Interdisciplinary Sciences
for a Complex World

About me and my work

A brief introduction to myself: I studied chemistry, physics and economics at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, where I obtained my doctorate in chemistry with a minor in economics in 1980. From 1980 to 1985, I worked in the chemical industry on the development of data storage media and then moved to manage a systemic consulting office in Freiburg. In the meantime, I was part of the final selection of science astronauts for the D2 mission.

After retiring to private life for family reasons, I founded the Office for Interdisciplinary Sciences in Staufen in 2002. This was prompted by my systemic experiences and the realization that - if we want to overcome the crises and complexity of the modern world - we need to close many gaps in our knowledge, especially in the natural sciences and their links with socially relevant issues. So for me it was about finding out more about how the world really works, what the rules of nature are that determine our lives and the functioning of our society.

I found the knowledge required for this above all between the individual sciences, in the overlaps and gaps, i.e. interdisciplinary. These are scientific landscapes that have been little researched to date and therefore require further investigation. My work, for which I collaborate in teams with experts from different disciplines - there is no other way - led me to basic research in physics and economics (see Matrix Theory and Physiconomics). This basic research not only led to the realization that economic and social issues are dominated by complex, chaordic systems, but also that we need to change our physical world view, which, according to my findings, can be formulated much more dynamically and in which effects and momentum states play a major role.

Since around the beginning of 2023, I have been devoting more time to basic research in physics, before finally presenting my findings to quantum physicists as a non-university member in August 2023 in a lecture at the “Symmetries in Science” congress. In the preparation and, above all, follow-up work for the lecture, I came across the surprising discovery that the origin of Einstein's general theory of relativity is identical to the origin of quantum physics, namely Planck's quantum of action. This may be the first successful step towards a theory of quantum gravity in which relativity and quantum physics can be combined. More about this in the section “Matrix theory”.

As I have been able to establish fundamentally, it is not only in physics that many decision-makers are currently overwhelmed by dealing with complexity. Today, we live in an increasingly non-linear world, in a system of high complexity and high instability, in which rational decisions are becoming increasingly difficult. It is therefore more important than ever to analyze and understand complex problems much better. It is also noticeable that in the interdisciplinary field, the one-sided logical-scientific language is not always suitable and even in physics, mathematization reaches its limits and we therefore have to repeatedly resort to descriptions.

I finance my work with lectures in the industry, with scientific events and with books, which I try to formulate in a way that is generally understandable despite their scientific claims. In terms of content, I apply the new knowledge primarily to fundamental questions of physics and at the interface between physics and economics, as well as to “understanding the world”.

Dr. Michael Harder, August 2024