Skip to main content

Complexity Explorables

Interactive models of what complexity science likes best — epidemics, flocking, synchronisation, forest fires.

Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.

How to get the most from it

Complexity Explorables sits in Science Toys under Learn, filed as rabbit hole.

  • Open it when the evening is free. It has no natural stopping point.
  • Use a laptop or desktop computer — we file it as desktop only.
  • It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
  • No account needed — you can start without signing up.
  • Go in expecting something brainy and mesmerising.

About this category: Simulations you can meddle with: orbits, evolution, chemistry, cellular automata. Understanding through interference rather than through reading.

Good for

  • A long evening with nothing planned
  • Giving your brain a workout
  • Watching something hypnotic for a while
  • A quiet break at your desk
  • Trying it with zero commitment

Complexity Explorables: quick answers

Is Complexity Explorables free?

Yes. Complexity Explorables is free to use and needs no account.

Do I need an account to use Complexity Explorables?

No. You can use Complexity Explorables without signing up for anything.

Does Complexity Explorables work on a phone?

Not well. We file Complexity Explorables as desktop only, so open it on a laptop or desktop computer.

Is Complexity Explorables safe for work?

Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.

How long does Complexity Explorables take?

We file it as "Rabbit hole": Clear your evening. We warned you.

More in Science Toys

All 15 in Science Toys

Same mood: brainy

All brainy sites
  • Sixteen words, four hidden groups, four mistakes allowed. The traps are the entire point and they are very carefully set.

  • Risk on hundreds of user-drawn maps, played slowly against a community that has been arguing about dice odds since 2006.

  • Guess the secret word and be told only how semantically close you got. Rank 4,000 feels like progress, and it very much is not.

  • Recipes laid out as a table of operations instead of prose, so you can see at a glance what combines with what and when.

    • 10 min
    • Desktop

Keep exploring

Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.