Author: Roger Lewin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226476551
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
"Put together one of the world's best science writers with one of the universe's most fascinating subjects and you are bound to produce a wonderful book. . . . The subject of complexity is vital and controversial. This book is important and beautifully done."—Stephen Jay Gould "[Complexity] is that curious mix of complication and organization that we find throughout the natural and human worlds: the workings of a cell, the structure of the brain, the behavior of the stock market, the shifts of political power. . . . It is time science . . . thinks about meaning as well as counting information. . . . This is the core of the complexity manifesto. Read it, think about it . . . but don't ignore it."—Ian Stewart, Nature This second edition has been brought up to date with an essay entitled "On the Edge in the Business World" and an interview with John Holland, author of Emergence: From Chaos to Order.
Complexity
Author: Roger Lewin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226476551
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
"Put together one of the world's best science writers with one of the universe's most fascinating subjects and you are bound to produce a wonderful book. . . . The subject of complexity is vital and controversial. This book is important and beautifully done."—Stephen Jay Gould "[Complexity] is that curious mix of complication and organization that we find throughout the natural and human worlds: the workings of a cell, the structure of the brain, the behavior of the stock market, the shifts of political power. . . . It is time science . . . thinks about meaning as well as counting information. . . . This is the core of the complexity manifesto. Read it, think about it . . . but don't ignore it."—Ian Stewart, Nature This second edition has been brought up to date with an essay entitled "On the Edge in the Business World" and an interview with John Holland, author of Emergence: From Chaos to Order.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226476551
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
"Put together one of the world's best science writers with one of the universe's most fascinating subjects and you are bound to produce a wonderful book. . . . The subject of complexity is vital and controversial. This book is important and beautifully done."—Stephen Jay Gould "[Complexity] is that curious mix of complication and organization that we find throughout the natural and human worlds: the workings of a cell, the structure of the brain, the behavior of the stock market, the shifts of political power. . . . It is time science . . . thinks about meaning as well as counting information. . . . This is the core of the complexity manifesto. Read it, think about it . . . but don't ignore it."—Ian Stewart, Nature This second edition has been brought up to date with an essay entitled "On the Edge in the Business World" and an interview with John Holland, author of Emergence: From Chaos to Order.
From Complexity to Life
Author: Niels Henrik Gregersen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780195348651
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
This book brings together an impressive group of leading scholars in the sciences of complexity, and a few workers on the interface of science and religion, to explore the wider implications of complexity studies. It includes an introduction to complexity studies and explores the concept of information in physics and biology and various philosophical and religious perspectives. Chapter authors include Paul Davies, Greg Chaitin, Charles Bennett, Werner Loewenstein, Paul Dembski, Ian Stewart, Stuart Kauffman, Harold Morowitz, Arthur Peacocke, and Niels H. Gregersen.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780195348651
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
This book brings together an impressive group of leading scholars in the sciences of complexity, and a few workers on the interface of science and religion, to explore the wider implications of complexity studies. It includes an introduction to complexity studies and explores the concept of information in physics and biology and various philosophical and religious perspectives. Chapter authors include Paul Davies, Greg Chaitin, Charles Bennett, Werner Loewenstein, Paul Dembski, Ian Stewart, Stuart Kauffman, Harold Morowitz, Arthur Peacocke, and Niels H. Gregersen.
From Complexity to Life
Author: Niels Henrik Gregersen
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195150708
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Annotation. Contributors1. Introduction: Towards an Emergentist Worldview, Paul DaviesPART I. DEFINING COMPLEXITY2. Randomness and Mathematical Proof, Gregory J. Chaitin3. How to Define Complexity in Physics, and Why, Charles H. BennettPART II. THE CONCEPT OF INFORMATION IN PHYSICS AND BIOLOGY4. The Emergence of Autonomous Agents, Stuart Kauffman5. Complexity and the Arrow of Time, Paul Davies6. Can Evolutionary Algorithms Generate Specified Complexity?, William A. Dembski7. The Second Law of Gravutucs and the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics, Ian Stewart8. Two Arros from a Mighty Bow, Werner R. LoewensteinPART III. PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES9. Emergence of Transcendence, Harold J. Morowitz10. Complexity, Emergence, and Divine Creativity, Arthur Peacocke11. From Anthropic Design to Self-Organized Complexity, Niels Henrik GregersenIndex.
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195150708
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Annotation. Contributors1. Introduction: Towards an Emergentist Worldview, Paul DaviesPART I. DEFINING COMPLEXITY2. Randomness and Mathematical Proof, Gregory J. Chaitin3. How to Define Complexity in Physics, and Why, Charles H. BennettPART II. THE CONCEPT OF INFORMATION IN PHYSICS AND BIOLOGY4. The Emergence of Autonomous Agents, Stuart Kauffman5. Complexity and the Arrow of Time, Paul Davies6. Can Evolutionary Algorithms Generate Specified Complexity?, William A. Dembski7. The Second Law of Gravutucs and the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics, Ian Stewart8. Two Arros from a Mighty Bow, Werner R. LoewensteinPART III. PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES9. Emergence of Transcendence, Harold J. Morowitz10. Complexity, Emergence, and Divine Creativity, Arthur Peacocke11. From Anthropic Design to Self-Organized Complexity, Niels Henrik GregersenIndex.
Signs Of Life
Author: Ricard Sole
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 9780465019281
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Signs of Life applies the mathematics of order and disorder, of entropy, chance, and randomness, of chaos and nonlinear dynamics to the various mysteries of the living world at all levels. This book is an entirely new approach to understanding living systems and will help set the agenda for biology in the coming century.
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 9780465019281
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Signs of Life applies the mathematics of order and disorder, of entropy, chance, and randomness, of chaos and nonlinear dynamics to the various mysteries of the living world at all levels. This book is an entirely new approach to understanding living systems and will help set the agenda for biology in the coming century.
Simplifying Complexity: Life is Uncertain, Unfair and Unequal
Author: Bruce J. West
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
ISBN: 1681082179
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299
Book Description
In life, we often face unavoidable complexities in terms of our ability to understand or influence outcomes. Some questions which arise due to these complexities are: Why can’t the future be made certain? Why do the some people or events always end up at the center of controversy? Why do only a select few get ahead of their peers? Each question pertains to three central elements of complexities and these elements are: uncertainty, inequality and unfairness. Simplifying Complexity explains the scientific study of complex cognitive networks, as well as the methods scientists use to parse difficult problems into manageable pieces. Readers are introduced to scientific methodology and thought processes, followed by a discourse on perspectives on the three elements of complexity through concepts such as normal and non-normal statistics, scaling and complexity management. Simplifying Complexity combines basic cognitive science and scientific philosophy for both advanced students (in the fields of sociology, cognitive science, complex networks and change management) and for general readers looking for a more scientific guide to understanding and managing the nature of change in a complex world.
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
ISBN: 1681082179
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299
Book Description
In life, we often face unavoidable complexities in terms of our ability to understand or influence outcomes. Some questions which arise due to these complexities are: Why can’t the future be made certain? Why do the some people or events always end up at the center of controversy? Why do only a select few get ahead of their peers? Each question pertains to three central elements of complexities and these elements are: uncertainty, inequality and unfairness. Simplifying Complexity explains the scientific study of complex cognitive networks, as well as the methods scientists use to parse difficult problems into manageable pieces. Readers are introduced to scientific methodology and thought processes, followed by a discourse on perspectives on the three elements of complexity through concepts such as normal and non-normal statistics, scaling and complexity management. Simplifying Complexity combines basic cognitive science and scientific philosophy for both advanced students (in the fields of sociology, cognitive science, complex networks and change management) and for general readers looking for a more scientific guide to understanding and managing the nature of change in a complex world.
Unravelling Complexity
Author: Francisco Antônio Doria
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9811200076
Category : Computational complexity
Languages : en
Pages : 445
Book Description
The revolutions that Gregory Chaitin brought within the fields of science are well known. From his discovery of algorithmic information complexity to his work on Gödel's theorem, he has contributed deeply and expansively to such diverse fields. This book attempts to bring together a collection of articles written by his colleagues, collaborators and friends to celebrate his work in a festschrift. It encompasses various aspects of the scientific work that Chaitin has accomplished over the years. Topics range from philosophy to biology, from foundations of mathematics to physics, from logic to computer science, and all other areas Chaitin has worked on. It also includes sketches of his personality with the help of biographical accounts in some unconventional articles that will provide a rare glimpse into the personal life and nature of Chaitin. Compared to the other books that exist along a similar vein, this book stands out primarily due to its highly interdisciplinary nature and its scope that will attract readers into Chaitin's world
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9811200076
Category : Computational complexity
Languages : en
Pages : 445
Book Description
The revolutions that Gregory Chaitin brought within the fields of science are well known. From his discovery of algorithmic information complexity to his work on Gödel's theorem, he has contributed deeply and expansively to such diverse fields. This book attempts to bring together a collection of articles written by his colleagues, collaborators and friends to celebrate his work in a festschrift. It encompasses various aspects of the scientific work that Chaitin has accomplished over the years. Topics range from philosophy to biology, from foundations of mathematics to physics, from logic to computer science, and all other areas Chaitin has worked on. It also includes sketches of his personality with the help of biographical accounts in some unconventional articles that will provide a rare glimpse into the personal life and nature of Chaitin. Compared to the other books that exist along a similar vein, this book stands out primarily due to its highly interdisciplinary nature and its scope that will attract readers into Chaitin's world
Chaos and Life
Author: Richard J. Bird
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231501552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
Why, in a scientific age, do people routinely turn to astrologers, mediums, cultists, and every kind of irrational practitioner rather than to science to meet their spiritual needs? The answer, according to Richard J. Bird, is that science, especially biology, has embraced a view of life that renders meaningless the coincidences, serendipities, and other seemingly significant occurrences that fill people's everyday existence. Evolutionary biology rests on the assumption that although events are fundamentally random, some are selected because they are better adapted than others to the surrounding world. This book proposes an alternative view of evolving complexity. Bird argues that randomness means not disorder but infinite order. Complexity arises not from many random events of natural selection (although these are not unimportant) but from the "playing out" of chaotic systems—which are best described mathematically. When we properly understand the complex interplay of chaos and life, Bird contends, we will see that many events that appear random are actually the outcome of order.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231501552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
Why, in a scientific age, do people routinely turn to astrologers, mediums, cultists, and every kind of irrational practitioner rather than to science to meet their spiritual needs? The answer, according to Richard J. Bird, is that science, especially biology, has embraced a view of life that renders meaningless the coincidences, serendipities, and other seemingly significant occurrences that fill people's everyday existence. Evolutionary biology rests on the assumption that although events are fundamentally random, some are selected because they are better adapted than others to the surrounding world. This book proposes an alternative view of evolving complexity. Bird argues that randomness means not disorder but infinite order. Complexity arises not from many random events of natural selection (although these are not unimportant) but from the "playing out" of chaotic systems—which are best described mathematically. When we properly understand the complex interplay of chaos and life, Bird contends, we will see that many events that appear random are actually the outcome of order.
Biological Complexity and the Dynamics of Life Processes
Author: J. Ricard
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080860958
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
The aim of this book is to show how supramolecular complexity of cell organization can dramatically alter the functions of individual macromolecules within a cell. The emergence of new functions which appear as a consequence of supramolecular complexity, is explained in terms of physical chemistry. The book is interdisciplinary, at the border between cell biochemistry, physics and physical chemistry. This interdisciplinarity does not result in the use of physical techniques but from the use of physical concepts to study biological problems. In the domain of complexity studies, most works are purely theoretical or based on computer simulation. The present book is partly theoretical, partly experimental and theory is always based on experimental results. Moreover, the book encompasses in a unified manner the dynamic aspects of many different biological fields ranging from dynamics to pattern emergence in a young embryo. The volume puts emphasis on dynamic physical studies of biological events. It also develops, in a unified perspective, this new interdisciplinary approach of various important problems of cell biology and chemistry, ranging from enzyme dynamics to pattern formation during embryo development, thus paving the way to what may become a central issue of future biology.
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080860958
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
The aim of this book is to show how supramolecular complexity of cell organization can dramatically alter the functions of individual macromolecules within a cell. The emergence of new functions which appear as a consequence of supramolecular complexity, is explained in terms of physical chemistry. The book is interdisciplinary, at the border between cell biochemistry, physics and physical chemistry. This interdisciplinarity does not result in the use of physical techniques but from the use of physical concepts to study biological problems. In the domain of complexity studies, most works are purely theoretical or based on computer simulation. The present book is partly theoretical, partly experimental and theory is always based on experimental results. Moreover, the book encompasses in a unified manner the dynamic aspects of many different biological fields ranging from dynamics to pattern emergence in a young embryo. The volume puts emphasis on dynamic physical studies of biological events. It also develops, in a unified perspective, this new interdisciplinary approach of various important problems of cell biology and chemistry, ranging from enzyme dynamics to pattern formation during embryo development, thus paving the way to what may become a central issue of future biology.
On Life
Author: Franklin M. Harold
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197604544
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Offering an inside look into the world around us, microbiologist Franklin M. Harold makes life intelligible for readers interested in biology. The book traces living things and how they operate, focusing on questions about the interaction between physics, chemistry, and biology.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197604544
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Offering an inside look into the world around us, microbiologist Franklin M. Harold makes life intelligible for readers interested in biology. The book traces living things and how they operate, focusing on questions about the interaction between physics, chemistry, and biology.
The Engine of Complexity
Author: John E. Mayfield
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231535287
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
The concepts of evolution and complexity theory have become part of the intellectual ether permeating the life sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, and, more recently, management science and economics. In this book, John E. Mayfield elegantly synthesizes core concepts from multiple disciplines to offer a new approach to understanding how evolution works and how complex organisms, structures, organizations, and social orders can and do arise based on information theory and computational science. Intended for the intellectually adventuresome, this book challenges and rewards readers with a nuanced understanding of evolution and complexity that offers consistent, durable, and coherent explanations for major aspects of our life experiences. Numerous examples throughout the book illustrate evolution and complexity formation in action and highlight the core function of computation lying at the work's heart.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231535287
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
The concepts of evolution and complexity theory have become part of the intellectual ether permeating the life sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, and, more recently, management science and economics. In this book, John E. Mayfield elegantly synthesizes core concepts from multiple disciplines to offer a new approach to understanding how evolution works and how complex organisms, structures, organizations, and social orders can and do arise based on information theory and computational science. Intended for the intellectually adventuresome, this book challenges and rewards readers with a nuanced understanding of evolution and complexity that offers consistent, durable, and coherent explanations for major aspects of our life experiences. Numerous examples throughout the book illustrate evolution and complexity formation in action and highlight the core function of computation lying at the work's heart.