The Pain of Complexity

In the scholarly community, the concept of complexity is typically associated with science. However, the consumer view on complexity is different. To understand the conceptual structure of complexity, the author analyzed self-declared interests harvested from complexity-related blogs in LiveJournal. The author arranged the interests into a semantic network, based on their similarity of use. The network has a modular structure and consists of four clusters linked with four aspects of complexity: Science, Philosophy, Art and Soul. Apparently laypersons perceive complexity not only as a scientific phenomenon but also as an intricacy associated with creativity, search for wisdom, and a potentially painful soul search.