The Barnes & Noble Review
Since the 1970s, emerging discoveries about chaos, complexity, and randomness have tantalized just about every... read full description
Since the 1970s, emerging discoveries about chaos, complexity, and randomness have tantalized just about every... read full description
reviews
Feb 01, 2012
Adrian
rated it: 
Dear FSM, what a rambling mess of a book. This review is going to be longer than usual for me, as I have a lot of bile to get out of my system.
As I read through the first several pages, I was bemused by the author's arrogant and lofty tone. I was willing to give him a bit of credit, if he had any logical backup behind it.
Finished the introduction. The book makes clear its intentions: to analyze and reduce complex phenomenon to simple mathematical representations. Not bad More...
As I read through the first several pages, I was bemused by the author's arrogant and lofty tone. I was willing to give him a bit of credit, if he had any logical backup behind it.
Finished the introduction. The book makes clear its intentions: to analyze and reduce complex phenomenon to simple mathematical representations. Not bad More...
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Aug 03, 2008
Chris
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This is a really intriguing book. There is much to like about it, especially the chapter notes in the back, where he goes into a lot of historical background on the development of symbolic logic and the attempt to formalize mathematical operations in the late 1800s by Russell and Whitehead, among others. Wolfram's computational approach to analysis has some definite advantages over more conventional axiomatic methods, and has led to some powerful intuitions. However, I think the author tries to
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Dec 07, 2011
Amy
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I sometimes read the behavior of a class 4 two-dimensional cellular automaton often known in recreational computing as the Game of Life
I always take the title, A New Kind of Science—a book on cellular automata by “outsider” scientist Stephen Wolfram that I sometimes read—in much the same way as I take the titles of Ken Wilbur’s books, A Theory of Everything and A Brief History of Everything; that is, as An Old Kind of Marketing, one that’s aimed at the reader’s undiscerning desires t More...
I always take the title, A New Kind of Science—a book on cellular automata by “outsider” scientist Stephen Wolfram that I sometimes read—in much the same way as I take the titles of Ken Wilbur’s books, A Theory of Everything and A Brief History of Everything; that is, as An Old Kind of Marketing, one that’s aimed at the reader’s undiscerning desires t More...
Oct 20, 2010
Hobbes
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This book, at about 5,643 pages, was a fascinating read. Wolfram unveils a new way of thinking about how the world works. To this less intelligent mind it looked more like an outgrowth of the chaos movement than something entirely new but whatever it is, and however correct it is, there's no question that Wolfram did move some horizons back. Unfortunately the other message he seems to want to communicate is how amazing Stephen Wolfram is, and the ego can get in the way of the science through-
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Jan 09, 2012
Kartik
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Wolfram claims that discrete systems following simple rules can model complicated systems in biology, chemistry and physics.
Well, this has been known for a long long time. Anyone doing computational science (physics, chemistry or biology) knows that most systems (generally differential equations) can be discretized and fed into computers to simulate. These simulations of course have a limit to their accuracy since they are discrete versions of more realistic continuous systems.
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Well, this has been known for a long long time. Anyone doing computational science (physics, chemistry or biology) knows that most systems (generally differential equations) can be discretized and fed into computers to simulate. These simulations of course have a limit to their accuracy since they are discrete versions of more realistic continuous systems.
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Jul 13, 2009
Alex
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 09, 2010
Ronny
rated it:
More like "A New Kind of Ego".
Wolfram's inflated ego dominated this book so much that I found it unreadable and started skimming. What's worse is his self-aggrandizement is undeserved. Wolfram did not discover Cellular Automata, nor was he the first to see potential in them, so basically he's a pretender. In addition, others who have worked in this field have written without the egotism.
The book is short on content. There was some info there, but nothing to j More...
Wolfram's inflated ego dominated this book so much that I found it unreadable and started skimming. What's worse is his self-aggrandizement is undeserved. Wolfram did not discover Cellular Automata, nor was he the first to see potential in them, so basically he's a pretender. In addition, others who have worked in this field have written without the egotism.
The book is short on content. There was some info there, but nothing to j More...
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Jan 30, 2009
Patrick
rated it: 
Some nice interesting stuff, but REALLY verbose and self-important.
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Sep 28, 2010
Jono
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I find his initial propositions that complexity is more common than we think compelling enough, and the pictures are somewhat enthralling. The entire lack of defining terms (what is complexity, anyway, or how is it measured, even heuristically), though, and also the penchant for overstating the importance or novelty of his findings, eventually became too much for me about halfway through the book, or page 480.
There may be much merit in the book that I couldn't get to, but it is certainl More...
There may be much merit in the book that I couldn't get to, but it is certainl More...
May 07, 2008
Robert
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Wow, this is a huge book. It's fascinating and infuriating and did I mention huge. There are two main issues I have with the book. The first is the way that Wolfram dismisses natural selection as a significant force in evolution. He argues that biological systems couldn't possibly become optimized for a purpose based on this kind of random search. It's an argument that's close to Intelligent Design... organisms aren't perfect, and they're not in any sense trying to be. The second issue is the su
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Apr 03, 2008
The creator of Mathematica presents the results of his last 10 or 15 years’ worth of work. Much of the book centers around cellular automata, which demonstrate that simple processes (not necessarily complex ones) can produce complex, even apparently random, results. Cellular automata and this idea are then applied to biology, physics, space and time, and probably other things I’m forgetting. Some parts are fairly interesting, and there are some impressive-looking pictures. However, I don’t t
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Mar 19, 2009
Alex
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 24, 2010
Ben
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Pascal is famously quoted (paraphrased):
If Stephen Wolfram worked on this tome for about a decade, I hate to see what he cut it down from.
Even for a book written so as to be approachable by non-technical lay readers, this book is excessively repetitive, and verbose, and repetitive. 200 pages in and I've yet to read anything that I could identify as shockingly new or usefully foundational; nothing tha More...
I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.
If Stephen Wolfram worked on this tome for about a decade, I hate to see what he cut it down from.
Even for a book written so as to be approachable by non-technical lay readers, this book is excessively repetitive, and verbose, and repetitive. 200 pages in and I've yet to read anything that I could identify as shockingly new or usefully foundational; nothing tha More...
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Aug 10, 2009
Dman
rated it:
Although clearly the material is developed by a brilliant mind, the book is poorly written and edited. It reads as if it were self-published without benefit of more knowledgeable minds in the publishing industry. As such, it becomes a purely egocentric compilation of electronic manipulations. It fails to communicate important ideas through sheer repetitive hysterical boredom.
Aug 31, 2009
Kyle
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Boy, there are a lot of triangles in this book. :)
I was introduced to this book by way of a seminar class on nonlinearity and complexity, taught by Prof. Leon Chua in Berkeley EE. Chua produced a treatise as an answer to this Wolfram's NKS.
Chua's book is available from World Scientific.
I was introduced to this book by way of a seminar class on nonlinearity and complexity, taught by Prof. Leon Chua in Berkeley EE. Chua produced a treatise as an answer to this Wolfram's NKS.
Chua's book is available from World Scientific.
Mar 13, 2009
Nuphile
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A bold attempt at revolutionizing scientific thought in the context of a computational world. Wolfram partially succeeds in this mission, though his arrogance seems to get in the way of his message, rather than support it. But in some ways it reminded me of Fuller's Synergetics. Not a long read, and well worth it.
Mar 22, 2009
Armen
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I did read this at the turn of the century. It was quite interesting. you can see all kinds of patterns that eventually show up in nature (why cells reproduce in certain clusters based on factors...et cetera). This book tries to explain it.
Jan 29, 2011
Brett
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I'm a big fan of balls. I should explain that. I'm a big fan of having balls, in the metaphorical sense–of having the audacity, and the knowledge to back it up, to tell absolute giants of science, that, ah, you've kind of got it all wrong.
Oct 08, 2011
Brent
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Lots of interesting ideas and fascinating examples, but irritatingly written and often overly hyperbolic in his claims. Interesting, but I doubt it's a revolution in the making (and certainly not a revolution of his creation).
Aug 26, 2009
Otis
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Finally a way out of the valley of densely static scientific algorithms is explored. And the results look very promising. This looks like the work of a modern Einstein. http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/149
Apr 28, 2010
Bo
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Thick reading and repetitive, but necessary reading. Plus, what he's describing may be describing the underlying pattern or all reality. Cellular automata are everywhere.
Nov 18, 2011
I stopped reading after Chapter 4. It's interesting, but too vague to be of any use that I can foresee. I may pick it up again when I have more free time.
Dec 03, 2008
Ben
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If you're a mega-nerd, you will like this book. Even a brief skimming will spark some interesting associations between nature and programming.
Jan 19, 2011
Patrick
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Oh dear! Got a bit over my head on this one but the premise shows promise and the methodical manner from basic to intricate helps immensely.
Sep 10, 2008
David
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This book, by Steven Wolfram (the well-known physicists-turned-entrepreneur who founded Mathematica), presents the author's vision of how deceptively simple structures can generate virtually unlimited "randomness". He leads his readers through hundreds of examples, both in computer science and in nature. The footnote section, which is really the second half of the book, is even more interesting (and, frankly, a bit better written) than the main text of the book. I have some some qui
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Dec 10, 2011
Rendall
rated it:
This is a massive, heavy book, the first several chapters of which the guy talks a lot about how awesome he is and how he's come up with a completely new way of doing science.
I actually think he has some interesting things to say about numbers and interesting, unexpected patterns in them. But I gave up on finishing this book, and so cannot evaluate any of his assertions, neither about how awesome he his, nor whether his science is new and useful.
Don't buy it. Check it out fro More...
I actually think he has some interesting things to say about numbers and interesting, unexpected patterns in them. But I gave up on finishing this book, and so cannot evaluate any of his assertions, neither about how awesome he his, nor whether his science is new and useful.
Don't buy it. Check it out fro More...
Jul 08, 2008
Lyle
rated it:
A truly fascinating book with a wondrous scope.
If you've ever considered the limitations of mathematics in biology or even the theory of evolution, "The New Science" is an interesting and thought provoking read.
I strongly recommend flipping through Ray Kurzweil book "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology" first since it offers an excellent analysis and commentary on Wolfram's lengthy work. More...
If you've ever considered the limitations of mathematics in biology or even the theory of evolution, "The New Science" is an interesting and thought provoking read.
I strongly recommend flipping through Ray Kurzweil book "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology" first since it offers an excellent analysis and commentary on Wolfram's lengthy work. More...
