Karen O’Brien
Karen O’Brien introduces the emergent field of quantum social science, examining its theoretical and practical implications, including the role of fractals in scaling sustainability solutions and the significant impact individuals can make. She advocates for a new paradigm integrating individual, collective, and systems change, underscoring that we matter more than we think.
The urgency of the issue is reinforced by continuous news about the state of the global environment, including the risk of crossing biophysical and ecological tipping points. Despite decades of research on climate change and biodiversity loss, there remains a notable lack of strategic action. We are caught in top-down versus bottom-up solutions, local versus global strategies, and individual versus collective actions, making translating scientific findings into actionable steps challenging.
The concept of “fractal agency” aligns individual actions with universal values by recognising the interconnectedness of the practical, political, and personal spheres of transformation. Karen describes how fractal patterns can drive social change in support of an equitable and sustainable world. Key steps include personal reflection, problem-solving, strategic initiative design, and action. By embedding this process within a holistic perspective and core values, Karen argues that strategic thinking and acting can effectively address the root causes of sustainability crises.
In contrast to fragmented strategies, Karen’s methodology addresses root causes through the synergistic interplay of individual, collective, and systemic transformations, and she considers how a paradigm that integrates these levels can address global sustainability challenges. Quantum social science and the application of concepts from quantum mechanics recognise the importance of contextuality and highlight how outcomes are shaped by surrounding conditions and interactions—a concept that will be familiar to systemic designers. This approach, alongside other quantum concepts, emphasises exploring multiple possibilities, understanding interconnections, considering timing, and accommodating uncertainty. It offers a hopeful and comprehensive framework that can be applied to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects addressing complex social problems.
Related Articles
O’Brien, K.L. (2021) You Matter More Than You Think: Quantum Social Change for a Thriving World. Oslo: cCHANGE Press.
O’Brien, K. (2016). Climate change and social transformations: Is it time for a quantum leap? WIREs Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.413
O’Brien, K., Hochachka, G. (2024). People as solutions to sustainability. Ambio, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02070-z
O’Brien, K., Carmona, R., Gram-Hanssen, I. et al. (2023). Fractal approaches to scaling transformations to sustainability. Ambio 52, 1448–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01873-w
PROFILE
Karen O’Brien is a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway. She is also co-founder of cCHANGE, an organisation that supports deep and strategic engagement with transformations to sustainability. Her research on the human and social dimensions of environmental change emphasises integrative approaches, including how beliefs, values, worldviews, and paradigms influence systems change and social change. She is particularly interested in the relationship between adaptation and transformations to sustainability and in exploring how quantum social science can inform how we understand, engage with, and scale transformative change. In 2021, she was co-recipient of the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Climate Change. Karen’s recent books include You Matter More Than You Think: Quantum Social Change for a Thriving World and Climate and Society: Transforming the Future (with Robin Leichenko). She has participated in four IPCC reports and is currently co-chair of the International Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) transformative change assessment. She also writes a weekly newsletter on quantum social change.