This essay is the fourth installment in the series on dreams and phase transitions. It turns the metaphor operational. Having established that instability is the main symptom of impending second-order ...

The study of quantum phase transitions in dissipative systems investigates the fundamental changes in the steady state of open quantum systems driven by the interplay between coherent evolution and ...

Phase-transition language can illuminate not only Joseph’s story but also the history of humanity. To be clear, this is a metaphor, not a reduction. Human history is not governed by thermodynamic laws ...