A new approach intuitively looks plausible- inflection points and system behaviour
What Wall Street and nature have in common When a big change is coming, there are telltale signs, scientists find By Clara Moskowitz LiveScience staff writer LiveScience updated 8:51 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2009 When a big change is coming — be it in ocean circulation patterns, wildlife populations, or even the global economy — it is often heralded by telltale signs, scientists have found. In many man-made and natural systems, conditions reach a tipping point when a major transition occurs and the system shifts from one state to another. Now researchers say they can begin to predict these tipping points by searching for universal early warning signs. "At first we were surprised that yes, actually critical transitions in the brain could have a fundamental similarity to critical transitions in financial markets or ecology," said lead researcher Marten Scheffer of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. "It’s a radical idea but when you think about it, it makes sense. Wha...