Complexity Science Hub

𝗖𝗦𝗛 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼. 4️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 Digital currencies such as #Bitcoin have become the primary means of payment in global #cybercrime. Using #complexity science, it becomes possible to follow the crypto money. 🧵👇🧪

When should we trust our own judgment rather than #complex models and #AI? Let's discuss at or our next 𝗪𝗘𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡 (on a Monday) with 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗲𝗿 (MPI Human Development and former ERC Vice President) #scicomm 📆 𝗡𝗼𝘃 𝟮𝟯 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝟲 𝗽𝗺 @ 𝗖𝗦𝗛 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: 👉 shorturl.at/3OMxJ

Ready for a deep dive into #complex systems? Apply to the CSH Winter School! This year's topic is 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 & 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲. No complexity background required. #AcademicSky ⏱️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝟭𝟮 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 🗓️ 1–5 March 2027 📍 Complexity Science Hub, Vienna ℹ️ All you need to know: shorturl.at/33tda

👋 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, Ilias Bitinis as a #PhD Candidate! 🎉Within the Health Across Species group, he'll straddle #complexity, #network analysis, and #epidemiology for the mathematical modeling of vector-borne diseases. 🔗𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘀: shorturl.at/olpUk 🔗𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽: shorturl.at/mM25x

Our next 𝗔𝗿𝘁 & 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 exhibition opens on 𝟯 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻! 👉 shorturl.at/QRkeH Artist 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗿 starts with ordinary objects and transforms their forms and functions into something unexpected. 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗿𝘁𝗹 from @tuwien.at joins him to add the scientific perspective.

𝗖𝗦𝗛 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼. 4️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀. Read the rapid-fire 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 with CSH #postdoc Stefan Kitzler for a look behind the scenes! What drew him to #complexity and #crypto and what would he like to see changed in 5 years? 👉 csh.ac.at/news/digital...

The 𝗖𝗦𝗛 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 is integral to who we are and where we’re headed. Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming the board for its first in-person meeting in its new composition.

We're extremely grateful to our board members: Luis Bettencourt, Alexandra Brintrup, @nachristakis.bsky.social , Stephanie Forrest, David Krakauer, Simon Levin, Gerhard Schmitt, Robert-Jan Smits, and Helga Nowotny – thanks for your time, thoughtful questions, ideas and input!

According to a new study from CSH and @unileiden.bsky.social, 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀. Especially top universities also hire people that already fit existing research profiles. 🧪 #AcademicSky Full story: shorturl.at/Gbl19 Paper: shorturl.at/7G9kN Thread 👇

Topical closeness within an institution has advantages, but too much similarity may also slow innovation, the team notes. "Our method can help assess whether an institution's hiring strategies match their goals", says study author and CSH president Stefan Thurner.

🔗 Read the full story: csh.ac.at/news/researc... 🔗 Read the paper: shorturl.at/7G9kN

💪 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: The more prestigious an institution, the more closely its new hires’ topics match its existing research.

🤔 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀: Where topic alignment is below the median, citation performance is usually below the average. Notable exception: the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. It has low aligment, but high citation impact, suggesting that high aligment is not a prerequisite for excellent research

To learn more about whom institutions hire, how much new expertise these hires bring, and how institutions develop thematically over time, the team drew from 25M scientific publications to reconstruct the careers of 9.3M researchers at 3,965 institutions worldwide between 2000 and 2020.

🪞 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Research institutions have been converging in what they study. 🎯 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘁: New hires usually work on topics that closely match their institution’s existing research, down to very specific niches. The median score is 0.84 on a scale from 0 (no overlap) to 1 (identical topics).

csh.ac.atDigital Currency Ecosystems – What’s It All About?Digital currencies such as Bitcoin challenge the existing financial system. Complexity science enables unprecedented transparency in global payment flows, including illicit ones, facilitating the iden...

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: csh.ac.at/news/digital...

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: In June 2026, the Complexity Science Hub turned 10 ‒ throughout our anniversary year, we're spotlighting one research topic every month. Don't want to miss out? • 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 on our socials • Subscribe to our 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 👉 csh.ac.at/events-news/...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Vast sums of money are circulating in digital currencies. When failures occur, society ultimately bears the costs. Data-driven insights can identify risks at the individual level as well as the potential for systemic collapse, enabling the design of safeguards and interventions.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀: We're proud to have the following people working on this topic here at CSH: @behas.bsky.social, , Rainer Stütz, Stefan Kitzler, Alexander Kropiunig, Allison Owen, Johann Stockinger.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅: To tackle illicit activities on the dark web, transaction-flow networks and large-scale graphs containing billions of nodes (wallet addresses) and edges (transactions) are computed from publicly available blockchain data and subsequently processed and analyzed.

Based on this new information, a model can be constructed that represents the cryptoasset ecosystem as closely as possible. The model allows to address questions such as: How can a stablecoin collapse? How resilient is the system to cyberattacks? And much more.

📬 Stay in the loop with the #Complexity Science Hub! Our monthly #newsletter delivers insights into our latest research, new projects, and upcoming events. All in one compact update straight to your inbox. Sign up now and never miss out! 👉 csh.ac.at/events-news/...

👋 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, Andrea Cera Palatsi as a #PhD Candidate! 🎉She joins our 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 group, working on belief dynamics/networks, and on how statistical #physics can help explain radicalization and polarization. 🔗 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮: shorturl.at/SVJHZ 🔗 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽: shorturl.at/v4GiK

Not unlike fireflies, AI agents can also form swarms. Last week, CSH hosted a workshop on this, organized by Frank Schweitzer (@ethz.ch), David Garcia (@uni-konstanz.de) & Ingo Scholtes @uni-wuerzburg.de). Understanding #AISwarms needs a joint effort from from computer to social sciences and beyond

3 days, 3 questions on what we know (and don’t yet know) about #AISwarms: the nature of their collective behavior, empirical methods to grasp it, and interventions to detect or disrupt malicious swarms. Thanks to all organizers, speakers & participants! 📷 CSH, Frank Schweitzer

If you've ever wondered about the glow up routines of 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 💅💡, our second 𝗪𝗘𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡 was for you! Orit Peleg from @colorado.edu talked about these marvelous bugs that are not only enchanting to look at, but also offer fascinating lessons for #AnimalCommunication in #swarms. 🧪 #scicomm

👏 Thanks so much, Orit, for sharing your research on these fascinating creatures. Thank you, Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social, for leading us through the evening, and thanks to everyone who attended for coming and the lively discussion!

🔗 Our 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗪𝗘𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡 will take place in November. Stay tuned and 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: csh.ac.at/events-news/...

⁉️ Some species 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴. Orit's team tries to understand this by probing fireflies' responses to artificial flashing patterns that mimic those of different species.

🌳 Fireflies are sensitive to pesticides and light pollution, and are becoming 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱. Some things anyone can do: Provide habitable structures in your garden, avoid pesticides, spread the word about fireflies, and participate in local monitoring projects (Vienna: shorturl.at/PoRGu).

🕦 In some species, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 their flashing across an entire forest. The signal spreads through the swarm like a stadium wave. One firefly’s flash triggers its neighbor, which triggers the next. This local coupling is enough for a synced flashing rhythm across the swarm.

🚨 It seems that fireflies don't flash periodically when they are alone, but they readily synchronize with an external signal (LED experiments). But how exactly synchronization initiates in the swarm is an open question that Orit and her team are tackling.

💡 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝟭𝟬𝟭: Fireflies use flashes of light to find mates. 💓 Each species has its own pattern, a kind of Morse code in light. But when thousands of fireflies flash in the same place, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲?

⏳ 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲! Want to join us for your #PhD and dive into #Complexity Science? Applications for the 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 🎓 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 at the Complexity Science Hub are open until 📅 𝟭𝟱 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. #AcademicSky 👉 More info: csh.ac.at/education/gr...

𝗠𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲! 👏 In a Q&A, Mirta Galesic, who co-leads CSH's Collective Minds research group, talked about the best way to respond to hate speech – and why simply saying “I disagree” matters a lot. 👉 www.nature.com/articles/d41... 👉 Collective Minds research group: shorturl.at/xDr30

Last week, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗢𝗟 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺 brought together experts from law enforcement, academia, and industry. Co-organized with the 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗢𝗟 @interpol.int Innovation Centre and the 𝗕𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, it explored how emerging tech is changing crime and investigations.

Big thanks to 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗷𝗲𝗮𝗻 @interpol.int, 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿 (Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime) and @behas.bsky.social (CSH) for the amazing event and collaboration – and to everyone who contributed to two days of focused discussions, knowledge exchange and networking at CSH!

👉 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? Read our interview with @behas.bsky.social, who leads CSH's Digital Currency Ecosystems research group and helped shape the forum's academic program: shorturl.at/QE4mV

𝗞𝘂𝗱𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 Philipp Hilmbauer-Hofmarcher, who received the 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for his research on how the bombing of Vienna in World War II shaped the city’s social makeup in the long run. 👉 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽 about what Vienna’s post-war reconstruction can teach us: shorturl.at/KI0Q6

Happening this Wednesday at the Complexity Science Hub! If you haven't secured your spot yet, use the link to register: csh.ac.at/events/wedne... #scicomm 🧪

Complexity Science Hub@csh.ac.at

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 "𝗪𝗘𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡". The big question of the evening: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿? Orit Peleg (@colorado.edu) explores this on the example of fireflies. Moderated by @spintheory.bsky.social #scicomm 📆✍️ 𝗪𝗲𝗱, 𝗢𝗰𝘁 𝟳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝟲 𝗽𝗺 @ CSH 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: shorturl.at/DbqrE