Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This comprehensive work investigates: the role of computers in the understanding of complexity; spontaneous emergence of order in the universe; how nature can solve problems that traditionally defeat scientists; and the likelihood that intelligence will evolve within computers.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

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, Gödel, 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

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. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

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

Kirkus Book Review

From the English team that brought you The Arrow of Time (1991), more on the general theme that the most interesting things in life are nonlinear, asymmetric, chaotic, and complex--in short, not user-friendly, but perhaps computable. Coveney, a senior research scientist at the Schlumberger Cambridge Research Laboratory, and Highfield, the Daily Telegraph's science editor, have combed the avantgarde labs from hither to von to come up with a review of virtually (no pun intended) all that's current and choice in modeling ""complexity."" The term, not easily defined, speaks to the interactions of subparts of systems that yield processes and outcomes that are greater than the sum of the parts. The weather, chemical reactions, population dynamics, ""emergent"" brain phenomena such as consciousness--all are complex phenomena challenging scores of researchers armed with the latest versions of computer-based cellular automata, neural networks, artificial intelligence, and so on. This is heady stuff, not easily absorbed in the short summaries that describe this or that particular model. On the other hand, chapters that sketch the background and the seminal ideas from Charles Babbage to Alan Turing, Kurt G"del, and John von Neumann are useful contexts for the vast array of examples the authors provide. When they do elaborate a model (for example, the use of infrared data to model at what point in time the ingredients of a cement slurry ""set""), they are very good indeed. It is suggested that readers approach the last chapter first: It captures the authors' grand vision of what might be possible (e.g., molecular-based computers and a universal mind) but sounds a proper warning as well on what folly can also be wrought. Overall, their enthusiasm marks the authors as true believers that the efforts of mankind (yes, mostly men) to take on complexity, achieving both beauty and order, will succeed. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.