Frontiers of Complexity: The Search for Order in a Chaotic World (Paperback)

~ Roger Highfield (Author) "When viewed in profound close-up, the universe is an overwhelming and unimaginable number of particles dancing to a melody of fundamental forces..." (more)
Key Phrases: noncomputable solutions, silicon neuron, percolation point, Alan Turing, Prisoner's Dilemma, Game of Life (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Accessible yet rigorous, this book goes far beyond most popularizations of "chaos" theory and presents the science of complexity, its historical origins, and current applications to cosmology, particle physics, ecology, evolution, and neurobiology. The emphasis on scientific computation and visualization as the microscope and lab bench of this new science is particularly welcome. Very Highly Recommended. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Coveney and Highfield, scientist and journalist, respectively, who collaborated on the acclaimed The Arrow of Time, have composed a marvelous and comprehensive work explaining recent insights into the genesis and analysis of complexity. "Within science, complexity is a watchword for a new way of thinking about the collective behavior of many basic but interacting units, be they atoms, molecules, neurons, or bits within a computer." The interactions can "lead to coherent collective phenomena"?profuse in the real world and ranging from human brain function to the setting of concrete? which the book considers in some depth. The authors emphasize interdependence of advances in computing, as well as in conceptualizing complexity, then describe a new generation of approaches for developing artificial intelligence and for viewing life itself. This articulate and exceptionally readable account elucidates a new field that transcends old boundaries between disciplines and that may have the most far-reaching impact of all contemporary basic research. Virtually any scientist or interested lay reader will find this book engrossing, edifying and inspiring. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 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: 488 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449910814
• ISBN-13: 978-0449910818
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,319,934 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good beginning, iffy second half., January 20, 2001

By	Matthew Wells "mattj33" (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This book starts off well enough, with a fascinating chapter on the limits of mathematics, focusing on Godel's refutation of formalism (the idea that the whole of mathematics can be derived from a set of logical statements), followed by a brief history of computers and the computation. But once the authors begin their explanation of complexity, they come off as smug and overzealous about their field. They seem to take every opportunity to belittle other fields of science, and try to convince us that complexity will provide the ultimate explanaion of every facet of the universe, from biology to physics to chemistry to social sciences.

This may sound like an exaggeration, but it really isn't: at the beginning of their chapter on complexity in chemical reactions, they dismiss the idea that chemistry (and by extension, biochemistry) can be explanied by quantum physics because the calculations it requires are too complicated. I understand that it is difficult to use quantum physics, and that its effects are only significant on the atomic level, but that does not mean that quantum effects do not exist! The chapter on chemistry marks the end of any reasonable explanation of complexity, and by end of the book complexity is almost completely forgotten, as the writing gushes on about neural networks and aritficial life.

It is these later chapters on life and aritificial life that are the most poorly written. The authors commonly say things like "It is becoming clear that obstacles to creating aritfical consciousness may not be as formidable as we had thought", yet provide little proof of this. They basically claim that neural networks are only a few innovations away from becoming fully funcitoning human brains, but they provide a one-sided explanation of their usefulness and fail to mention their failings, especially in cognitive science (which is the study of the brain, of all things). They strongly hint that current ALife programs are creating new life, when they are pretty must just clever programs that manipulate computer memory according to a set of rules. They just don't seem to realize that simulating certain aspects of life with computers and life itself are very different things! We are not even certain that neurons are the basic building block of the brain, yet they are claiming that we now know enough about the brain to create a computerized one in no time. Their argument is very smug and one-sided: the only time they ever mention a criticism to current ALife and AI practices is when they present Roger Penrose's very reasonable hypothesis about how computers cannot simulate intelligence in large part due to their reliance on mathematical logic, which, as Godel proved, can sometimes break down. Yet they quickly dismiss this view, seeming to think that Godel's theorems are nothing more than irrelevant parlor tricks. Their claim that a neural network can be taught to do anything, and therfore can overcome Godel's theorems, is especially poor: we could never teach a human brain to fly, for example, because it (and the body it is in) are not equipped to do this. So why do they think that our arcane artificial neural networks are equipped to create consciousness?

Despite this heavy criticism, however, this book is still quite interesting if you are new to complexity, chaos, and artificial life. The author's overexcitement about their field seems to be common when new branches of science emerge, like when AI was first getting off the ground. If you read this book, just realize that its bold claims may be grounded in false hope.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An introduction to complexity for the intelligent reader, September 16, 2000

By	Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Complexity is a new field that touches on almost every one of the sciences, and delivering a solid overview without being superficial is an exceedingingly difficult task; authors Coveny and Highfield have created a book that manages just that. They cover the physical, computational, biological and cognitive sciences, in each case with enough detail to really convey the essence of the field while still remaining very readable to the non-specialist reader. (There's a very detailed- and entertaining- annotated bibliography for those looking for more detail.)

While there are currently a number of very good non-technical introductions to complexity theory by such skilled authors as John Casti, Mitchell Feigenbaum and others, this particular volume may well be the best of an excellent lot. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a a non-rigorous, but non-trivial, introduction to the field.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Primer on Complexity, April 25, 2001

By	Winterlights - See all my reviews

This book will give you some genuine insight into the emerging (no pun intended) field of Complexity. It presents historical and current research in a way that allows both the researcher and informed layman to get a good grasp on the concepts presented. Both provocative and educational its only flaw is a perhaps too doctrinaire belief that Complexity is the "next step" in science instead of another branch. If you want a good in-depth view of the current state of Chaos and Complexity theories without having to learn all the math this book will give you what you need. It belongs on the shelf next ot Roger Penrose' "The Emperors New Mind" and Gleick's, "Chaos".