Deep Simplicity: Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity [Hardcover]

John Gribbin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 5, 2005

Over the past two decades, no field of scientific inquiry has had a more striking impact across a wide array of disciplines–from biology to physics, computing to meteorology–than that known as chaos and complexity, the study of complex systems. Now astrophysicist John Gribbin draws on his expertise to explore, in prose that communicates not only the wonder but the substance of cutting-edge science, the principles behind chaos and complexity. He reveals the remarkable ways these two revolutionary theories have been applied over the last twenty years to explain all sorts of phenomena–from weather patterns to mass extinctions.

Grounding these paradigm-shifting ideas in their historical context, Gribbin also traces their development from Newton to Darwin to Lorenz, Prigogine, and Lovelock, demonstrating how–far from overturning all that has gone before–chaos and complexity are the triumphant extensions of simple scientific laws. Ultimately, Gribbin illustrates how chaos and complexity permeate the universe on every scale, governing the evolution of life and galaxies alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Chaos begets complexity, and complexity begets life"—the most complex thing there is, writes Cambridge University astrophysicist Gribbin in opening this examination of how chaos theory has shifted scientific thinking. Gribbin, a veteran popular science writer (The Scientists, etc.), points out that chaos theory is based on two simple principles: small changes in the starting conditions of a process can cause big changes in the outcome, and the behavior of the system feeds back into itself to change the development of the system. The way our genes produce proteins and in turn the cells in our bodies may appear so complex as to be "on the edge of chaos," but in fact, as Gribbin points out, a "deep simplicity" underlies all of nature. He details how the second law of thermodynamics, about the concept of entropy, and systems in equilibrium play vital roles in determining the order underlying apparent chaos. Gribbin argues for complexity as the agglomeration of a (relative) handful of natural processes. Yet despite his insistence that chaos and complexity are actually quite simple, Gribbin's sophisticated presentation may prove daunting to casual science buffs. But advanced science readers will find it worthwhile to understand how "we are the natural expression of a deeper order." B&w illus.
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From Scientific American

"The surprise that we un-fold in this book is that chaos begets complexity, and complexity begets life," Gribbin writes. "The great insight is that chaos and complexity obey simple laws." Chaos in everyday life is random and unpredictable. "But the kind of chaos we are discussing here is completely orderly and deterministic, with one step following from another in an unbroken chain of cause and effect which is completely predictable at every stage--in principle."

Yet sometimes, in chaos theory, the complex outcome is not predictable. Gribbin, a science writer trained in astrophysics and currently a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex in England, smoothly traces the steps from chaos to complexity in such things as weather, earthquakes, the properties of the solar system, and the rise of the most complex system now known--life on Earth. And then he explores "the biggest question," which is whether there is "life beyond Earth."

Editors of Scientific American

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140006256X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400062560
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #457,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Chaos Theory

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The science of chaos and complexity explained clearly--FINALLY!!! January 26, 2006

By Stephen Pletko TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

+++++

This book, by astrophysicist John Gribbin, gives us insight into the concepts of "chaos" and "complexity." Chaos occurs when a small change in the starting conditions of a process produces a big change in the outcome of that process. A complex system is one that is chaotic, and in which the way the system develops feeds back on itself to change the way it is developing.

Is there an order or a simplicity that underlies chaos and complexity? According to Gribbin, there is. He states, "the great insight is that chaos and complexity follow simple laws-essentially the same simple laws discovered by Isaac Newton more than three hundred years ago." Gribbin goes on to make this startling statement:

"Chaos begets complexity, and complexity begets life."

So what is the theme of this book? Answer: "It is the simplicity that underpins complexity, and thereby makes life possible, that is the theme of this book."

The first three chapters tell us about Chaos. They are titled as follows:

(1) Order (or simplicity) out of chaos
(2) The return of chaos
(3) Chaos out of order

The next chapter introduces another important concept. It's titled:

(4) From chaos to complexity

The next two chapters introduce and discuss the most complex system of all. They're entitled:

(5) Earthquakes, (mass) extinctions, and emergence (of life)
(6) The facts of life

The final chapter looks into the biggest question facing science today: "Is there life beyond Earth, elsewhere in our Solar System, or out in the Universe at large?" The title of this chapter is:

(7) Life beyond

Throughout the book, Gribbin reveals how these revolutionary theories of chaos and complexity have been applied over the last two decades to explain all sorts of different, seemingly unrelated phenomena: from traffic jams and the stock market to weather patterns, the formation of galaxies, and the evolution of life. To make the book even more readable and interesting, all these ideas are put in their proper historical context.

There are over 35 illustrations (in the form of graphs, diagrams, etc.) that I found were helpful in visually describing key concepts.

There is also a short but invaluable glossary that I found to be very beneficial. In fact, it is from here that I obtained the above definitions of chaos and complexity.

Who is this book written for? I would say anybody interested in chaos and complexity. However, because Gribbin includes a wide range of scientific disciplines-from biology to physics and computing, meteorology to cosmology-I would recommend having a general scientific background. As well, knowledge of basic mathematics would help.

Finally, the only problem I had with this book is that each chapter is written as one, long narrative with no breaks. I feel that it would have been beneficial to have each chapter divided into subsections to ease reading.

In conclusion, this is a well-written book on what can be a difficult subject. If you want to learn the principles behind chaos and complexity, then this is the book to read!!

(first published 2004; acknowledgements; list of illustrations; introduction; 7 chapters; main narrative 250 pages; glossary; references; index)

+++++

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Deep thought and simple perspective May 28, 2005

By John Fabian

Format:Hardcover

This work takes giant steps with the history of science and cosmology. From the Big Bang to Life, from Copernicus to Lovelock, Professor Gribbin advances the theory of complex order from simple rules.

A reader familiar with complexity theory may feel they have heard all this before. Professor Gribbin however takes a very mathematical approach to the subject and delivers am interesting and readable account of his subject.

I recommend this work to serious lay readers (casual science readers may find the math daunting, although just appreciating the author's enthusiasm will be infectious) and to a general academic audience. The scope is vast but engagingly presented and readable.

Throughout the work Professor Gribbin goes on tangents and then announces that it is out of the scope of the present work. I challenge the good professor to write a new work on just those tangents. I for one will be happy to read it.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Piece of Literature June 6, 2006

By Mark

Format:Hardcover

I have just finished reading Deep Simplicity and felt the urge to tell anyone who would listen how I felt about the book. Read the other reviewers to find out what the book is about.

There have been very few occasions and very few books that moved me in the way that Deep Simplicity did, for it is a work of art and without doubt a genuinely beautiful piece of literature. What's more, I feel that the beauty inherent in the book is self-similar on many scales, from the lucidly illustrative metaphors, to paragraphs that grab you as they weave delicately expounded threads together, to the overall structure and flow of the book itself. I felt privileged to have read the book.

After I finished I was left with a tremendous sense of appreciation for and recognition with our planet, its biosphere, life, and the Universe at large; even for my fellow man - although our depredations are made strikingly apparent. My final and lasting feeling is one of profound enlightenment; something felt when previously reading Gribbin, but not to this extent.

Thank You John Gribbin, for writing this book; $24.95 in one currency, priceless in another.