Social complexity is the study of social phenomenon through the lens of complex systems. This often includes building computational models of social behavior, some of which are related to computer science topics such as: cellular automaton, genetic algorithms, or neural networks. Social network analysis is also related to social complexity as it is used to quantify relationships, roles, and organization amongst agents.
- Sante Fe Institute
- CASOS at CMU
- Center for Social Complexity at GMU
- Center for the Study of Complex Systems at UMich
A few books of interest:
- The Evolution of Cooperation, by Robert Axelrod
- Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling, by Joshua M. Epstein
- Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up, by Joshua M. Epstein and Robert L. Axtell
Two notable blogs:
- Zero Intelligence Agents, by Drew Conway
- Three-Toed Sloth, by Cosma Shalizi
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(Figure source: Wikipedia)