Frontiers of Complexity - Hardcover

Highfield, Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0449908321 ISBN 13: 9780449908327

Publisher: Fawcett, 1995

Synopsis

At the cutting edge of the sciences, at the theoretical frontier where breakthroughs in a broad spectrum of fields intersect, a dynamic new concept is emerging: complexity.
In this groundbreaking new book, Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield, the scientist coauthors of the highly praised The Arrow of Time, explore how complexity in mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, and even the social sciences is transforming not only the way we think about the universe, but also the very assumptions that underlie conventional science.
Coveney and Highfield define complexity as a watchword for a new way of thinking about the behavior of interacting units, whether they are atoms, bits within a computer, ants in a colony, or the neurons firing in the human brain. Complexity reaches far beyond the concept of chaos and represents a profound shift away from the reductive principle that has guided science for centuries, fostering a new synthesis of concepts across many disciplines. Frontiers of Complexity traces the history of how such giants of science as Charles Babbage, George Boole, Richard Feynman, Kurt G"del, John von Neumann, Ilya Prigogine, and Alan Turing built on each other's work, opening the way for the leap from reductionism to complexity.
As Coveney and Highfield so lucidly demonstrate, the rise of the electronic computer provided both the key and the catalyst to our exploration of complexity. A new generation of computers that runs on light, manipulates fuzzy logic, and exploits the bizarre properties of quantum mechanics, promises to deepen our understanding of complexity.
The advances we have already witnessed are spectacular. The authors take us inside a laboratory where scientists are evolving the genetic molecules that enabled life to emerge on earth. Coveney and Highfield describe the work of others who are generating universes in cyberspace filled with a vast array of organisms that compete for resources, reproduce, mutate, and evolve. We witness the utterly realistic behavior of a school of virtual fish--computer-generated replicas that have been trained to swim gracefully, hunt for food, and scatter at the approach of a leopard shark.
Already scientists have accurately modeled the brain of a bee, with its one million neurons. Others are beginning to reproduce the way the human brain processes vision, and even the way our genetic code can carry out "calculations" within every cell of our bodies. How much longer will it be before the computer unravels the mysteries of the one-hundred billion neurons of the human brain?
Compelling in its clarity, vast in its scope, far-reaching in its implications, vibrant with the excitement of new discovery, Frontiers of Complexity is an arresting account of how far science has come in the past fifty years and an essential guide to the rapidly approaching future.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Roger Highfield is the science editor of The Daily Telegraph in London.

From the Inside Flap

ng edge of the sciences, at the theoretical frontier where breakthroughs in a broad spectrum of fields intersect, a dynamic new concept is emerging: complexity.
In this groundbreaking new book, Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield, the scientist coauthors of the highly praised The Arrow of Time, explore how complexity in mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, and even the social sciences is transforming not only the way we think about the universe, but also the very assumptions that underlie conventional science.
Coveney and Highfield define complexity as a watchword for a new way of thinking about the behavior of interacting units, whether they are atoms, bits within a computer, ants in a colony, or the neurons firing in the human brain. Complexity reaches far beyond the concept of chaos and represents a profound shift away from the reductive principle that has guided science for centuries, fostering a new synthesis of concepts across many disciplines. Frontiers of Complexity traces the

Reviews

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.

The authors' thesis is that the complexities of nature can be understood only by investigating the collective behavior of many simple, interacting components. Thus, fluid dynamics cannot be explained by studying lone water molecules nor can brain capability be understood by examining isolated cellular activities. Because the study of such "emergent" behavior is dependent upon computer-generated modeling of complex phenomena, the rapidly evolving power of computer technology is detailed. Also integral to modeling emergence is the problem-solving ability of complex biological systems, and such derivative schemes as genetic algorithms and evolutionary algorithms are examined, as are a multitude of futuristic tools and techniques, such as "neuromorphics" to process electrical signals in a silicone brain, cellular automata to determine the strength of cement, and simulated annealing to reconstruct geological data from seismic waves to detect hydrocarbons. Familiarity with science, math, and computers will be useful to the reader. Brenda Grazis

Coveney and Highfield, coauthors of The Arrow of Time (LJ 6/15/91), rigorously examine the concept of complexity in such scientific disciplines as mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics. Stating that the scope and significance of complexity extend far beyond the concept of chaos, the authors assert that complexity represents a fundamental move away from the reductive principle that has served as a cornerstone of science over the centuries. They trace and illustrate this evolution from reductionism to complexity in the works of influental scientists such as Babbage, Boole, Godel, Von Neumann, and Turning. Their discussion is presented within an informative and stimulating philosophical context. This work is an excellent addition to the current literature of complexity, one of the emerging scientific disciplines. While rigorous in scope and treatment, its presentation is clear. Recommended for scholars, specialists, and informed lay readers.?Donald G. Frank, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fawcett
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0449908321
• ISBN 13: 9780449908327
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 462