Nonlinear Dynamics, Mathematical Biology, And Social Science: Wise Use Of Alternative Therapies (Santa Fe Institute Series) [Paperback]

Joshua M. Epstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0201419882 | ISBN-13: 978-0201419887

These lectures develop simple models of complex social processes using nonlinear dynamics and mathematical biology. Dynamical analogies between seemingly disparate social and biological phenomena—revolutions and epidemics, arms races, and ecosystem dynamics—are revealed and exploited. Nonlinear Dynamics, Mathematical Biology, and Social Science invites social scientists to relax—in some cases abandon—the predominant assumption of perfectly informed utility maximization and explore social dynamics from such perspectives as epidemiology and predator-prey theory. The volume includes a concentrated course on nonlinear dynamical systems.

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About the Author

Joshua M. Epstein is a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution and a Member of the External Faculty of the Santa Fe Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from M.I.T., and has taught Complex Systems at Princeton and the Santa Fe Institute Summer School. His books include Measuring Military Power; Conventional Force Reductions: A Dynamic Assessment; and, with coauthor Robert Axtell, Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Melissa and their daughter Anna Matilda.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (May 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201419882
• ISBN-13: 978-0201419887
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,298,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A really rockin read, May 14, 2008

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This review is from: Nonlinear Dynamics, Mathematical Biology, And Social Science: Wise Use Of Alternative Therapies (Santa Fe Institute Series) (Paperback)

If you were ever at all comfortable with integral calculus and differential equations, for example if you took these in college, then J. Epstein's book is a wonderful breezy read through a smorgasbord of social science and biology. The book covers a series of his mathematical lectures on combat, arms races, revolutions, drug epidemics, ecosystems, etc.. All the while, he weaves threads of connectivity between the topics.

This is not a book of proofs. Rather, it reminds me of what the book Freakonomics might have been like if it had equations. [By the way, I wish everyone in the world could get to page 82 of this book, to gain an insight into the ideas of herd immunity and decentralized totalitarianism.] Although the book does linear and nonlinear treatments throughout, the final chapter/lecture delves more deeply into understanding the issues of nonlinear models. Unfortunately, I am now left with a thirst I cannot slake, the thirst for the next few chapters after I've finished the book. Joshua, when can I get the next one??