Emergence: From Chaos to Order [Paperback]

John H. Holland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

'He's the man who taught computers how to have sex. And now, for an encore, he's working on a theory to explain the complexity of life and its myriad manifestations on planet earth.' New York Times In this book, one of today's most innovative thinkers, John H. Holland, explains the theory of emergenceDSa simple theory that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Emergence demonstrates that a small number of rules or laws can generate incredibly complex systems. From the checkers-playing computer that learnt to beat its creator again and again, to a fertilized egg that can program the development of a trillion-cell organism, to the ant colonies that build bridges over chasms and navigate leaf-boats on streams, this fascinating and groundbreaking book contains wide-ranging implications for science, business, and the arts. 'John Holland is an exceptionally imaginative person. Often surprising, and always engaging, he takes the reader on a journey from simplicity to complexity' Sir Robert May.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Emergence" is the notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. John Holland, a MacArthur Fellow known as the "father of genetic algorithms," says this seemingly simple notion will be at the heart of the development of machines that can think for themselves. And while he claims that he'd rather do science than write about it, this is his second scientific philosophy book intended to increase public understanding of difficult concepts (his first was Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity). One of the questions that Holland says emergence theory can help answer is: can we build systems from which more comes out than was put in? Think of the food replicators in the imaginary future of Star Trek--with some basic chemical building blocks and simple rules, those machines can produce everything from Klingon delicacies to Earl Grey tea. If scientists can understand and apply the knowledge they gather from studying emergent systems, we may soon witness the development of artificial intelligence, nanotech, biological machines, and other creations heretofore confined to science fiction. Using games, molecules, maps, and scientific theories as examples, Holland outlines how emergence works, emphasizing the interrelationships of simple rules and parts in generating a complex whole. Because of the theoretical depth, this book probably won't appeal to the casual reader of popular science, but those interested in delving a little deeper into the future of science and engineering will be fascinated. Holland's writing, while sometimes self-consciously precise, is clear, and he links his theoretical arguments to examples in the real world whenever possible. Emergence offers insight not just to scientific advancement, but across many areas of human endeavor--business, the arts, even the evolution of society and the generation of new ideas. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Emergence, where simple systems generate complex ones, is a fundamental concept in many modern scientific theories. Phenomena as diverse as a game of checkers, neural networks, and even the origin of life are emergent. Holland, the developer of "genetic algorithms," demonstrates how mathematical models can represent the essential elements of emergent systems. Though the subject is arcane, Holland's emphasis on modeling appeals to readers' common sense, and he handles the mathematics very adeptly. Frequent recapitulation also helps. Most of the text focuses on the model-building process, with a few selected examples, and thus this book would be a good companion to others that are broader and more speculative, such as Murray Gell-Mann's The Quark and the Jaguar (LJ 4/15/94). For larger public and academic libraries.?Gregg Sapp, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables, Fla.
Copyright 1998 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: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (Sd) (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192862111
• ISBN-13: 978-0192862112
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,728,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Holland does not have the gift of popularization, May 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Emergence: From Chaos To Order (Helix Books) (Paperback)

John Holland's "Emergence" just doesn't make it as a science popularization. The ideas Holland presents are fascinating, exciting, and indeed highly relevant for our globalized, interconnected world.

Unfortunately, none of this comes across. Like many scientists (I know... I *am* a scientist), Holland simply has no idea how a nonscientist would grasp the concept of emergence. He overexplains simple examples like the numbers and board games of the first two chapters, then underexplains the deeper ideas of later chapters. The final chapter is pretty good in terms of unifying the book's themes and providing a broader view of how emergence fits into science and human culture. However, the reader has not been adequately prepared for this broadening because the middle chapters were so poorly explained.

I fear that most readers will come away without sensing the truly revolutionary nature of this new branch of science. Holland lacks passion! The book is bland because Holland seems not to be able to present rigorous science in conjunction with thrill and emotion. He should take a lesson from the experts at popularization, such as Sagan and Gribbin, who succeed at presenting factually correct science in a way that engages and excites nonscientists.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but it's no Hidden Order, November 20, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emergence: From Chaos To Order (Helix Books) (Hardcover)

Having just read Holland's other book "Hidden Order", I was psyched to hear that he had written another book on the science of complex adaptive systems. This book, however, was quite disappointing. While the first few chapters were interesting, the second half of the book was a loss to me. There seemed to be too many divergent themes upon which he was trying to comment. I feel like he ran out of ideas and started just writing down anything that came to mind. The last chapter provided a good summary of the ideas he tried to express concerning emergence, but the book on the whole left more questions than it answered. If you really want to learn something about emergence and related science of complexity, check out his other book "Hidden Order". It's much better and a bit easier to understand in my opinion.

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Toss Up, November 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Emergence: From Chaos To Order (Helix Books) (Paperback)

Parts of this book were interesting, but overall it was much ado about not much, and what was done was often overdone (I agree with another reviewer on this point). I see that Amazon has coupled this book with Hidden Order. I can't see why. It would be like buying the same book twice. Anyway, so much of this has been warmed over so many times now that it's frankly a bit dry. I'd like to see a book that really breaks new ground in complexity without overusing buzz words or talking down to me, holding my hand through simple things. Here, the topic is more attractive than the content I'm afraid. Anyone really interested in complexity and emergence will need to go into technical details well beyond this book. Others, like me, will likely find the details that are here to be a bit tedious.