THE MEANING OF EDUCATION, A lifetime of Summer Schools, By Tassos Bountis

It has been some time now that I decided to write down some of the memories and impressions I have collected from the Summer Schools (and parallel Conferences) that were organized in Greece on the topics of Nonlinear Dynamics and Complexity from 1987 until today. Since I have actively participated, together with many other Greek colleagues, in all these events from the beginning, I thought it would be a good idea to write down their story in one volume that would present in a concise manner our experience within a unifying framework.

Εvidently, the presentation attempted here is purely personal. However, my purpose is not simply to present a historical account of this experience. I believe that these Summer Schools, beyond their scientific value, held for me, as well as for all my colleagues who participated in them, a strong educational component. Our main purpose was to introduce young students and researchers of Greece to a new science that emerged several decades ago and continues to grow internationally at an ever increasing rate around the world.

Α second most important outcome of these Summer Schools was that they allowed us and understand on a deeper level, what I call “The Meaning of Education”. I believe that their success (verified by the fact that they continue to be organized until today) is due to a large extent to the educational approach we have followed in presenting to our youth the new science of Nonlinear Dynamics and Complexity.

Added Note:

Any remarks or corrections regarding the text are welcome. I also would like to request those who have photos of the Schools to send them to me at tassosbountis@gmail.com (accompanied by some explanatory remarks), so that I may either incorporate them in the text or include them in a separate Appendix.