Complexity
Wasps Are Capable of Basic Logical Reasoning, Study Finds
Paper wasps are the first known insects to perform a key form of deductive logic called transitive inference.
Can Uber Take on UPS?
Offering more drivers for less money likely won't beat out the delivery industry's algorithms.
Rock Climbing, Jet Planes, and the Delicate Art of Technological Redundancy
Why systems fail in unanticipated ways.
This Classic Algorithmic Problem Can't Get Any Less Complex (Deal With It)
Researchers offer a new proof that "edit distance" can't be solved any more efficiently.
The World Is a Knapsack Problem and We're Just Living in It
Understanding one of computer science's most classic problems.
Fundamental Innovation Peaked in 1870 and Why That's a Good Thing
A new report from the Sante Fe Institute explains.
A Complexity Researcher Offers a Rather Gloomy Look at the Ebola Outbreak
The epidemic’s growth rate is climbing again.
Complexity Researchers Help Visualize the Spread of Western Thought
Turning a history of cultural thought into data points yields surprising results.
High Food Prices Are Fueling Egypt's Riots—and Those in Brazil, Turkey, and Syria
All over the world, food is way too expensive right now.
Counting Down Until Food Riots Go Global
The term "food riot" has a particularly eerie ring. We can imagine a lot of end-times scenarios and we do, because we enjoy it. Us, here in the United States or whatever other first-world nation you're reading from (we're big in Australia, I hear), can...