This is Part II of a series of posts in which Gemma explores When Complexity Science Meets Convergence Research. Read Part I here.

Our first Cafe launched as smoothly as the SpaceX Dragon. I appreciated the seamless flow of the meeting, the enthusiastic energy from the team, the fun engagement through personal stories, and the wide vista of research potential revealed by interacting with complexity science. What a joy to be part of this!

This is a living example of “emergence”, one key feature of complex system. I could not have predicted this outcome. Before it actually happened, I was anxious about engaging team members with personal stories. How are our NSF sponsored researchers from the high cathedral of knowledge going to respond to my humble request of sharing personal stories? Is this approach “serious” enough? I was plagued with self-doubt.

Read the rest of the post on Medium!