Soft chaos. Sharp patterns.

Exploring the hidden structures that shape the world from feedback loops and biases to viral memes and imagined societies.

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Join a community of curious minds decoding complexity.
One pattern at a time.

Not your average newsletter

Carefully crafted for curious minds who value substance over noise.
Here's what makes it special:

Never Boring, Always Curious

Forget jargon-heavy think pieces. Each article aims to blend theory with vivid examples from traffic jams to TikTok virality.

Never Boring, Always Curious

Forget jargon-heavy think pieces. Each article aims to blend theory with vivid examples from traffic jams to TikTok virality.

Readable & Insightful

Concise enough for a coffee break, layered enough to spark thoughts all week.

Readable & Insightful

Concise enough for a coffee break, layered enough to spark thoughts all week.

No Fluff, Just Substance

Every word earns its place. Clear arguments, tested ideas, zero filler.

No Fluff, Just Substance

Every word earns its place. Clear arguments, tested ideas, zero filler.

Actionable Curiosity

Each piece leaves you with one mental model, tool, or question you can use immediately.

Actionable Curiosity

Each piece leaves you with one mental model, tool, or question you can use immediately.

Deeply Researched

Drawn from system science, psychology, cultural theory, and simulation research - distilling hundreds of sources into sharp insights.

Deeply Researched

Drawn from system science, psychology, cultural theory, and simulation research - distilling hundreds of sources into sharp insights.

What's it about?

Beyond the noise. Only about what matters.

At Simularch, we believe complexity doesn’t have to mean confusion.


We explore:

  • System Dynamics → Why patterns repeat, and where they break.

  • Cognitive Architectures → How humans decide, err, and adapt.

  • Cultural Diffusion → How ideas, memes, and brands spread.

  • Simulation & Modeling → What alternative worlds and rules could look like.


This isn’t just theory. Each essay connects abstract models to real-world stories - from financial crises to social media trends, from urban growth to imagined future societies.


Our goal: to help you see the hidden loops beneath the surface, and to build the tools to model (or reimagine) them.

Join a community of curious minds decoding complexity

Subscribe

Topics we cover in the newsletter:

Systems & Dynamics

Feedback loops, tipping points, networks.

Systems & Dynamics

Feedback loops, tipping points, networks.

Cognitive Biases & Decision Making

Heuristics, rationality, propaganda.

Cognitive Biases & Decision Making

Heuristics, rationality, propaganda.

Cultural Spread

Memes, brands, virality, media ecologies.

Cultural Spread

Memes, brands, virality, media ecologies.

Simulation Experiments

Agent-based models, counterfactuals, game theory.

Simulation Experiments

Agent-based models, counterfactuals, game theory.

Research & Tools

Open-source projects, GitHub simulations, R/Python notebooks.

Research & Tools

Open-source projects, GitHub simulations, R/Python notebooks.

Who's writing

And, more importantly, why this newsletter exists.

I’m İlayda Küçükafacan - an industrial engineer by training, a researcher by practice, and an explorer of the hidden patterns shaping how people and societies behave by choice. :)

My path has taken me from data analytics in global companies to public opinion research and system simulations, but at the core, I’ve always been fascinated by the same question:
How do complex systems - human or otherwise - create order, disorder, and everything in between?

I’ve studied decision-making through psychology and economics, explored cultural dynamics in branding and politics, and worked on projects that merge data, foresight, and strategy. Today, I’m building Simularch as a space where these threads converge: part research notebook, part public experiment, part manifesto for thinking in systems.

When I’m not writing, you’ll probably find me mapping out simulations, losing myself in a Borges story, or wandering Istanbul’s streets hunting for the next café to turn into a temporary office.

You can find more about me at ilaydakucukafacan.com

I’m İlayda Küçükafacan - an industrial engineer by training, a researcher by practice, and an explorer of the hidden patterns shaping how people and societies behave by choice. :)

My path has taken me from data analytics in global companies to public opinion research and system simulations, but at the core, I’ve always been fascinated by the same question:
How do complex systems - human or otherwise - create order, disorder, and everything in between?

I’ve studied decision-making through psychology and economics, explored cultural dynamics in branding and politics, and worked on projects that merge data, foresight, and strategy. Today, I’m building Simularch as a space where these threads converge: part research notebook, part public experiment, part manifesto for thinking in systems.

When I’m not writing, you’ll probably find me mapping out simulations, losing myself in a Borges story, or wandering Istanbul’s streets hunting for the next café to turn into a temporary office.

You can find more about me at ilaydakucukafacan.com

Ilayda Kucukafacan

Copyright © Simularch Research. All rights reserved.

Copyright © Simularch Research. All rights reserved.

Copyright © Simularch Research. All rights reserved.

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