Complexity: A Guided Tour

Complexity: A Guided Tour

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92  ·  rating details  ·  355 ratings  ·  53 reviews
What enables individually simple insects like ants to act with such precision and purpose as a group? How do trillions of neurons produce something as extraordinarily complex as consciousness? In this remarkably clear and companionable book, leading complex systems scientist Melanie Mitchell provides an intimate tour of the sciences of complexity, a broad set of efforts th...more
Hardcover, 349 pages
Published April 1st 2009 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published March 2nd 2009)
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Mangoo
Melanie Mitchell è una docente di talento. Lo dimostrò con la sua "Introduzione agli algoritmi genetici", che per efficacia batte anche la presentazione del suo inventore (John Holland).
Con questo testo Melanie colma una lacuna importante: un testo introduttivo e comprensivo alla disciplina che va sotto il nome di Complessità.
E come c'era da aspettarsi il risultato è ottimo. Il testo introduce prima elementi di teoria dell'informazione, computazione, evoluzione e genetica, e poi passa in rassegn...more
Maurizio Codogno
(se vuoi una mia recensione più seria di questo libro, va' su Galileo, http://www.galileonet.it/recensioni/1... !)

La complessità è una cosa complicata. Fin qui non ci piove. Ma lo è forse ancora più di quanto si pensi: anche se esiste la Teoria della Complessità, se si chiede a due ricercatori in questo campo di definirla si otterranno con ogni probabilità almeno due risposte diverse. Melanie Mitchell, probabilmente nota ai fan di Douglas Hofstadter visto che è stata una sua studentessa, ha racc...more
Xing
One of the things I enjoyed most about Complexity was the author's description of how she entered the field and embarked upon research under the tutelage of Hofstadter. As a young research scientist at the start of my career, I found the description very encouraging and insightful.

I particularly liked the chapter that described her work in some detail- the iterative process of running 'codelets' on statements to extract meaningful relationships between elements and generate analogies.

The materi...more
Alex Goodall
I had a vague notion of what the topic of complexity was about, but lacked a unifying concept of what was and was not in scope.

I now have a more in DEPTH vague notion of the topic, but still lack a unifying concept. However, I'm relaxed about that now because it seems there IS no such unifying concept (yet).

Highly recommended book that touches on so many interesting topics. Looking at them through the lens of complexity makes them even more interesting. (Computation, genetics, the immune system,...more
Michael Quinn
Complexity is a very broad subject that touches upon many scientific fields that hold a prominent place in the popular imagination: chaos, information theory, molecular biology, artificial intelligence. For that very reason, it makes a great popular science book, since there are a lot of topics to jump around in. At the same time, a reader might walk away without ever truly understanding what complexity is. That's OK, since the term still lacks a rigorous definition among most scientists.

Mitchel...more
Lachlan
This book, by an ex-student of the master-communicator Douglas Hofstadter who is now herself a distinguished professor, is a wonderful introduction to the concept of complexity that is playing an important role in present-day science. Mitchell takes a historical perspective, linking a broad range of developments in the 19th and early 20th centuries to current concerns. At times, especially when she delves into her own field of computer science, it's pretty tough going; at others, where she deals...more
Rushi
How does an ant colony organize itself? How does the immune system work? What is the similarity between the world wide web and your brain?

If you have pondered any of these questions, "Complexity: A Guided Tour" is just the book for you.1

Any computer scientist who graduated in the last ten or so years would have covered some of the topics in Melanie Mitchell's "Complexity: A Guided Tour", and would have probably wished that they had Ms. Mitchell as a lecturer!

Ms. Mitchell is clearly passionate...more
Harry Robinson
This book is about the relatively new and highly interdisciplinary science of complexity. It explores several fascinating branches of science including chaos, brain structure, computer algorithms, and genetics. Mitchell builds to an overview of modern network science and then extends network theory to multiple fields, finding examples in unlikely areas such as cellular automata, the behavior of ant colonies, and the process of evolution. I was particularly fascinated by her discussion of genetic...more
David
I finished Melanie Mitchell's Complexity, a Guided Tour a few days ago, and it was pretty neat. Mitchell is studying complex systems, and common properties that a variety of complex systems demonstrate (for instance, scale-free behavior). She reviewed Hofstadter's approach to Gödelian incompleteness, and gave an excellent overview of many of the current approaches to genetics. The most surprising thing I learned from the book was that the model of genetic encoding of DNA which I had been taught...more
Dmitry Pirozhkov
The book is just too elementary. This book may be interesting for a bright high school student: it mentions a great deal of topics (briefly), provides some insights, and highlights unexpected ways of thinking (citing groundbreaking work when appropriate). However, it's useless when you want to actually understand something about complexity. "Complexity: A Guided Tour" is a spectacular but superficial introduction, nothing more. For example, it doesn't pay enough attention to models. Some standar...more
Josiah
Oct 27, 2009 Josiah rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2009
Not perfect, but generally awesome book overviewing fairly, clearly, and concisely a number of branches of science under the presumed goal of the title topic. As an "introduction", much of this was information I was already familiar with, but as it was well-presented and cogently organized, I'm confident I will return to this work as a reference. It is also a springboard, referencing countless studies and useful works that the interested reader could further pursue. And the ultimate conclusion t...more
Ed
Melanie Mitchell is an excellent writer and teacher. She explains things very clearly, providing enough detail to be informative without overwhelming readers who have limited prior knowledge of the subject. This is an extremely useful book for anyone who wants to become familiar with basic concepts in the study of complexity. Mitchell exemplifies the concepts by discussing the immune system, ant colonies, biological metabolism and genetic networks. I found the book informative and enjoyable.

The...more
J Scott Shipman
I read Dr. Mitchell's excellent Complexity, A Guided Tour last December (2010). Mitchell does a splendid job of explaining the sciences of complexity. She does a thorough job defining/describing the background and history of complexity in life and computer programs. Her treatment of the "New Science of Networks" was the most revealing and instructive for me.

Dr. Mitchell concludes this excellent volume with admission that complexity is in "early stages," and requires "an adventurous intellectual...more
Bruce
Overall this is an interesting grab bag of the many disciplines that might fall into the complexity category. There is plenty here to get you thinking, and it's a worthwhile read.

On the other hand, in places the author doesn't grasp subtle distinctions and displays slightly obtuse thinking, and to her credit admits that she doesn't fully understand Wolfram's book about computation.

Other reviewers here at goodreads have made some excellent points as well...

So on the whole what you have is a book...more
Mark Changizi
"Complexity – what is it, and does it matter? Melanie Mitchell, a denizen of the community of complexity researchers provides an engaging introduction to the many interdisciplinary issues surrounding attempts at understanding how fantastic holistic attributes can arise from teems of underwhelming components. …how minds arise from simple neurons, and cagey ant colonies from embarrassingly thick-headed individual ants."

See my entire Quarterly Review of Biology review at http://changizi.wordpress....more
Richard Williams
first half or so is good, up to her phd thesis explanation. best put that chapter into an appendix and rewrite the rest.

apparently popular science is best written either as a cumulation story or as independent chapters that tie together in the end. the cumulation story would be introduction, then more info, then big point you want to make after most everyone is up to speed. the issue is how to provide background information without loosing people and boring the knowledgeable at the same. what ti...more
Mark
In Complexity: A Guided Tour, Melanie Mitchell describes bits and pieces of the emerging field presently being called “complex systems science.” “Complexity” relates to how our brain networks operate, how ants work together to accomplish their tasks, how the immune system fights off disease, and has countless other real-world applications as well which are only beginning to be understood.
Overlapping concepts and recurring basic elements arising from different disciplines such as the above includ...more
Robert
While anyone following the current scientific conversation may already be familiar with most of the ideas presented in the book (e.g. small-world networks, information theory, cellular automata), Mitchell succeeds in creating a compelling narrative to connect them. Each generation must find a cohesive way to synthesize what previous generations have done in order to move forward, and Complexity provides this grounding for upcoming researchers in complex systems. I personally picked up this boo...more
Antonio
It is one of the best books about complex systems I have read. Several concepts are properly defined and the examples are easy to understand. Full of references.

Complex systems, as explained by Mitchell, are not completely defined, but this new science is being building up every day and from several fields, from the social science to the life sciences. Complex systems present several features in common, such as that of chaos, network formation, information processing, complex collective behavios...more
Keith Swenson
The Science of Complexity is arguably one of the most important fields of study today because it is struggling to explain many emergent phenomena around us using a new tool of computation. As you can imagine, these are not simple topics to understand, but Melanie Mitchell does a marvelous job of of making these difficult topics understandable.

Why is this subject important? Want to know how the brain works? It is a complex network of neurons, and thought is an emergent phenomenon. Want to know ho...more
Andy
The beginning and end of COMPLEXITY: A GUIDED TOUR were interesting, accessible, and worthwhile.

The middle was not as interesting and - for me, with weak math and technical background - not really accessible.

Mitchell does a decent job of conveying both the objective importance of complexity as a field of study/research, and she described how she got interested and was pulled in to the work. Then she launches into a series of chapters that give examples of case studies in complexity as it current...more
Fungus Gnat
In this book, Mitchell undertakes, as she puts it, to “give a guided tour, flavored with my own perspectives, of some of the core ideas of the sciences of complexity—where they come from and where they are going.” When I was going to college and graduate school, the “sciences of complexity” did not even exist yet, so, even though I’ve been vaguely aware of research on networks and so forth, this book usefully encapsulates a whole area of science that is basically new to me.

Actually, “usefully en...more
Kevin
This is quite the good update (or introduction) to a rapidly expanding area of research with applications across areas as diverse as ant behavior, genome regulation, and Google searches. I personally particularly liked the sections (with examples) of genetic algorithms. Mitchell's writing is clear and explicates her points quite well.

A good read if you are at all interested in current thinking on complexity, chaos, and related notions.
J Scott Shipman
I read Dr. Mitchell's excellent Complexity, A Guided Tour last December (2010). Mitchell does a splendid job of explaining the sciences of complexity. She does a thorough job defining/describing the background and history of complexity in life and computer programs. Her treatment of the "New Science of Networks" was the most revealing and instructive for me.

Dr. Mitchell concludes this excellent volume with admission that complexity is in "early stages," and requires "an adventurous intellectual...more
Joe
This book is entertaining enough as a layman's guide to complexity theory (or theories as might be better stated), but toward the high end of lay-person friendliness. It is best read by somebody not affraid of a bit of mathematical jargon. Given a willingness to get over that, this book will take you on a tour through a wider range of disciplines than you might expect. Chaos, information theory, evolution to name a few.

The author has a refereshing moment of honesty at the end, making an admissio...more
Jose Ruivo
Very good overview of many fascinating aspects of complexity. Pity that the fear of losing half the potential readers for each mathematical formula in the book prevents the author from going deeper in some subjects! But it will awaken the interest of many of us to new aspects of complexity: in my case it was the subject of genetic algorithms.
Tim
Complexity, chaos, computation, artificial intelligence, self-reproducing computer programs, cellular automata, networks... this book covers a lot! It's well written and accessible, but I'd argue that the chapters follow really only a loose thread of continuity. Still, it's a very engaging overview of the emerging science of complexity.
Hadassah
Great introduction to Complexity Science. Some chapters were better than others but overall I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in any type of scientific research. Melanie does a good job in covering areas of controversy related to the field in a way the other accessible Complexity Science books that I have read have not. Chapters are short and basic introductory material as well as moderately advanced material is included. Although she references previous and later chapters, you...more
Betsy Dion
If you can overlook a handful of ignorant and naive statements about the relationship between science and religion, then the rest of this book is gold. As our world and our technology become more and more complex and interconnected, the field of complexity science attempts to develop ways to analyze and explain our complex systems. The author gives a brief overview of the various branches of complexity science, and gives simple examples and applications. Having some background in math or science...more
Jonathan
The most readily understandable book on this topic that I've ever read; ties together a number of seemingly unrelated ideas, from chaos, energy, entropy, information and computation theories, networks, and biology, without requiring the reader to have much of a background in any of these disciplines.
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“Whew, this might be getting a bit confusing. I hope you are following me so far. This is the point in every Theory of Computation course at which students either throw up their hands and say "I can't get my mind around this stuff!" or clap their hands and say "I love this stuff!"

Needless to say, I was the second kind of student, even though I shared the confusion of the first.”
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