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Frontiers of Complexity: The Search for Order in a Chaotic World
"SCIENCE JOURNALISM AT ITS BEST. . . An impeccably researched, amazingly up-to-date, crisply written and well-illustrated survey."
--Nature
At the cutting edge of the sciences, a dynamic new concept is complexity. In this groundbreaking new book, Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield explore how complexity in mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, and even the social sciences is transforming not only the way we think about the universe, but also the very assumptions that underlie conventional science.
Complexity is a watchword for a new way of thinking about the behavior of interacting units, whether they are atoms, ants in a colony, or neurons firing in a human brain. The rise of the electronic computer provided both the key and the catalyst to our exploration of complexity.
A new generation of computers that runs on light and exploits the bizarre properties of quantum mechanics promises to deepen our understanding still further. The advances we have already witnessed are spectacular. The authors take us inside laboratories where scientists are evolving the genetic molecules that enabled life to emerge on earth and generating universes teeming with virtual creatures in cyber-space. We witness the utterly realistic behavior of a school of virtual fish--computer-generated replicas that have been trained to swim gracefully, hunt for food, and scatter at the approach of a leopard shark.
Compelling in its clarity, far-reaching in its implications, vibrant with the excitement of new discovery, Frontiers of Complexity is an arresting account of how far science has come in the past fifty years and an essential guide to the rapidly approaching future.
"[A] MARVELOUS AND COMPREHENSIVE WORK . . . Virtually any scientist or interested lay reader will find this book engrossing, edifying and inspiring."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
--Nature
At the cutting edge of the sciences, a dynamic new concept is complexity. In this groundbreaking new book, Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield explore how complexity in mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, and even the social sciences is transforming not only the way we think about the universe, but also the very assumptions that underlie conventional science.
Complexity is a watchword for a new way of thinking about the behavior of interacting units, whether they are atoms, ants in a colony, or neurons firing in a human brain. The rise of the electronic computer provided both the key and the catalyst to our exploration of complexity.
A new generation of computers that runs on light and exploits the bizarre properties of quantum mechanics promises to deepen our understanding still further. The advances we have already witnessed are spectacular. The authors take us inside laboratories where scientists are evolving the genetic molecules that enabled life to emerge on earth and generating universes teeming with virtual creatures in cyber-space. We witness the utterly realistic behavior of a school of virtual fish--computer-generated replicas that have been trained to swim gracefully, hunt for food, and scatter at the approach of a leopard shark.
Compelling in its clarity, far-reaching in its implications, vibrant with the excitement of new discovery, Frontiers of Complexity is an arresting account of how far science has come in the past fifty years and an essential guide to the rapidly approaching future.
"[A] MARVELOUS AND COMPREHENSIVE WORK . . . Virtually any scientist or interested lay reader will find this book engrossing, edifying and inspiring."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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September 30, 2016This book is very well written. It's simply not what I expected. It dealt more with advances in computing then in the concept of complexity. While advances in computing have lead to an ability to manage higher orders and levels of complexity, it's not quite as fun as a book on complexity.
It would be a good book for someone who is interested in the history of complexity.
It would be a good book for someone who is interested in the history of complexity.
March 26, 2018
A very sluggish and hard book to read. I have to agree that its very informative and gave me some new insights into the field of complex systems. On the other hand, it's a 1995 publication, so a lot of recent developments in the field are missing. For example, the huge area of networks doesn't find a place in the book (maybe a bit via Neural Networks).
What made the book hard to read was the bombardment of information without much of a focus on developing the intuition. It seemed more like the "Related Work" section of a research paper -- which I usually like to skim through and come back later only when required. "Life as we know" is the slowest chapter in the book -- I am no expert in DNA's and RNA's, and I got lost in their details instead of grasping the intuitive ideas of complexity in life.
What made the book hard to read was the bombardment of information without much of a focus on developing the intuition. It seemed more like the "Related Work" section of a research paper -- which I usually like to skim through and come back later only when required. "Life as we know" is the slowest chapter in the book -- I am no expert in DNA's and RNA's, and I got lost in their details instead of grasping the intuitive ideas of complexity in life.
July 6, 2019
Oh my! Although this was written when I was a wee boy of six (and now I'm a large man of twenty nine), it holds up. Visionary. It's getting me all riled up on the thin line between chaos and order. Truly a beautiful place to sit! Never read this book unless you are feeling odd or want to know whats up. Onward!
July 28, 2013
The book itself might not be anyhow extraordinary and today could be also dated. But it introduced me into topics which I never knew about before and which had fundamental impact on my perception of the world.
June 21, 2020
Although sadly outdated bybthisnpoint in time it was still interesting to see how some of the hypotheses posted in the book panned out o e the years.
May 23, 2016
Although I really liked this book, it is not for everyone.
There are 2 kinds of books on complex systems (and sciencey things in general): 1) shallow, 2) deep. The shallow ones act as a great introduction to a topic and are perfect for the general reader. The deep ones are usually academic and only valuable if you already know a lot about the subject matter. Both of them find a willing audience.
This book probably won't. It is a great overview of a lot of things IF you already understand complex systems pretty well, because it goes into more detail than most people will really understand or want to read. In other words, it is too shallow for the academics and too deep for the general reader.
But for me, it was great! (I already know the material well, and I really just wanted to see someone else's overview and their choices for how to present the breadth and depth of complex systems in a coherent way.)
On a final practical note, this books spends too much time talking about artificial intelligence and artificial life and completely skips over swarming and ecosystems. It really should have been shorter and included more things that typically come under the umbrella of complex systems.
There are 2 kinds of books on complex systems (and sciencey things in general): 1) shallow, 2) deep. The shallow ones act as a great introduction to a topic and are perfect for the general reader. The deep ones are usually academic and only valuable if you already know a lot about the subject matter. Both of them find a willing audience.
This book probably won't. It is a great overview of a lot of things IF you already understand complex systems pretty well, because it goes into more detail than most people will really understand or want to read. In other words, it is too shallow for the academics and too deep for the general reader.
But for me, it was great! (I already know the material well, and I really just wanted to see someone else's overview and their choices for how to present the breadth and depth of complex systems in a coherent way.)
On a final practical note, this books spends too much time talking about artificial intelligence and artificial life and completely skips over swarming and ecosystems. It really should have been shorter and included more things that typically come under the umbrella of complex systems.
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July 30, 2011What an awesome book. Not only does it discuss Chaos Theory and how it pertains to everything from quantum mechanics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, evolution, and mathematics, but it brings to light the many interesting "characters" of science, like Turing and Von Neumann who contributed and are contributing to this multi-disciplinary field.
March 9, 2016
This book covers many areas of complexity in detail, although its focus mostly seems to be the effect that advancing computer/simulation technology has on modeling and understanding complex systems. Although by now some of its summaries are out of date it is still an excellent overview of the field.
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September 4, 2017(found read date in diary)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews