Items related to The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a...
Synopsis
An accessible foray for general readers through and beyond chaos and complexity theory offers a readable survey of the history of science, clearly showing how recent discoveries have changed established assumptions about reality. 15,000 first printing. $15,000 ad/promo.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Jack Cohen is an internationally known reproductive biologist. Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick.
From Kirkus Reviews
Riding the wave of popularizations of chaos and complexity theory is this new contender by a pair of English science writers, Cohen, a biologist, and Stewart, a mathematician. Rather than enthuse about the C words, they ask another question: If the universe is chaotic, where do the simplicities of nature come from? Then they proceed, for fully half the book, to lay out the current reductionist paradigm by which cosmology, culture, evolution, intelligence, etc., are the consequences of lower level ``simpler'' principles: quantum mechanics, chemistry, the genetic code. That done--and done quite well despite a style that is sometime too breezy by half--they spend the rest of the book pointing to the inadequacies of reductionism and building toward two explanatory principles which they call simplexity and complicity. Simplexity is ``the emergence of large-scale simplicities as direct consequences of rules,'' e.g., the patterns that emerge in John Horton Conway's computer game of life; and by extension, any features that emerge from sets of similar ground rules. Complicity is more like convergent evolution: different sets of rules generating similar features (e.g., bat wings versus bird wings). Either principle brings about a collapse of chaos. Basically, what they are saying is that you can't simply map a lower level of organization, say, the DNA code, into a living organism. There is instead a dynamic in which content and context are critical. The argument is fine. However, had the authors avoided cutesy neologisms, visits to another planet, and other textural distractions, their many useful examples and well-taken points might have been even better taken. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherViking Adult
- Publication date1994
- ISBN 10 0670849839
- ISBN 13 9780670849833
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages512
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 25.22
Shipping:
US$ 3.25
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00073349541
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: Gulf Coast Books, Memphis, TN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Fair. Seller Inventory # 0670849839-4-31904027
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: 2discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670849839I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: 2discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670849839I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: 2discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670849839I4N10
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: Once Upon A Time Books, Siloam Springs, AR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear . This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear . Seller Inventory # mon0001228779
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: 2discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: ThriftBooks-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670849839I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # P07P-00292
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # T05O-01602
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Seller Inventory # H02C-01596
Quantity: 1 available