Proving the existence of speculative financial bubbles even a posteriori has proven exceedingly difficult[1-3] so anticipating a speculative bubble ex ante would at first seem an impossible task. Still as illustrated by the recent turmoil in financial markets initiated by the so called...

Despite intense research on intractable conflicts their dynamical properties are not well understood, and in many respects they appear paradoxical. The defining characteristic of intractable conflicts is stability and resistance to intervention, yet this stability is maintained by underlying...