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Chaos: A Graphic Guide
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An accessible introduction to an astonishing and controversial theory explains how chaos makes its presence felt in many varieties of event, from the fluctuation of animal populations to the ups and downs of the stock market.
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
December 15th 2004
by Totem Books
(first published 1998)
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This is a short, illustrated (with cartoons!) introduction to Chaos Theory. Being a math-challenged poet type, I understood just enough of this to inspire me with wonder and to add a few strangely attractive words to my vocabulary--like "strange attractor," for instance. ...more
truly amazing theory that will make your mind boggles :). i found the book quite interesting yet some parts, especially the physics and maths parts, are difficult to digest. the drawing can be better as well but still a good book to read about the subject of chaos theory.
As an introduction to chaos theory, I guess this is a good book, although it is easy to forget most of the ideas in it, so it needs to be read again.
There are a lot of definitions which make it easier to be read.
There are a lot of definitions which make it easier to be read.
The book itself is a bit chaotic. I'm not sure I understand the concepts more completely after reading, but I did enjoy their surreal presentation.
...more
A wonderful overview of chaos theory - which would be chaotic for someone with my math background to understand - if not for this book.
Dec 18, 2010
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This is a book for amateurs interested in what makes the world go round in terms of physical circumstances. While giving a step by step, no-nonsense explanation driven through a thread leading to more and more insight, it never made me feel it was either too much or too little - or rather that I was any of those. Actually, it was exciting.
Probably the objective of the book could be most appropriately summmarized by saying that it lets you go beyond what up till now has been perceived only withi ...more
Probably the objective of the book could be most appropriately summmarized by saying that it lets you go beyond what up till now has been perceived only withi ...more
Non-periodic oscillations = nonlinear feedback = unstable equilibrium = positive feedback = fractals = aperiodic dynamics = Non-deterministic systems = sensitivity to initial conditions = strange attractors = nonlinear phase-space = butterfly effect = turbulence = period doubling = bifurcations = self-organization = Non-irreversibility = Breakdown of second law of thermodynamics = universe = quantum mechanics = Law of increasing returns = period three = complexity = adaptive systems = emergent s
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I have little experience with narcotics, so I don't know if so-called "gateway drugs" are by their very nature supposed to be unsatisfying, leading the disappointed user by dint of this deficiency to seek out "the hard stuff," but it seems to me like the "Introducing..." series is just such a "gateway drug" for information junkies. I should have known by the title that the book wouldn't go in-depth on the subject (or any of the subjects that it covers) but it doesn't make any of the main points
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Caught me off guard and took me by surprise
When I started this book, I thought differently accepting things and pushing unknown phenomena in my life to my mind black box. After reading this book, it created a new perspective to my understanding about science, nature, technology and even social relationships. It's not simple to explain this choas in simple book, but this book is a great start for uncovering new interest to this discipline of subject. And the same way, please consider choas and co ...more
When I started this book, I thought differently accepting things and pushing unknown phenomena in my life to my mind black box. After reading this book, it created a new perspective to my understanding about science, nature, technology and even social relationships. It's not simple to explain this choas in simple book, but this book is a great start for uncovering new interest to this discipline of subject. And the same way, please consider choas and co ...more
marvellous. Blew apart my cosy enlightenment style fantasy that science has the whole picture. With increased computational abilities came an ability to look at the disordered scientifically, and to discover patterns there too. What's astonishing is that chaotic systems are the norm, so getting to grips with them is necessary for our understanding of our universe to move forward.
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To a layman like myself who is trying to make sense of it all, the guide introduced me to a lot of things and that's all I wanted so the book gets a good rating from me just because it was cheap and gave me direction.
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I love Beginners books.
An awesome introduction. It lucidly presents all the quantitative, qualitative and applied aspects of chaos theory.
I loved this little book, the scientific explanations are great and since it's an introduction to a subject, it starts from the very beginning, everything is clear and very very few times I had to re-read a paragraph, something that is a good thing in a heavily scientific book.
I would rather read a text-only or a less heavy imagery book, the images, in my opinion, didn't add much value to the written text 9 out of 10 times. A lot of times they were just there to fill up space. I'm not taking aw ...more
I would rather read a text-only or a less heavy imagery book, the images, in my opinion, didn't add much value to the written text 9 out of 10 times. A lot of times they were just there to fill up space. I'm not taking aw ...more
Let’s face it - Gleick’s ‘Chaos’, although a phenomenal masterpiece, is a daunting read. And I am always all for books “scratching the surface”; but IMO, this book doesn’t do a very good job of inviting the reader to “dig” more on the topic. Would have given it 3 stars if the repetitive and completely unnecessary fractal brain graphic were avoided. It’s gross - not sure if and when I would be able to have cauliflower back in my diet.
A brief introduction to how our view of chaos shaped throughout history. If you have an hour free time, read this book - the pages are mostly filled with illustrative cartoon. I wanted to give 3 stars to this book, but there was a picture of a Dalek saying "you will be assimilated", so two starts will do.
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Good book overall but wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't have much knowledge about the theory, although it "introduces" the theory. Might be a bit boring what with all the definitions, but if you start this book with a bit of knowledge and a lot of interest, you'd be able to finish it in a day.
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A good starting off point for further research. Not the easiest to read given the complexity of the topic and my limited understanding of the science. Thought it could've been a little more entertaining in the writing but certainly does what it sets out to do and that's start you down the road to understanding chaos theory.
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Overall a good read. Chaos is an interesting subject and a bit difficult to explain. Having stated that, I felt the first part of the book is well thought and organised while the latter half is a bit boring.
This was a reasonable introduction to chaos theory. I struggled with some of the descriptions/oversimplifications and some of the broad takeaways (global warming is fake, non-Western cultures/religions know everything). Also, the graphics didn't really add anything.
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very well written primer to the basics of chaos.
Fascinating read on chaos. Fractals, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and religion...
The worldview is enhanced after reading this book, it describes things that have always been in front of us but have never been able to see.
Detailed introduction.
Great stuff for those who understand it.
Much was beyond me. Nonetheless, read it.
Great stuff for those who understand it.
Much was beyond me. Nonetheless, read it.
Good
boring didn’t care
I might have given this book more stars if it hadn't wandered into woo-land near the end (pages 150-167), but at least it had a counter in the last four pages which were titled: Criticism of Chaos - although this could have been more appropriately called: Criticism of Interpretations of Chaos. Maybe the problem was having a former science journalist now Professor of Post-Colonial Studies (whatever that is) write the book instead of a scientist. Once we enter into woo-land it seemed from certain
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Last year I mentioned a couple of times that I wanted to learn more about Chaos Theory. The last book I read was written by Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry, and fractals are a cornerstone in chaos theory.
This book is basically like a Cliffs Notes, except much weirder. Each page tries to explain some aspect of chaos theory and its evolution, and each page features a large picture--usually a manipulated photograph-- to try and bring the point home. But the picures are all pretty ...more
This book is basically like a Cliffs Notes, except much weirder. Each page tries to explain some aspect of chaos theory and its evolution, and each page features a large picture--usually a manipulated photograph-- to try and bring the point home. But the picures are all pretty ...more
Before reading this book, all I knew about chaos theory came from reading Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently novels back in my teens. After reading it, I don't feel as if I know a great deal more. Obviously chaos is hard for a non-mathematician to fathom, and this book needs a rudimentary grasp of a lot of related concepts which it only mentions.
It does a good job of surveying the history and development of chaos theory with specific reference to the important pieces of research and the people who publ ...more
It does a good job of surveying the history and development of chaos theory with specific reference to the important pieces of research and the people who publ ...more
The James Gleick book 'Chaos' provides a lot of background and story that something like this can't really encompass. Chaos is such a sensational buzzword anyway, but I guess you couldn't really sell a book with a title like 'Current mathematical trends in the analysis of multi-variable systems as found in most real world scenarios'. To me, the reader who wants a concise explanation of the idea behind it without too much detail at first, this job does a pretty good job of explaining what a stran
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“In chaos there is order, and in order there lies chaos.”
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