From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

[close] This is a very entertaining book. I enjoyed every chapter of the book. I was especially intrigued by the biological rhythms--fireflies and human sleep cycles. And I thoroughly enjoyed the step-by-step history of how the mathematics of coupled oscillators was worked out.

As previous reviewers have mentioned, the book could have been helped by additional charts and diagrams--and even perhaps some equations. It is difficult to imagine some of the patterns the author describes, witho...more This is a very entertaining book. I enjoyed every chapter of the book. I was especially intrigued by the biological rhythms--fireflies and human sleep cycles. And I thoroughly enjoyed the step-by-step history of how the mathematics of coupled oscillators was worked out.

As previous reviewers have mentioned, the book could have been helped by additional charts and diagrams--and even perhaps some equations. It is difficult to imagine some of the patterns the author describes, without some concrete reference. It would have been especially helpful in the chapter on chaos, when describing coupled strange attractors.

The chapter on networks seems like a summary of a much more detailed book, Linked by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi.
So, if the subject of networks intrigues you, I highly recommend that book, too.

By the way, you can hear a "TED" talk given by the author here:
http://blog.ted.com/2008/12/why_thing...