Author: M. Mitchell Waldrop
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 150405914X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 492
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Book Description
“If you liked Chaos, you’ll love Complexity. Waldrop creates the most exciting intellectual adventure story of the year” (The Washington Post). In a rarified world of scientific research, a revolution has been brewing. Its activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians, and computer scientists from all over the world. They have formed an iconoclastic think-tank and their radical idea is to create a new science: complexity. They want to know how a primordial soup of simple molecules managed to turn itself into the first living cell—and what the origin of life some four billion years ago can tell us about the process of technological innovation today. This book is their story—the story of how they have tried to forge what they like to call the science of the twenty-first century. “Lucidly shows physicists, biologists, computer scientists and economists swapping metaphors and reveling in the sense that epochal discoveries are just around the corner . . . [Waldrop] has a special talent for relaying the exhilaration of moments of intellectual insight.” —The New York Times Book Review “Where I enjoyed the book was when it dove into the actual question of complexity, talking about complex systems in economics, biology, genetics, computer modeling, and so on. Snippets of rare beauty here and there almost took your breath away.” —Medium “[Waldrop] provides a good grounding of what may indeed be the first flowering of a new science.” —Publishers Weekly
Author: Roger Lewin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226476551
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 276
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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.
Author: Ming Li
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475726066
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 655
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Book Description
Briefly, we review the basic elements of computability theory and prob ability theory that are required. Finally, in order to place the subject in the appropriate historical and conceptual context we trace the main roots of Kolmogorov complexity. This way the stage is set for Chapters 2 and 3, where we introduce the notion of optimal effective descriptions of objects. The length of such a description (or the number of bits of information in it) is its Kolmogorov complexity. We treat all aspects of the elementary mathematical theory of Kolmogorov complexity. This body of knowledge may be called algo rithmic complexity theory. The theory of Martin-Lof tests for random ness of finite objects and infinite sequences is inextricably intertwined with the theory of Kolmogorov complexity and is completely treated. We also investigate the statistical properties of finite strings with high Kolmogorov complexity. Both of these topics are eminently useful in the applications part of the book. We also investigate the recursion theoretic properties of Kolmogorov complexity (relations with Godel's incompleteness result), and the Kolmogorov complexity version of infor mation theory, which we may call "algorithmic information theory" or "absolute information theory. " The treatment of algorithmic probability theory in Chapter 4 presup poses Sections 1. 6, 1. 11. 2, and Chapter 3 (at least Sections 3. 1 through 3. 4).
Author: Sanjeev Arora
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521424267
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 609
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Book Description
New and classical results in computational complexity, including interactive proofs, PCP, derandomization, and quantum computation. Ideal for graduate students.
Author: Douglas Fisher
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 150634397X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 217
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Book Description
There is a big difference between assigning complex texts and teaching complex texts No matter what discipline you teach, learn how to use complexity as a dynamic, powerful tool for sliding the right text in front of your students’ at just the right time. Updates to this new edition include How-to’s for measuring countable features of any written work A rubric for analyzing the complexity of both literary and informational texts Classroom scenarios that show the difference between a healthy struggle and frustration The authors’ latest thinking on teacher modeling, close reading, scaffolded small group reading, and independent reading
Author: David Komlos
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
ISBN: 1473685664
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 178
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Book Description
For the first time, David Benjamin and David Komlos of Syntegrity share their cutting-edge, highly engaging step-by-step formula for cracking incredibly knotty and important challenges in mere days, while mobilizing those who must execute. Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith, #1 NY Times bestselling author, Thinkers50 - #1 Executive Coach and the only two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the World Complexity has met its match! Today, organizations are grappling with ambiguity, volatility and paradox surrounding the challenges they face. This is complexity. But too many leaders approach complexity the wrong way - they push their people harder and harder and tackle problems one at a time over months, sometimes even years, and nearly always in a linear fashion. It's like setting a pot of water on "low" and waiting for it to boil. To solve the seemingly intractable challenges that leaders bang their heads against for months - to get the metaphorical water to boil - you must generate a high amount of heat very quickly. In this book, the authors share their proven formula for dramatically shortening the process and solving an organization's toughest challenges in mere days.
Author: Mark C. Taylor
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226791181
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
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Book Description
We live in a moment of unprecedented complexity, an era in which change occurs faster than our ability to comprehend it. With "The Moment of Complexity", Mark C. Taylor offers a map for the unfamiliar terrain opening in our midst, unfolding an original philosophy of our time through a remarkable synthesis of science and culture. According to Taylor, complexity is not just a breakthrough scientific concept but the defining quality of the post-Cold War era. The flux of digital currents swirling around us, he argues, has created a new network culture with its own distinctive logic and dynamic.
Author: Allen B. Downey
Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
ISBN: 1449331696
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 159
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Book Description
Expand your Python skills by working with data structures and algorithms in a refreshing context—through an eye-opening exploration of complexity science. Whether you’re an intermediate-level Python programmer or a student of computational modeling, you’ll delve into examples of complex systems through a series of exercises, case studies, and easy-to-understand explanations. You’ll work with graphs, algorithm analysis, scale-free networks, and cellular automata, using advanced features that make Python such a powerful language. Ideal as a text for courses on Python programming and algorithms, Think Complexity will also help self-learners gain valuable experience with topics and ideas they might not encounter otherwise. Work with NumPy arrays and SciPy methods, basic signal processing and Fast Fourier Transform, and hash tables Study abstract models of complex physical systems, including power laws, fractals and pink noise, and Turing machines Get starter code and solutions to help you re-implement and extend original experiments in complexity Explore the philosophy of science, including the nature of scientific laws, theory choice, realism and instrumentalism, and other topics Examine case studies of complex systems submitted by students and readers
Author: Ding-Zhu Du
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118031164
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 511
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Book Description
A complete treatment of fundamentals and recent advances in complexity theory Complexity theory studies the inherent difficulties of solving algorithmic problems by digital computers. This comprehensive work discusses the major topics in complexity theory, including fundamental topics as well as recent breakthroughs not previously available in book form. Theory of Computational Complexity offers a thorough presentation of the fundamentals of complexity theory, including NP-completeness theory, the polynomial-time hierarchy, relativization, and the application to cryptography. It also examines the theory of nonuniform computational complexity, including the computational models of decision trees and Boolean circuits, and the notion of polynomial-time isomorphism. The theory of probabilistic complexity, which studies complexity issues related to randomized computation as well as interactive proof systems and probabilistically checkable proofs, is also covered. Extraordinary in both its breadth and depth, this volume: * Provides complete proofs of recent breakthroughs in complexity theory * Presents results in well-defined form with complete proofs and numerous exercises * Includes scores of graphs and figures to clarify difficult material An invaluable resource for researchers as well as an important guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, Theory of Computational Complexity is destined to become the standard reference in the field.
Author: Robert L. Flood
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475722354
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 291
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Book Description
Contents 11. 2. 2. Four Main Areas of Dispute 247 11. 2. 3. Summary . . . 248 11. 3. Making Sense of the Issues . . 248 11. 3. 1. Introduction . . . . 248 11. 3. 2. The Scientific Approach 248 11. 3. 3. Science and Matters of Society . 249 11. 3. 4. Summary . 251 11. 4. Tying It All Together . . . . 251 11. 4. 1. Introduction . . . . 251 11. 4. 2. A Unifying Framework 251 11. 4. 3. Critical Systems Thinking 253 11. 4. 4. Summary 254 11. 5. Conclusion 254 Questions . . . 255 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Chapter One SYSTEMS Origin and Evolution, Terms and Concepts 1. 1. INTRODUCTION We start this book with Theme A (see Figure P. I in the Preface), which aims to develop an essential and fundamental understanding of systems science. So, what is systems science? When asked to explain what systems science is all about, many systems scientists are confronted with a rather daunting task. The discipline tends to be presented and understood in a fragmented way and very few people hold an overview understanding of the subject matter, while also having sufficient in-depth competence in many and broad-ranging subject areas where the ideas are used. Indeed, it was precisely this difficulty that identified the need for a comprehensive well-documented account such as is presented here in Dealing with Complexity.
