Annual Business Network and Board of Trustees’ Symposium

Business Network and Board of Trustees’ Symposium, Bishops Lodge Resort, Santa Fe, NM

The title of this year’s Symposium is "Does the Individual Matter?" Individuals play a critical role in many fields of science, yet there is great disagreement over whether individuals, rather than collectives, actually matter for the progress of science (and there is, of course, considerable difference in how individuals are defined). The Symposium will explore the role of individuals in different scientific contexts, from atoms and molecules through economies, societies, and cultures. The goal is to highlight differences in the importance of individuals within and between scientific domains, as well as differences in how individuals are defined within and between domains.

The events commence on Thursday, November 3 at the Bishops Lodge Resort with an evening reception and keynote presentation. Keynote: Brian Christian, author of "The Most Human Human: What Talking With Computers Teaches Us About What It Means To Be Alive."

The Symposium is scheduled for Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 at the Bishops Lodge Resort, 1297 Bishops Lodge Road, Santa Fe, NM, and is co-organized by Doug Erwin, Chair of Faculty and Professor, Santa Fe Institute, and Chris Wood, Vice President of Administration and Director of Business Network, Santa Fe Institute.

Confirmed Speakers include: Luis Bettencourt, SFI and Los Alamos National Laboratory, "Is There a Role for the Individual in Physics," Doug Erwin, SFI and the Smithsonian Institution, "The Individual and the Collective in Biology," Eric Beinhocker, London School of Economics, "The Role of the Individual in Economics," Rajiv Sethi, SFI and Columbia University, "Individual and Collective Action in Financial Markets," Tim Wu, Columbia Law School, "Network Neutrality, Individual Freedom, and Privacy on the Internet," Simon DeDeo, SFI, "The Individual from a Complex Systems Perspective," Geoffrey West, SFI and Charles Marshall, UC Berkeley, Debate: "Individuals and Collectives in Scientific Theory."