Terence Tao on Nostr: In many aspects of the modern world (economic, political, environmental, ...

In many aspects of the modern world (economic, political, environmental, technological, etc.), we are arguably transitioning from a predictable regime of effective dynamics to a more uncertain regime without such effective dynamics. As such, empirical laws that were trustworthy in the past, may become significantly less accurate, and can in fact become dangerous to rely on too blindly. (An example from my own recent personal experience: as the world's climate departs from its historical equilibrium state, the empirical observation that dangerous fires mainly occur in summer rather than winter is no longer safe to rely upon.) The world is becoming more non-perturbative, more nonlinear, and more coupled; developments in distant countries or demographics, or in distant disciplines, have more impact on one's personal life than before, in ways that cannot be easily described by a small number of macro variables. (Example: the COVID-19 pandemic.) (3/4)