Hyperproblems

Hyperproblems are scientific challenges whose scale, complexity, novelty and interdependence overwhelm traditional research models, requiring new forms of collective intelligence, modeling, coordination and communication.

Epistrons: Knowledge Artifacts for Hyperproblems

In my introductory post on hyperproblems, I ended with Common Source - open source plus people sharing - as the circulatory system for collective intelligence. I hadn't said what exactly was circulating, but if you look at the practice of science today, we have:

April 27, 2026

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Hyperproblems: New Ways of Doing and Communicating Science

Ten years ago, when the Paris Accords were signed and we agreed (by the way, who's the we?) that we need to keep global temperature rise well below two degrees and ideally no more than 1.5 degrees above the pre-modern average, there was also a sense of urgency, that we need to set major shifts into motion by 2030 in order for the 1.5 degree goal to be met. That was the whole point of the Paris Accords.

November 17, 2025