Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos - Softcover

Complexity theory is destined to be the dominant scientific trend of the last decade. But what is it? It is the unifying theory which states that at the root of all complex systems lie a few simple rules. This revolutionary technique can explain any kind of complex system - multinational corporations, or mass extinctions, or ecosystems such as rainforests, or human consciousness. All are built on the same few rules. In Roger Lewin's immensely readable study the leading Complexity theorists tell the story in their own words. None of the sciences can ever be the same again.

Complexity, in Roger Lewin's view, will be the dominant scientific trend of the 1990s, as scientists from many disciplines come together and begin to discover the underlying similarities in their fields. Briefly, complexity theory - which encompasses chaos - holds that at the root of all complex systems lie a few simple rules. It takes the notion of chaos (which states that within seemingly chaotic systems are elements of order) a step further by actually identifying these rules. For example - the rules which govern the behaviour of molecules will parallel those which guide human behaviour. The goal of complexity theory is "a grand unification of the life sciences". The book focuses on the pioneers in the field of chaos theory, and their struggles to gain acceptance, beginning with Heinz Pagels (an early prophet of the movement), Edward Fredkin and John Wolfram (who worked with cellular automata at the University of Illinois' Centre for Complex Systems), Danny Hillis (a computer magician who introduced complexity to the marketplace), Manfred Eigen of the Max Planck Institute, biochemist Stuart Kaufman (who applied mathematical rules to the theory of natural selection), Harvard behavioural biologist Irven Devore and Brian Arthur (who linked physics and math to economics) and others. Roger Lewin has also written "Bones of Contention", "Origins", " People of the Lake", "Darwin's Forgotten World", "In the Age of Mankind" and "Origins Reconsidered".