A New Kind of Science 1st Edition

by Stephen Wolfram (Author)

308 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-1579550080

ISBN-10: 1579550088

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Starting from a collection of simple computer experiments illustrated by striking computer graphics Stephen Wolfram shows in this landmark book how their unexpected results force a whole new way of looking at the operation of our universe. Wolfram uses his approach to tackle a remarkable array of fundamental problems in science, from the origins of apparent randomness in physical systems, to the development of complexity in biology, the ultimate scope and limitations of mathematics, the possibility of a truly fundamental theory of physics, the interplay between free will and determinism, and the character of intelligence in the universe.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Physics and computer science genius Stephen Wolfram, whose Mathematica computer language launched a multimillion-dollar company, now sets his sights on a more daunting goal: understanding the universe. Wolfram lets the world see his work in A New Kind of Science, a gorgeous, 1,280-page tome more than a decade in the making. With patience, insight, and self-confidence to spare, Wolfram outlines a fundamental new way of modeling complex systems.

On the frontier of complexity science since he was a boy, Wolfram is a champion of cellular automata--256 "programs" governed by simple nonmathematical rules. He points out that even the most complex equations fail to accurately model biological systems, but the simplest cellular automata can produce results straight out of nature--tree branches, stream eddies, and leopard spots, for instance. The graphics in A New Kind of Science show striking resemblance to the patterns we see in nature every day.

Wolfram wrote the book in a distinct style meant to make it easy to read, even for nontechies; a basic familiarity with logic is helpful but not essential. Readers will find themselves swept away by the elegant simplicity of Wolfram's ideas and the accidental artistry of the cellular automaton models. Whether or not Wolfram's revolution ultimately gives us the keys to the universe, his new science is absolutely awe-inspiring. --Therese Littleton

From Library Journal

Galileo proclaimed that nature is written in the language of mathematics, but Wolfram would argue that it is written in the language of programs and, remarkably, simple ones at that. A scientific prodigy who earned a doctorate from Caltech at age 20, Wolfram became a Nobel-caliber researcher in the emerging field of complexity shortly thereafter only to abscond from academe and establish his own software company (which published this book). In secrecy, for over ten years, he experimented with computer graphics called cellular automata, which produce shaded images on grid patterns according to programmatic rules (973 images are reproduced here). Wolfram went on to discover that the same vastly complex images could be produced by even very simple sets of rules and argues here that dynamic and complex systems throughout nature are triggered by simple programs. Mathematical science can describe and in some cases predict phenomena but cannot truly explain why what happens happens. Underscoring his point that simplicity begets complexity, Wolfram wrote this book in mostly nontechnical language. Any informed, motivated reader can, with some effort, follow from chapter to chapter, but the work as a whole and its implications are probably understood fully by the author alone. Had this been written by a lesser scientist, many academics might have dismissed it as the work of a crank. Given its source, though, it will merit discussion for years to come. Essential for all academic libraries. [This tome is a surprise best seller on Amazon. Ed.] Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., SUNY at Alban.
- Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., SUNY at Albany
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Hardcover: 1192 pages
Publisher: Wolfram Media; 1 edition (May 14, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1579550088
ISBN-13: 978-1579550080
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 2.5 x 9.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 308 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #35 in Data Modeling & Design (Books)
- #16 in Mathematical Analysis (Books)
- #33 in Scientific Research

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Wolfram's Masterpiece

February 10, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is Wolfram's masterpiece--although I don't know why I encountered no mention of Ilachinski's already published book on CA, and of course there is much controversy over his claiming there is a New Kind of Science. Wolfram is a very independent thinker, reminiscent to me of Benjamin Franklin and those who adhered to science instead of social institutions (which include academia, in many respects), and I would say I agree with this notion of a new science--it is a unity that was not identified until recently--whether by Wolfram or others (who to credit), that is unclear. But the point to me that I got from this book was the significance of the material itself--and for that the book is entirely worth it. The content itself was fascinating.

7 people found this helpful

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Jonathan R. Verlin

Brilliant!

February 11, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Here is the most lucid account of the potentials for the interplay of technology on mathematics. I dare say that all of the greats would have been well pleased. It is well worth the investment. Even the most learned and accomplished students in the field will find this a tough read but it is both engaging and satisfying. It must be read and re-read many times in order to understand the ideas fully. It is a must have in the library of any mathematician or physicist.

3 people found this helpful

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Nick

transformational

January 30, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The problem with relying exclusively on the Lindy effect for selection of reading material is that one can miss modern transformational works, for which this title certainly is.

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Dan

Great Condition

June 23, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Great book that arrived quickly. I am looking forward to reading it.

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Mitch

Only Time Will Tell...

August 3, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I found this book worthwhile and would recommend it to any scientist or technically oriented non-scientist.
The author demonstrates that cellular automata are capable of computing anything that can be computed by today's computing machines. He also shows that exceedingly simple rules can lead to exceedingly complex results. An implication of this is claimed to be that cellular automata can model most anything in the known universe and can serve as a model for exploring significant questions about our universe.
The author explores significant fields of science using the notions of cellular automata. For example, the chapter on biological evolution has many very interesting insights. The author also uses cellular automata to make what I would call a "first order" model of spacetime that includes the properties of time and causality. I found this to be quite interesting.
Reading this book also affords a glimpse for us non-braniacs into the course, from conception to fruition, of an actual scientific inquiry. This is a rare opportunity.
The author's intent, as I see it, is to offer ideas; to provide what I would call "plausibility arguments" for his claim that he has discovered a fundamental property of nature (the "Principle of Computational Equivalence"). I think he succeeds in making his claim plausible.
The author is not claiming that this book contains any actual, formal, scientific, final and conclusive proof of indisputable law by any completely rigourous method.
But our intuition can be notoriously misleading - that's why science is what it is.
While I am kind of impressed by this book, reviews by significant people in the scientific community seem to be mixed.
Therefore, paraphrasing what the author himself has said, the final review will be written only after a long time.

13 people found this helpful

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A good introduction to cellular automata

May 25, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

In this gargantuan treatise, which has appreciable gravitational pull, the author introduces the reader to the tools and science of cellular automata. Some of the proposals in the book are radical (such as the Principle of Computational Equivalence), some fairly conservative, and some unjustifield, but it does serve to introduce cellular automata from the standpoint of an individual who has been very active in their study and development. The book is long, and space does not permit a detailed review here, but one can read the book in its entirety in a fairly short time frame since the margins are large and there are an abundance of diagrams in the book which take up page space. Also a very large (338 pages) part is devoted to notes in the back of the book.

Different viewpoints on science and mathematics require both formal and empirical justification. The author does this in some areas of the book, but not all, and the ones left open are left to the reader to speculate on. Because of this it is not clear the book will have a major influence on scientific research. One would want more examples of the power of cellular automata in solving difficult problems in mathematics and science before deciding to use them in the everyday practice of scientific research.
Throughout the book, the author repeatedly suggests that simple rules in cellular automata can result in complex or "random" behavior, but never really quantifies what he means by randomness. The patterns generated "seem" random to him, as he says repeatedly, but other readers may disagree. He attempts to define it more precisely in his discussions on the processes of perception and analysis, but again the discussion is purely qualitative. In addition, the rule for generating the patterns is known in advance. In actual research however, one is given a collection or pattern of data and attempts to discover the rules behind it. Thus all of the patterns in the book are really quite simple, since the rules are known for generating them. If one is given one of these patterns without knowing the rules, it might be very difficult to find these rules. Such is the headache of modern science. Also, randomness is a concept that depends on the time scale chosen. Transient behavior of physical systems may appear random on short time scales, but for long time scales the system approaches periodic or quasiperiodic behavior. Also, sometimes one can "quench" apparent randomness in a system by a transformation of coordinates, which says that behavior that looked random was only due to a particular coordinate system chosen to characterize the system.
The author does distinguish three mechanisms for randomness, one being an explicit introduction of randomness into the rules of the system; another being randomness in the initial conditions; and the third being randomness from the environment. The discussion is purely qualitative and leaves the reader wanting as to what tools are needed to detect or distinguish these forms of randomness from each other in the time evolution of the system under study. The detection and use of noise in physical systems is of course of paramount importance to applied science and engineering, and practitioners in these areas will need a more quantitative presentation than what is given by the author. It is clear that the author considers "randomness" as being in some sense fundamental or ontological, since the seemingly random behavior of discrete systems can produce for example, interesting behavior, such as mathematical continuity.
Even the characterization of systems or rules as "simple" can be quite difficult to define from a fundamental point of view. The concept of Kolmogorov complexity has shown some headway in defining simplicity, but its elucidation has been omitted from the book, no doubt because of its use of "traditional" mathematics, which the author has steadfastly avoided in the book. There are many examples in "traditional" mathematics however that give the kinds of behavior the author finds fascinating, many of these found in the area of dynamical systems. And here again, the complexity of a problem or system may be dependent on the vantage point of an observer. The inability of "Eve" to decipher the elliptic curve factorization choices of "Bob" and "Alice", makes Eve's situation very complex from her standpoint. Bob and Alice however have chosen a procedure based on a "simple" group operation on elliptic curves.
Interestingly, the author has not chosen to discuss quantum computation in this book, in spite of its current importance. His claim that that the Principle of Computational Equivalence is a law of nature that will prohibit systems from carrying out computations more sophisticated than cellular automata and Turing machines suggests that quantum computers can be reduced to these systems, a claim that is profound but difficult to prove. Quantum mechanics and quantum field theory are discussed briefly in the book, but no in-depth suggestions are given as to how to apply cellular automata to resolving difficult and nagging problems in these areas, unfortunately.
Speaking now independently of the content of the book, it was written and then delivered to its readers outside the confines of peer-reviewed academic journals. The author is to be applauded for this move, for it shows an independence of spirit and follows a trend that hopefully will increase in the decades ahead. With electronic publishing and Internet postings of scientific results, this leaves readers the privilege of making up their own minds as to the scientific worth of a particular document. Thus one can read this book as the author intended it, and free from the influence of anonymous referees. The author has written it, marketed it, and put his name on it, and he clearly is, and should be, proud of his many achievements to this date. One can disagree with the content of this book, but it is an attempt to view things from a different point of view, and 21st century science needs more of this, not less

40 people found this helpful

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Frances M. Bertsch

Application to problem solving.

April 30, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Depth and clarity.

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