Understanding Complexity

Peter A. Coming Palo Alto, CA November, 2000 This volwne represents a distillation of the plenary sessions at a unique millenniwn- year event -a World Congress of the Systems Sciences in conjunction with the 44th annual meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). The overall theme of the conference was "e;Understanding Complexity in the New Millenniwn. "e; Held at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, Canada, from July 16-22,2000, the conference included some 350 participants from over 30 countries, many of whom were representatives of the 21 organizations and groups that co-hosted this landmark event. Each of these co-host organizations/groups also presented a segment of the program, including a plenary speech. In addition, the conference featured a nwnber of distinguished "e;keynote"e; speeches related to the three daily World Congress themes: (1) The Evolution of Complex Systems, (2) The Dynamics of Complex Systems, and (3) Human Systems in the 21st Century. There were also seven special plenary-level symposia on a range of timely topics, including: "e;The Art and Science of Forecasting in the Age of Global Wanning"e;; "e;Capitalism in the New Millenniwn: The Challenge of Sustainability"e;; "e;The Future of the Systems Sciences"e;; "e;Global Issues in the New Millenniwn"e;; "e;Resources and the Environment in the New Millenniwn"e;; "e;The Lessons of Y2K"e;; and "e;Can There be a Reconciliation Between Science and Religion?"e; Included in this special commemorative volume is a cross-section of these presentations.