Enver Oruro is a Peruvian neuroscientist and complex systems scientist who serves as the head of the Complex Systems Lab at the Scientific Institute of the Andean University of Cusco, where his research focuses on neurocomputing and social simulation. He is also a member of the executive committee of UNESCO’s UniTwin Complex Systems Digital Campus, and headed the organizing committee for the 2023 LANET conference, which was held in Cusco. Our Interdialogue was wide-ranging, touching on many subjects and disciplines related to complexity theory. We spoke about his research and collaborations on morphodynamics and the infant brain. We also touched on the mind in relation to criticality, language, memory and learning. We then focused on complex systems science at various scales, from global to regional to local, and the role it plays in interdisciplinary understanding, collaborations and in addressing complex, interconnected socioeconomic and environmental scenarios. Note: This Interdialogue was recorded in Spanish and is subtitled in English. Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction 00:12:16 – Criticality, morphodynamics and the infant brain 00:20:31 – Shaping the mind – language, learning and memory in neuroscience and complexity 00:27:05 – The broad interdisciplinary applications of complex systems science 00:40:38 – Science, dialogue and the role of complexity in simulating and addressing future scenarios 00:49:38 – Complexity at different scales: local and regional problems such as mining in South America, and global patterns 00:56:34 – The current state of Complex Systems Science in Peru and the Latin American Region 01:06:35 – International collaborations and the importance of supporting complex systems science research and education in Latin America 01:20:29 – Final reflections: research goals and the future of complex systems science in Latin America

In this interdialogue I spoke with my friend and colleague Rafael Hurtado from within his office at the National University of Colombia in Bogota, where he is currently serving as the director of the physics department.  Hurtado is a particle physicist and complex systems science researcher and practitioner. He leads the university’s econophysics and sociophysics group, and for 17 years now has taught an innovative interdisciplinary course on socio-physics.  He also leads an intercultural national water monitoring network called “REMONA,” which is built on principles of complexity and citizen science.  As is the beauty of a conversation centered around complex systems, order, patterns, and a shared love of physics, as well as the utilization of science for positive social and ecological impact, our conversation spanned a wide-range of topics, from music and art to urban movements and growth, to epidemiology, language, water and how complexity and mutual respect can form the basis of fruitful collaborations with Indigenous Peoples.  I began by asking Hurtado how an internationally educated Colombian particle physicist found his way into an eclectic career in complex systems science within a notoriously disordered country. Timestamps 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:03:50 – From Particle Physics to Social Science 00:08:10 – Sociophysics and Econophysics 00:13:35 – Teaching, Evolution, and Student Impact 00:17:10 – Modeling Real-World Systems and the Value of Curiosity 00:20:40 – Modeling the Pandemic in Colombia 00:24:20 – Core Principles of Complex Systems Science 00:28:20 – Urban Growth, Mobility, and Self-Organization in Cities 00:35:10 – Discovering Complexity in Music 00:39:40 – The Logic and Freedom of Marimba Music 00:47:40 – The Disappearance of Musical and Linguistic Diversity 00:51:20 – The Origins and Stability of Human Language 00:55:14 – Language, Music, and the Emergence of Meaning 01:07:05 – Art, Painting, and Artistic Evolution 01:14:00 – Water, Knowledge, and Complexity 01:23:10...

Traditional Indigenous territories are complex, adaptable, and resilient socio-ecological systems that contain the majority of the world’s biocultural diversity. But can Indigenous Peoples play a leading role in both combating climate change and preventing the next pandemic? Right now, there is a fair amount of rhetoric being flung about connecting, comparing, and contrasting the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change and the “sixth extinction” of biodiversity. In Indigenous worldviews—as well as in complex systems science—all these crises represent “maladies” caused by the profound unbalancing of our interconnected living planet. From his home in self-isolation in the Colombian Amazon, Koreguaje Indigenous leader Juven Piranga recently told me: “Our Elders agree that Mother Earth is causing this pandemic to clean the present state of the world, to rid us of the bad energies, and to counteract the pervasive greed and exploitation and disrespect. White people come here to our territories to exploit Mother Earth, for gold and timber and much more, and this affects everyone, and it is our responsibility to protect Mother Earth, so we are also punished. We need to reinforce our autonomy to stop these practices and restore balance.” While still not garnering nearly as much attention as it deserves, Indigenous Peoples’ role as partners in climate change mitigation is fairly well established in research, and gaining more attention internationally from both policymakers and the general public. The “Guardians of the Forest” paradigm recognizes Indigenous communities as stewards of the immense biodiversity and “ecosystem services” (or better, ecosystem functions) of tropical forests. Globally, the forested territories of Indigenous communities store at least 300 billion metric tons of carbon, above and below ground. Mounting evidence has shown that Indigenous communities with secure rights and tenure to their collectively held lands have extremely low rates of deforestation and land degradation. Additionally, while...