Action
Complexity in Action, hosted by Henley Business School Africa on November 11^th 2024, centres on a discussion with Sharon Varney and focuses on implications of complexity for organisations – leadership, strategy and change.

Complexity: on the Global
Complexity: On the Global, hosted by the Schumacher Institute on November 28^th 2024, focuses on the implications of complexity thinking for consideration of global issues – of climate change, governance, power and inequality. The sound of the recording is fine, but we got the wrong settings on zoom, so you see me as a tiny animated figure in one square amongst many others!

The Dao of Complexity at the Institute of Physics
Here is a link to the recording of a discussion about The Dao of Complexity, which took place at the Institute of Physics, on October 21^st 2024. I started by introducing the first section of the book, The Long Road from the physics of Newton to the ‘Freedom’ of the physics of ‘open systems’ through the lens of Ilya Prigogine. I went on to discuss process complexity and its ontological resonance with other schools of thought, including Daoism. The questions then took us into discussions of the importance of values, and a discussion of the broad ontological stance in which process complexity is situated.

The Dao of Complexity celebratory book launch: This is the recording of the book launch in my hometown in October 2024. As well as describing the key themes of the book, I discussed with the key illustrator the way we worked together and the provenance and background to the images. It was a very heart-warming event.

Adaptive political economy
A talk given by Yuen Yuen Ang at the School of Oriental Studies in London in June 2024, focused on the idea of an adaptive political economy, at which I was a discussant and gave a short contribution. I loved her co-evolutionary approach and the role of government in shaping but not controlling economic goals and intentions, but I wanted to reframe a little her take on complexity.

Complexity theory, philosophy and leadership for modern times: A conversation between myself and Andrey Pavlov at Cranfield in 2022 – over three hours exploring complexity thinking and its implications. Do you have a long train journey coming up? It covers a lot of ground.

Institute of Physics Complex and Nonlinear Physics Group – a complexity retrospective: This online conference took place in 2021, under the auspices of the Institute of Physics, was entitled ‘A Complexity Retrospective’. It celebrated the work of Peter Allen, Ralph Stacey, Paul Cilliers and David Byrne and we also had a guest appearance of renowned complexity economist, Brian Arthur. We followed it up with a series of short interviews with, amongst others, Rika Preiser, Danny Burns, Patricia Shaw, Michael Batty, Mike Jackson and others.

Complexity Science as Relationship, Patterning and Process; a talk I gave at Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study in 2019, where I started writing the Dao of Complexity.

Living and working in a complexity world: This is a link to a talk I gave at Schumacher College in 2010, entitled Living and working in a complex world: complexity, spirituality and transformation. The first one my Mother ever listened to, and she stayed with it until the end!