Biological and Chemical Physics Commons^™

Quantifying Complex Systems Via Computational Fly Swarms, Troy Taylor

Senior Theses

Complexity is prevalent both in natural and in human-made systems, yet is not well understood quantitatively. Qualitatively, complexity describes a phenomena in which a system composed of individual pieces, each having simple interactions with one another, results in interesting bulk properties that would otherwise not exist. One example of a complex biological system is the bird flock, in particular, a starling murmuration. Starlings are known to move in the direction of their neighbors and avoid collisions with fellow starlings, but as a result of these simple movement choices, the flock as a whole tends to exhibit fluid-like movements and form …