What enables individually simple insects like ants to act with such precision and purpose as a group? How do trillions of individual neurons produc...
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May 18, 2011
Mangoo
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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Nov 15, 2010
Maurizio
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(se vuoi una mia recensione più seria di questo libro, va' su Galileo, http://www.galileonet.it/recensioni/1221... !)
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 r More...
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 r More...
Jan 18, 2011
Harry
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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 gene
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Jun 27, 2010
David
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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
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Oct 27, 2009
Stargrave
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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
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Aug 11, 2011
Ed
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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.
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Nov 14, 2011
J Scott
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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 require More...
Dr. Mitchell concludes this excellent volume with admission that complexity is in "early stages," and require More...
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Sep 10, 2010
Bruce
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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 More...
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 More...
Dec 23, 2010
Mark
rated it:
"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.com/2009/09/13... More...
See my entire Quarterly Review of Biology review at http://changizi.wordpress.com/2009/09/13... More...
Jun 10, 2010
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 s More...
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 s More...
Sep 16, 2009
Antonio
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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 collect More...
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 collect More...
Sep 20, 2009
Kevin
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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.
A good read if you are at all interested in current thinking on complexity, chaos, and related notions.
Feb 20, 2010
Joe
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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, mak More...
The author has a refereshing moment of honesty at the end, mak More...
Oct 10, 2011
Hadassah
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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
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Feb 05, 2012
Betsy
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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 scie
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Jan 09, 2012
Matt
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It's a good introduction to the science of complexity. The book doesn't require reader to possess any prior knowledge of the subject because everything is explained. Sometimes the description is in my opinion unnecessarily detailed, but overall it's a good overview. A positive aspect of the book is that it contains also criticism of the science of complexity itself, although written by a proponent.
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Oct 06, 2009
Tom
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You know you're a geek if you can hardly put it down and read this book in two days. This is a terrific, well-written, entertaining, and sometimes humorous introduction to and history of the science of complexity and complex adaptive systems. Don't be put off by the formulas and diagrams, nor by the detailed discussions of such esoteric concepts as genetic algorithms. Read it for the high-level discussion of the discipline that considers such wide-ranging topics as why economies, ant colonies
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Oct 13, 2009
Joanna
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Some interesting ideas, but all the computer science and math were hard to stay with. Apparently computer-minded complexitists are pretty worked up about creating artificial intelligence, but even after reading this book I still don't understand why. Have they not seen the Terminator movies??? Plus it seems to me that a more useful enterprise would be focusing on improving the health and sanity of existing intelligences.
Feb 15, 2010
Heather
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I confess that I didn't understand everything in this book. Still, I'm glad I read it, and any difficulties were the fault of my own imperfect science background, not the author.
Nov 13, 2011
Jose
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Great introduction to the subject, I have to get back at it to fully understand the Turing Machine. Great stuff, should be mandatory to all management courses.
Dec 20, 2010
John
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An engaging survey of various areas of research that all relate to complexity. Most of the stuff I found very fascinating. I'll definitely be following up on some of these topics with additional reading.
Jun 07, 2010
MikeFromQueens
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The author jumped topics in many chapters, but sparked curiosity and insight in many of those places. Some diamonds-in-the-rough in there.
Nov 22, 2011
Gary
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An actual invitation to the reader to think on the subject, and draw a conclusion about it.
Feb 15, 2011
Carl
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A pretty good overview, but because the whole subject is so rife with "we don't really know jack yet", you can't help being a little disappointed. Also, Mitchell's writing style is nowhere near as engaging as the great science writers like Dawkins or Pinker; at times it comes off a little school teacher-ish.
Aug 30, 2009
Jim
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A great book a good follow on to Chaos by Glieck or Emergence by Steven Johnson. A little bit on a lot of complexity topics,
An audio interview about this book is found here
http://www.wicn.org/audio/by/title/melan...
An audio interview about this book is found here
http://www.wicn.org/audio/by/title/melan...
Dec 21, 2010
Amanda
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Complexity is complex, to say the least. This book stretched my mind and sometimes made my brain hurt, but the author's enthusiasm for the subject made me come back for me. The citations for the artwork--written in the same size and typeface as the caption--became increasing annoying to me with each page.
