2006

As we enter the new year, it’s time to now look forward rather than
back. This new year it seems to me will be crucial for the
Institute–both in terms of handling growth (and change), but also in
remaining true to the unique vision that emerged from the 1993 Santa Fe
Institute/George Mason University meeting on mind, brain and complexity.

You’ll recall that the notion was to create an institute for advanced
study with a transdisciplinary focus at the intersection of
neurobiology, cognitive psychology and computer sciences. This vision
requires a constant commitment on the part of our scientific community
to communicate intellectually beyond the silos of our own particular
fields–in spite of the difficulties that come with such efforts (most
notably language/jargon).

Our annual scientific retreat (coming up next week) represents one of
the embodiments of this commitment–the talks are arranged randomly
(more or less) in order to facilitate the “scientific listening” that I
am writing about. With a random order, you can’t simply tune in for that
part of the retreat that applies to your science–instead the goal is to
promote synthesis and integration across the Venn Diagram that makes
up Krasnow.

As we grow, both in terms of the physical plant and also in terms of
faculty over the next year, it is absolutely crucial that we do this in
a way that facilitates this type of synthesis–and of course, that will
be the biggest challenge. Each new faculty member, will need to
accommodate this culture of collaboration and scientific communication
that defines the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study. And hopefully, if
we collectively search well, that will happen very naturally.

I wish all a very happy new year,

Jim