Deep Simplicity - Hardcover

Gribbin, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713996102 ISBN 13: 9780713996104

Publisher: Random House, 2004

Synopsis

Simplifying chaos and complexity theory for the perplexed, John Gribbin's Deep Chaos, Complexity and the Emergence of Life brilliantly illuminates the harmony underlying our existence. The world around us can be a complex, confusing place. Earthquakes happen without warning, stock markets fluctuate, weather forecasters seldom seem to get it right - even other people continue to baffle us. How do we make sense of it all? In fact, John Gribbin reveals, our seemingly random universe is actually built on simple laws of cause and effect that can explain why, for example, just one vehicle braking can cause a traffic jam; why wild storms result from a slight atmospheric change; even how we evolved from the most basic materials. Like a zen painting, a fractal image or the pattern on a butterfly's wings, simple elements form the bedrock of a sophisticated whole. 'The master of popular science writing' Sunday Times 'What makes Deep Simplicity different from other books on complexity theory is that Gribbin ... goes back to the fundamentals' Daily Telegraph 'One is left feeling even more - if this is possible - filled with admiration for science and delight at the world it investigates' Financial Times John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books, including In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, Stardust, A History and In Search of the Multiverse. Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

About this title

About the Author

John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books, including In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History and Deep Simplicity. He is famous to his many fans for making complex ideas simple, and says that his aim in his writing - much of it done with his wife, Mary Gribbin - is to share with his readers his sense of wonder at the strangeness of the universe. John Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

Review

"Exhilarating... Gribbin uses a step-by-step historical method to ground contemporary thought in classical physics' the Daily Telegraph 'Gribbin...takes us through the basics of all this with his customary talent for accessibility and clarity' the Sunday Times '(Gribbin) breathes life into the core ideas of complexity science, and argues convincingly that the basic laws, even in biology, will ultimately turn out to be simple' Nature' "What makes Deep Simplicity different from other books on complexity theory is that Gribbin ! goes back to the fundamentals' Daily Telegraph 'Gribbin takes us through the basics with his customary talent for accessibility and clarity' Sunday Times 'One is left feeling even more - if this is possible - filled with admiration for science and delight at the world it investigates' Financial Times 'Gribbin breathes life into the core ideas of complexity science' Nature'

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0713996102
• ISBN 13: 9780713996104
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272