Complexity and Coffee

We often treat complexity as a problem to solve, a knot to untangle, a mess to clean up on the way to something simpler. But complexity is the fabric of life. We can see it the shifting of ecosystems, the co-evolution of cultures, and in the way each of us is both shaped by and shaping the contexts we inhabit.

In this session, we’ll explore three ways of understanding complexity. First, as the dynamic interplay of interdependent parts that gives rise to unexpected wholes—patterns that surprise us, systems that learn. Second, as something distinctly human: the way our identities, narratives, and choices ripple through the systems we seek to understand. And third, as the condition of living within many such systems at once—ecological, technological, cultural, emotional—all shifting, entangling, and transforming one another in real time.

What becomes possible when we stop trying to simplify, and instead learn to perceive more richly? How do we move with—not against—a world that is always complex and always in process?

★ This conversation is for first timers only. We've had lots of sessions with long waitlists, so here's one for those of you who have tried to join, but keep getting stuck in waitlist limbo. ★

Most of us have heard the phrase, “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” In complex systems, we call this phenomenon “emergence,” and while it might seem a little mystical, it’s actually an everyday occurrence.

If you’ve been moved by a sunset over the ocean, reveled in Bach’s sonatas, taken a ride on a motorcycle, baked a cake, or laughed with friends, then you’ve experienced emergence. Mechanical systems have emergence, but emergence in living systems is neither mechanical nor magical. So how does emergence actually work and why is it so important in understanding our complex world?

This conversation will be free-form, which means it might meander into adjacent topics. No need to prepare or bring anything but your curiosity and an open mind.