COMPLEXITY: THE EMERGING SCIENCE AT THE EDGE OF ORDER AND CHAOS [Paperback]

M. Mitchell Waldrop (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0671872346 | ISBN-13: 978-0671872342 | Edition: 1st

Why did the stock market crash more than 500 points on a single Monday in 1987? Why do ancient species often remain stable in the fossil record for millions of years and then suddenly disappear? In a world where nice guys often finish last, why do humans value trust and cooperation? At first glance these questions don't appear to have anything in common, but in fact every one of these statements refers to a complex system. The science of complexity studies how single elements, such as a species or a stock, spontaneously organize into complicated structures like ecosystems and economies; stars become galaxies, and snowflakes avalanches almost as if these systems were obeying a hidden yearning for order.

Drawing from diverse fields, scientific luminaries such as Nobel Laureates Murray Gell-Mann and Kenneth Arrow are studying complexity at a think tank called The Santa Fe Institute. The revolutionary new discoveries researchers have made there could change the face of every science from biology to cosmology to economics. M. Mitchell Waldrop's groundbreaking bestseller takes readers into the hearts and minds of these scientists to tell the story behind this scientific revolution as it unfolds.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Waldrop presents his narrative of the "science of complexity in high screenplay style, offering a cast of five main characters. In general, he makes the emerging nature of complexity theory accessible to the general reader. He dissipates his advantage, however, in order to depict the personalities of the scientists he discusses, using at least three of them-Stuart Kauffman, Brian Arthur and Chris Langton-to act as interdisciplinary infielders of sorts, who relay the theory itself through a long subplot on structuring and funding the Santa Fe Institute in the 1970s. Complexity theory most likely will receive other, more rigorous examinations than Waldrop's, but he provides a good grounding of what may indeed be the first flowering of a new science.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The Santa Fe Institute is an interdisciplinary think tank that has attracted the services of an electric and brilliant group of scholars. Here, economists work with biologists and physical scientists to develop theories that, many hope, will reveal that while natural systems may operate "at the edge of chaos," they are in fact self-organized. Thus conceived, the so-called science of complexity could explain the mysteries of how life began and might even predict global economic trends. The picture that emerges from this book, though, is that while many separate scientific endeavors overlap, a true conceptual synthesis is still a long way away. Waldrop writes in a very readable, sometimes overly light and chatty style, but by focusing so strongly on individual efforts, he inadvertently supports the impression that what is called the unified science of complexity is conjectural and quite fragmented. While this book succeeds as a chronicle of the Santa Fe Institute, it does not fully convince the reader that complexity represents a scientific revolution. Optional for public libraries.
- Gregg Sapp, Montana State Univ. Libs., Bozeman
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671872346
• ISBN-13: 978-0671872342
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 103 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a book on complexity, but ............. March 18, 2001

By H. Paul Greenough

Format:Paperback

a book about the mathematicians that developed complexity theory. My statement is more a warning than a complaint. Setting their results in a human and cultural context - as Waldrop does - makes an interesting read and a useful introduction to the field. And the field is promising; it looks at mathematical systems from the inside out, rather than the traditional outside in. Just don't buy the book expecting a guide to recreating even the simplest of systems mentioned.

Those who want to play with the mathematics itself will find other books more helpful. See, for example, Flake's book, "The Computational Beauty of Nature", which contains a description of Waldrop's frequently mentioned "boids" in enough detail that a reader can create similar systems. Flake also describes the details of many of the other systems alluded to in Waldrop's book, mercifully at the "how to do it"level, rather than the rigorous "theorem and proof" level. The two books fit well together.

Waldrop's writing style is clean, clear, literate, and unobtrusive. Read the book for what he says, rather than for how he says it. If you enjoy reading a technical book both for the what the author says - and for how he says it - try almost anything by John McPhee, particularly his loose series on the geology of North America.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Complexity May 17, 2000

By Allen Michie

Format:Paperback

This is an overview of complexity theory, an off-shoot and heir apparent of chaos theory. Waldrop models his book very, very closely on Gleick's "Chaos: Making a New Science," which Waldrop (and his publisher) knows was a best-seller. As a result, he summarizes the key positions of complexity theory by way of telling the story of their creators.

The heroes of the story are Brian Arthur, an economist who created "lock-in" theory and refuses to go along with the fusty old Adam Smith school of economics that sees everything moving toward "equilibrium." Stuart Kauffman, a truly brilliant and dogged scientist, has a theory of "autocatalysis" that explains away the creationists' position that the emergence of life is too complicated to ever happen by random chance. John Holland provides a mathematical basis and creates computer models for self-emergent and self-organizing systems (including DNA). Christopher Langton is the founder of the "artificial life" branch of science, and Murray Gell-Mann is the Pulitzer-Prize-winning scientist who discovered quarks and now studies the complexities of fragile ecosystems such as the Brazilian rain forest.

All of these geniuses happily co-habitate and cross-pollinate their ideas at a rare and remarkable instituion, the Sante Fe Institute. The founding of the institute and its early days in the picturesque setting of an old New Mexico convent provide much of the drama and the local color in Waldrop's tale.

All told, however, the book moves much slower than it should and could. The book would have been improved if Waldrop did not have so much "anxiety of influence" over Gleick and his chaos book--Waldrop is inclined to say that complexity theory has outdated or replaced chaos theory, with the implication that Waldrop's book should have the same relationship to Gleick's. In fact, the two theories (and books) can happily coexist and support one another.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE best popular introduction to complexity September 2, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I work for a company that is commercializing some applications of complexity science, so I've read a heap of "popular" books on the subject. This is far and away the best: Waldrop gives some entertaining historical background on the Santa Fe Institute, but the "meat" of the book is complexity science and its implications, and his descriptions are clear, easy to understand, and accurate. He not only tells you what complexity science is but WHY you should care about it -- and by doing that, he goes far beyond most other popularizers. The book is a little dated now, but not seriously, and I still recommend it to people as the best general introduction to the subject. (For those wishing to delve a little deeper, Stuart Kauffman's "At Home in the Universe" goes more into the technical side of complexity science while still remaining very readable.)