A review of new research on swarming, a behavior that is transforming social, work, military and even political lives worldwide, especially among the young. It is the unintended consequence of people, cell phones in hand, learning that they can coordinate instantly and leaderlessly.
Scientists have discovered that the small, brave act of cooperating with another person, of choosing trust over cynicism, generosity over selfishness, makes the brain light up with quiet joy.
Researchers have found an increased level of predictability in certain complex systems just before large changes that may be able to provide warning of stock market crashes. Such changes, they say, can be the result of information encoded within the system's global state.
Market forces appear to be at work on coral reefs, where fish that perform a cleaning service risk losing customers if they get sloppy. Scientists studying these fish conclude that healthy competition is sometimes important in ecology, helping to stabilise co-operation between species.
A supercolony of ants has been discovered stretching thousands of miles from the Italian Riviera along the coastline to northwest Spain. It's the largest cooperative unit ever recorded, according to Swiss, French and Danish scientists.
Katie Hafner examines the ways in which the internet is decentralized and distributed, relying on "the cooperation and mutual interests of the telecommunications companies." She examines the prospects of a future need for government control.
Modern societies face a cruel paradox: Fast-paced technological and economic innovations may deliver unrivalled prosperity, but they also render rich nations vulnerable to crippling, unanticipated attacks. By relying on intricate networks and concentrating vital assets in small geographic clusters, advanced Western nations only amplify the destructive power of terrorists—and the psychological and financial damage they can inflict.
David Stephenson argues that the Office of Homeland Security should be take advantage of the fundamental characteristics of internet technologies - their ability to empower individuals, to close the loop and to link everything - to combat terrorism.
John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt present a five point plan to re-organize 21st century armies for "netwar" against "bands of swarming 14th century terrorists."
Oliver Morton argues that the U.S. should pursue a national security strategy of decentralizing and diversifying our critical infrastructures.