3.89 avg rating — 1,459 ratings

"Ball's book is a wonderful follow­ up to Melanie Mitchell's book on complexity. Ball digs much deeper into the physics of complex systems and argues that many of the new ideas of complex systems borrow from existing ideas in physics. He provides a wonderful analysis ofphase transitions."

3.94 avg rating — 461 ratings

"This book provides an intermediate-level introduction to complex adaptive systems. It provides formal versions of many of the models discussed in the course and an introduction to agent-based modeling. This book is geared toward the interested general reader with a slight social science bent."

3.85 avg rating — 183 ratings

"Resnick developed a computer program called StarLogo, which was the predecessor to NetLogo, a common agent-based modeling platform.
StarLogo was written for younger people to learn to construct agent-based models. Resnick shows how to use StarLogo and agent-based models to produce a variety of phenomena."

3.89 avg rating — 71 ratings

"This book initiated study in the field of complex adaptive systems. It provides the first full description of genetic algorithms and classifiers and of how systems that adapt can solve problems . This book requires substantial mathematical sophistication on the part ofthe reader."

3.81 avg rating — 219 ratings

"Genetic algorithms, a computer search algorithm introduced by John Holland, encode potential solutions as strings and then use crossover, mutation, and selection to breed new solutions. In this book, Mitchell provides an introduction to genetic algorithms and explains how they can identifY and combine partial solutions. This is a great book for anyone interested in learning more about how computer algorithms work."

3.81 avg rating — 314 ratings

"This book demonstrates the value ofdiversity by using models
from complex systems. The book shows how rugged landscapes depend on a person's perspective and how collections ofbounded agents can produce diverse solutions to problems and make accurate predictions."

4.17 avg rating — 9,922 ratings

"This book provides a wonderful description of the work oftwo biologists who go to the Galapagos and study Darwin's finches. They find that evolution occurs more rapidly than Darwin thought. This book won a Pulitzer Prize."

4.02 avg rating — 1,431 ratings

"This book focuses on the origins ofcomplexity and self-organization in a
biological system. Written for the general science reader, it relies on complex systems ideas to explain how life may have come into being through emergence."

4.27 avg rating — 1,750 ratings

"Written by a leading business consultant and frequent visitor to the Santa Fe Institute, this book describes how complex systems ideas can be used to understand core features of the economy. The book challenges the standard economics orthodoxy."

3.99 avg rating — 269 ratings

"Holland demonstrates that the "emergence" of order from chaos has
much to teach us about life, mind, and organizations. This book is written for a more general audience and is a fun, lively read, bursting with ideas. It provides an excellent description of lever points."

4.05 avg rating — 61 ratings

"This book contains a collection of articles that rely on agent-based models. Epstein describes how bottom-up agent-based models can be thought of as generative. The book includes both a cogent philosophical contrast between
generating an outcome and proving the existence of such an outcome and a wealth ofexamples that demonstrate the difference."

4.16 avg rating — 63 ratings

"This book provides an overview of the latest breakthroughs in network theory. The book is organized into four sections. It discusses some ofthe important historical research, the network's empirical side, and the foundational modeling ideas and explores the relationship between network structure and system dynamics."

3.89 avg rating — 1,186 ratings

"A great introduction to the science of networks. Watts mixes captivating examples with deep theory. The book describes how different network structures exhibit different functionalities,
including the famous six degrees of separation. This is perhaps the best mass-audience book on networks. Watts writes with clarity and rigor about small-worlds networks, network robustness, and network formation. He peppers his analysis with lively examples."

4.01 avg rating — 201 ratings

"This book provides some examples of complexity applied to social science problems such as cooperation and the formation of culture. It is an ideal book for someone interested in how social scientists put ideas from complex systems to work by using agent-based models."

4.15 avg rating — 139 ratings

"This book describes many of the key concepts in complex systems by using an elaborate agent-based model called Sugarscape. In this model, the agents demonstrate the difference between bottom-up and top-down social science."

4.01 avg rating — 854,081 ratings

"Gladwell shows how very minor adjustments can lead to major impacts in everyday life. This is written for a nontechnical audience; as a result, it is a quick, fun read. Gladwell touches on many of the ideas discussed in the lectures: tipping points, networks, and positive feedbacks among them."

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,181 ratings

"This book contains the tipping model of segregation discussed in this course. That model is one of many treasures in this tour de force, a book that more than any other was responsible for Schelling winning the Nobel Prize. Many ofthe phenomena Schelling describes would now be called emergent, though at the time that word was not used in conjunction with the sort of models he describes."

3.82 avg rating — 30,041 ratings

"Anderson describes how new technologies allow for more small niche markets. His long tails are the opposite of the long tails that we discuss in power laws. In power laws, the long tails represent large events. In Anderson's model, the long tail represents many small events."

4.03 avg rating — 339 ratings

"Here Bak describes his sand-pile model of self-organized criticality in accessible prose. He then shows how the model can be applied to a variety of settings. It is a wonderful book, bursting with Bak's passion for his ideas. This book cannot be described as understated!"

3.73 avg rating — 148 ratings

"T h i s b o o k provides the backbone for the fmal lecture in which I discuss how to harness complexity. Axelrod and Cohen are central figures in complex systems study,
and they wrote this book for business people and policy makers to help them understand how to harness the power of complexity."

4.11 avg rating — 3,511 ratings

"An excellent introduction to the field of complex systems written by a leading computer scientist and complex systems scholar. The book draws examples from biology, computer science, and social science. As far as introductions to complex systems go, this is one ofthe best."

4.05 avg rating — 3,146 ratings

"This book put the idea of complexity in the public consciousness. It offers up ajournalistic account of the history of complex systems research at the Santa Fe Institute. Waldrop describes the big ideas of complex systems through the eyes of the scientists that developed them. It is written as a popular science book that can be read by anyone."

3.83 avg rating — 4,310 ratings

"An excellent book on the difference between top-down organizational structures (the cathedral) and the bottom-up, open-source approach (the bazaar). Raymond's book challenges how many think about organizations and efficiency."

3.89 avg rating — 389 ratings

"Written by one of the founders of complexity theory, this book describes the basic concepts of the theory for a more general audience. Unlike many books on complexity, this book is low on hype and high on substance. For those who want a book with lots of substance (but no equations), this is an ideal choice."

3.70 avg rating — 10 ratings

"Most formal models of institutions in social science focus on efficiency: The best institutions are the most efficient. Bednar first shows that efficiency may be impossible in federations owing to imperfect monitoring. She goes on to show that the inherent slippages in a federal arrangement, far from being detrimental, actually enhance robustness by allowing for experimentation and innovation. Her theory also touches on the need for coverage and redundancy in institutional design. All in all, a deep, thoughtful book."

4.28 avg rating — 132 ratings

"Jackson's book offers a comprehensive introduction to social and economic networks. Primarily written as a textbook for graduate students in economics, it contains a clear, concise introduction to the theoretical study of networks. Each chapter includes exercises to aid network analysis comprehension."