Complex systems are a largely unexplored area of physics in that we don't really have tools as powerful and generally applicable as the mathematical machinery developed to describe more "fundamental" physics. With the exception of near equilibrium phenomena of homogeneous systems like gases that can be described with 19th century statistical physics it is really hard to write down general laws or patterns.
The work of Parisi (and quite a few others) in the eighties (non-linear systems, chaos theory, attractors, universality of power laws etc) have given us a first glimpse of what lies beyond, but a true revolution is still in the future and will require some pretty mind-bending mathematical inventions.
Making serious progress is not just intellectually challenging, it is also of immense practical relevance for us understanding and moderating our impact on the biosphere. The Nobel committee, in their infinite wisdom, suggest as much.
The work of Parisi (and quite a few others) in the eighties (non-linear systems, chaos theory, attractors, universality of power laws etc) have given us a first glimpse of what lies beyond, but a true revolution is still in the future and will require some pretty mind-bending mathematical inventions.
Making serious progress is not just intellectually challenging, it is also of immense practical relevance for us understanding and moderating our impact on the biosphere. The Nobel committee, in their infinite wisdom, suggest as much.