Resilience means the ability to resume living in changed but survivable circumstances after suffering a personal tragedy, or natural or social disaster. Dr. Péter Érdi’s lecture is an intellectual journey into the fixability of things in the 21st century – be it an item or a social issue –, the myth and limitations of growth, and the predictability of resilient systems. 

In addition to serving as a Henry Luce Professor of complex systems at the Kalamazoo College, Michigan, for over 20 years, he is also professor emeritus and scientific advisor at the Wigner Research Centre for Physics. His latest book Repair When and How to Improve Broken Objects, Ourselves, and Our Society (Springer 2022) co-authored with social psychologist Zsuzsa Szvetelszky explores questions such as how to fix communities broken as a result of natural and social disasters, how to relate to planned obsolescence, and how circular economy can help reduce waste.  The answer sounds simple enough – with the help of technological progress and the right morale. 

The lecture is part of the Global Voices programme launched by the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design.