A wide range of developments in science in recent years has altered our views of our world and ourselves in significant ways. These views challenge the direction of applied science and technology in many fields, including those associated with learning and performance in organizations. At the same time, they open up opportunities and possibilities. To take advantage, new approaches based on different assumptions are implied. This article summarizes a set of concepts associated with complexity and relates them to work in organizations. The final article of the issue then relates these same concepts to human performance technology.