- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Oneworld; 1 edition (Jun 15 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1851684883
- ISBN-13: 978-1851684885
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,127,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
Michael Spagat - Professor of Economics, Royal Holloway College, University of London "This is a wonderful book, simultaneously deep and highly readable. It provides unexpected insights into a wild array of subjects ranging from jazz to traffic jams to war." Philip Ball -- best-selling author of Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another "It's lucidly explained, engagingly written and constantly surprising: complexity made simple!"
Product Description
What do traffic jams, stock market crashes, and wars have in common? They can all be explained by complexity, an unsolved puzzle which is the most important scientific development since general relativity, and considered by many to be the 'Science of Sciences'. In Two's Company, Three is Complexity, Neil Johnson draws on his experience as a leading researcher in the field to explore the surprising ways in which order eventually emerges from the interaction of all things. Relevant across the whole breadth of social studies and science from pubs to plants, Johnson utilizes a wealth of real-life examples as he leads us on a brilliantly entertaining romp through chaos, game theory, economics, and even jazz, ultimately proving that complexity lies at the very heart of the Universe itself. The sheer scope and interdisciplinary nature of the subject means that those with backgrounds in physics, biology, engineering, computer science, economics, sociology, politics, business, or mathematics will appreciate the book's relevance to, and illumination of, their own field of interest. Lucidly written, this is the first publication to deal with complexity as a self-contained subject in its own right, and will be an indispensable reference for anyone seeking to step back and understand how order always emerges from the patterns and processes of every day life.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
82 of 87 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple complexity, July 2 2007
By 42below - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Two's Company, Three is Complexity (Hardcover)
There seem to be an abundance of books that focus on simple questions like "why is the sky blue?" or "why don't penguins get cold feet?", I have always found these types of books interesting, but ultimately the answers are of little relevance to my everyday life where I turn on the news and am confronted with falling stock markets, terrorist attacks and the spread of the latest computer virus. Why do things like these occur, can we understand them and what do they have in common?It is through answers to these questions and the explanations of everyday events that "two's company, three is complexity" really shines. Using the science of Complexity Johnson explains the underlying causes behind many of the phenomena we see in the world around us. Phenomena like traffic jams, terrorism, stock markets, the common cold and the growth of cancer tumours. Before I read this book I had assumed these things were too difficult to understand (without a PhD), or that they just occurred at random. However Johnson largely succeeds in explaining these phenomena using intuition, diagrams and good analogies. To his credit equations are kept to a minimum so the book remains very readable. That said I think that the real strength of the book lies in its ability to draw parallels and links between these seemingly disparate systems. I started to realise that the growth of a Cancer tumour was perhaps not so different from the movement of traffic on city streets, or that the price movements on international currency markets might be share many features with the spread of the common cold.
In reading this book I had a large number of Ah-Ha moments and perhaps that is why it is ultimately so enjoyable. It was as if a light bulb would suddenly appeared over my head as I read the explanations.
Summary
This book is an engaging tour through the new science of complexity, told in an addictive manner. Do yourself a favour and next time you are going on a long flight, ditch the B grade in-flight movie and read this book instead. You will come out with a new appreciation of the way our world works and you will never look at a traffic jam in the same way again :)
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good intro, Feb 8 2010
By THATCH "RST" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Two's Company, Three is Complexity (Hardcover)
I found this book interesting and engaging for the intelligent person who is a novice with complexity theory. It helps you appreciate the world from yet another perspective. Entertaining & thought provoking. I didn't feel floored, but I did keep with it.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Sciences
- Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Mathematics > Chaos & Systems
- Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > System Theory
- Books > Science > Mathematics
- Books > Science > Physics > Acoustics & Sound
- Books > Science > Physics > Chaos & Systems
- Books > Science > Physics > System Theory
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
