Journal on Policy and Complex Systems
comparisons , American policymakers would be better served by disaggregating national data and analyzing the differences among states , particularly neighboring states where performances differ markedly . His thought is that neighboring states are more likely to share characteristics that will make policy innovations in one state relevant to the circumstances in the other . Korean parents pay many thousands of dollar for students to cram for national exams . Finland has a nationwide , five-year preschool program and a homogeneous , relatively high-income population . Such national practices are not relevant to the circumstances in the United States with its wide range of diverse student subgroups and diverse regions . It would be much more helpful to Connecticut to know what the policies were that neighboring Massachusetts adopted that have enabled Massachusetts to so consistently outpace Connecticut in student gains over the past seven years .
Adjacency has dimensionality that is tied to the deep structure of social space . The Haitian boys felt like fish out of water in the Brooklyn school . Joining a community of other Haitian boys gave them “ nearest neighbors ” in an evolutionary sense , creating a connectivity that enabled them to make positive developmental choices .
The definition , nature , and dynamics of space have been an issue for quite some time . In 1950 , Francois Perroux pointed out that the grasp of space as an abstract phenomenon had not yet permeated economics ( Perroux , 1950 ). It could very well be that space and economics are orthogonal concepts that require thorough and separate explication before they can be successfully combined . Perroux ( 1950 ) speaks of the need to dissociate “ economic space ” from “ human space ” and proceeds to lay out the dimensions along which economic space might usefully be defined . “ Economic Space : Theory and Applications ” is an fascinating piece and could very well provide a model , or at least a starting point for the explication of “ social space .”
There are two things we know about this space : we know what adjacency means , and we know what networks are . These two characteristics determine what can happen in the space in which the complex system is embedded . What we do not know is whether the space itself has a context ( like gravity for the cosmos ) and if so , what the nature of that context might be . Further , we do not know how the dimensionality of the system ’ s adjacency affects its behavior . Do these dimensions combine in interesting ways ? These are the questions of the topology of social space which is a major component of the research program presented in the Conclusion where three tools are highlighted : network analysis , the adjacency matrix , and fitness landscapes . The first two are familiar , but the latter might require some new learning . Also , the pressure for change is not an isolated phenomenon . Many disciplines are feeling the same pressure and opportunities for collaboration abound in the areas of sharing mathematical models , sharing data , and sharing problem definitions ( imagine this pumping station is a heart
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