http://www.techsoc.com/complexity.htm
This is an artilce by Melanie Mitchell entitled Complexity: A Guided Tour. She starts by comparing complex computer systems to the human body. She explains the comparisons of computer systems to the human body by stating that there is much similarity between the two because although we know much about computers and the human body, there are still things that go on inside of the two that are just amazingly complex. She also compares this to be connected to science. Since science is how we gather much of our information about many different things through research and development, scientific studies and just diagnosing questions and trying to answer these questions. She then goes on to explain her view of the word complexity and how it is related to algorithms. She explains that an algorithm is a "set of steps, or recipe, a person or computer can follow to complete a task. She gives an example about a robot that has to go around a room and pick up random cans without running into anything.
Lastly, she looks at complexity as a science. She does think that complexity is a science but not what one would usually consider when they hear the word science.
I believe this was an interesting article in that it put a totally different spin on the way we look at these types of complex systems. I have never though about comparing a computer system with that of the human immune system but really does correlate. We have come a long way from just a few years ago with computers and how they affect our society. Prior to this article, when I thought about science, the things that came to mind were velocity, mass, force, energy, etc. But, now when I hear the word science a much broader definition comes to mind in which it deals with most all things we encounter today.
-Adam Traywick
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