Comments on the Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science
by Willie Lee (March 27, 2009)
Since about the 1950s, scientists and engineers began to realize the limitations of solving their
problems using linear or linearized methods, and that many problems are complex and nonlinear
in nature. Springer, a major publisher based in Germany, just announced the publication of
Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science (See Appendix 1), which provides an
authoritative single source for understanding and applying the concepts of complexity theory
together with the tools and measures for analyzing complex systems in all fields of science and
engineering. The science and tools of complexity and systems science include theories of selforganization, complex systems, synergetics, dynamical systems, turbulence, catastrophes,
instabilities, nonlinearity, stochastic processes, chaos, neural networks, cellular automata,
adaptive systems, and genetic algorithms. Please visit: http://www.springer.com/complexity
I was invited to serve on the 15-member editorial board and as the section editor on complexity
in earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. With advances in nonlinear dynamics and complexity
studies, geoscientists have applied modern nonlinear techniques and concepts such as chaos,
fractal, critical phenomena, and self-organized criticality to the study of earthquakes, tsunamis
and volcanoes. These efforts were sampled mainly in seismicity modeling for earthquake
prediction and forecast, along with articles that review recent progress in studying earthquakes,
tsunamis, and volcanoes. Although predictability is desirable, it is also possible to reduce these
natural hazards with more practical approaches, such as early warning systems, hazard analysis,
engineering considerations, and other mitigation efforts. Papers in my edited section consist of
an introduction and 42 papers, as listed in Appendix 2.
Appendix 1. A Flyer for the Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science
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Appendix 2. A listing of papers on Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes in the
Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science
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