X-Events: Complexity Overload and the Collapse of Everything â The Science of Global Catastrophe and How Vulnerable Societies Can Survive

Casti, John L.

ISBN 10: 0062088297 / ISBN 13: 9780062088291

Published by William Morrow Paperbacks, 2013

About this Item

The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

Seller Inventory # BVV.0062088297.G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: X-Events: Complexity Overload and the Collapse of Everything â The Science of Global Catastrophe and How Vulnerable Societies Can Survive
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062088297
• ISBN 13: 9780062088291
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: good

About this title

Synopsis

A necessary and thought-provoking read for the age of coronavirus, exploring eleven scenarios that may trigger the collapse of the modern world — from pandemics to nuclear apocalypse to robot uprisings — and what we can do to prevent and survive them. 

In the twenty first century, our world has become impossibly
complicated, relying on ever more advanced technology that is developing at an
exponential rate. Yet it is a fact of mathematical life that higher and higher
levels of complexity lead to systems that are increasingly fragile and
susceptible to sudden, spectacular collapse.
In this highly provocative and grippingly readable book,
John Casti brilliantly argues that today’s advanced, overly complex societies
have grown highly vulnerable to extreme events that will ultimately topple
civilization like a house of cards. Like Nassim Taleb’s The Black
Swan meets Jared Diamond’s Collapse, Casti’s book provides
a much-needed wake-up call, sounding a fascinating and frightening warning
about civilized society’s inability to recover from a global catastrophe.








An eye-opening and necessary read, X-Events is a
shocking look at a world teetering on the brink of collapse, and a population
under constant threat from pandemic viruses, worldwide communication
breakdowns, nuclear winter, or any number of unforeseeable “X-Events.” Fascinating
and chilling, X-Events provides a provocative tour of the
catastrophic outlier scenarios that could quickly send us crashing back to the
preindustrial age – and shows that they may not be as far-fetched as they seem. 

About the Author

American complexity scientist and systems theoristJohn Casti, is cofounder of The X-Center, a Viennabasedresearch institute focusing on human-causedextreme events and how to anticipate them. Casti haspublished nearly twenty volumes of academic and popularscience and received his Ph.D. in mathematics from theUniversity of Southern California. He lives in Vienna,Austria.