01
Narrative & Intermediality
Explore how literature, images, media, and cultural forms construct meaning across different modes of representation.
Topics
MEANING · BIOLOGY · ALGORITHMS · INSTITUTIONS
Complex systems become clearer when we follow the threads that connect them.
Thread & System is an independent learning resource connecting literature, biological networks, algorithmic governance, and interdisciplinary methods for understanding complex relationships.
Independent educational resource
Connection map
OPEN FRAMEWORK
01
Narrative
How meaning is constructed
02
Network
How components interact
03
Rule
How systems are governed
04
Evidence
How explanations are tested
6
academic reference profiles
4
connected domains
3
modes of interpretation
100%
education-focused
CONNECTED DOMAINS
Different disciplines.
Different disciplines.
Shared problems of interpretation.
Explore how narratives, biological networks, algorithms, and institutions create patterns that can be observed, interpreted, and tested.
02
Living Networks
Understand how genes, cells, organisms, and environmental signals form dynamic biological systems.
Topics
03
Algorithms & Law
Study how algorithms, artificial intelligence, legal rules, and human behavior interact in modern institutions.
Topics
04
Interdisciplinary Evidence
Learn how different disciplines formulate questions, organize evidence, compare interpretations, and validate conclusions.
Topics
AN INTERDISCIPLINARY METHOD
Follow the connection before drawing the conclusion.
Complex questions become more manageable when we identify the elements, relationships, assumptions, and evidence that support an explanation.
Identify
Define the phenomenon and the boundaries of the system.
Connect
Map relationships between elements, signals, narratives, or rules.
Interpret
Use disciplinary knowledge to explain what those connections may mean.
Test
Compare the interpretation with evidence, alternatives, and uncertainty.
ACADEMIC REFERENCES
Research across different kinds of systems.
These profiles are included as public academic references to help learners discover relevant research areas.
They are not presented as Thread & System employees, members, partners, or official representatives.
Leena Eilittä
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Humanities
Title of Docent
Research in comparative literature, German-language literature, intermediality, Romanticism, world literature, and relationships between textual and visual forms.
Demo platform alias
leenaeilitta@l2roe.net
Marko Petek
National Institute of Biology · Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology
Senior Scientific Associate
Research in plant biology, transcriptomics, RNA sequencing, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and data-driven analysis of biological responses.
Demo platform alias
markopetek@l2roe.net
ORCID 0000-0003-3644-7827
Yoan Hermstrüwer
University of Zurich
Assistant Professor
Research at the intersection of law, algorithms and artificial intelligence, market design, behavioral law and economics, empirical legal studies, and technology law.
Demo platform alias
yoanhermstruwer@l2roe.net
Kai Mikkonen
University of Helsinki
Professor of Comparative Literature
Research in comparative literature, narrative theory, literary interpretation, nineteenth-century literature, travel writing, comics, and relationships between words and images.
ORCID 0000-0003-1371-4398
Kristina Gruden
National Institute of Biology
Scientific Counsellor / Head of the Omics Unit
Research on molecular plant systems, omics, plant responses to environmental signals, and interdisciplinary approaches linking life science with computation and mathematics.
Christoph Engel
Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics
Emeritus
Research in empirical legal studies, experimental law and economics, institutional behavior, decision-making, and artificial intelligence and law.
READING PATHS
Begin with a connection worth understanding.
Narrative
How different media change meaning
Explore how text, image, and other media reshape interpretation when stories move between forms.
Biological systems
From gene expression to living networks
Understand how molecular measurements can reveal changing relationships inside biological systems.
Technology law
What happens when algorithms become decision-makers
Explore how automated systems interact with legal rules, institutions, and human judgment.
Evidence
Why relationships matter more than isolated facts
Learn how networks and connections can reveal patterns that individual observations cannot explain alone.
Interpretation
How assumptions shape conclusions
Examine why disciplinary perspectives influence the questions, evidence, and explanations researchers consider useful.
Interdisciplinary learning
Connecting models without collapsing differences
Learn how ideas from different disciplines can inform one another while preserving their distinct methods and assumptions.
ABOUT THIS RESOURCE
Built around meaningful connections.
Thread & System is an independent educational prototype designed to connect ideas from the humanities, life sciences, and legal-technology research without presenting itself as a university, laboratory, publisher, or professional association.
Cross-disciplinary inquiry
Different research traditions can illuminate different parts of the same complex question.
Clear source boundaries
Academic references remain separate from the identity of this educational resource.
Evidence before certainty
Interpretations should remain open to comparison, uncertainty, and revision.