"The science of complexity is likely to be among the most salient features of the 21st century, and Thinking in Complexity: Computational Dynamics of Matter, Mind, and Mankind is just as likely to be among the most popular introductions to the topic. Author Klaus Mainzer treats highly technical materials related to descriptions of complexity pervading science, engineering, and societal dynamics–and even ethics–with a lucidity that is sure to captivate physicists as well as the general public with a moderate scientific background. … Readers of this book will enjoy Mainzer’s exposition, which is based on a tight coupling between classical and historical concepts from Plato and Aristotle to modern, mathematical and physical developments, including relativity, chaos, and quantum physics. Every chapter begins with a section designed to orient the reader to the perspective of philosophical developments through the ages pertinent to the topic at hand. Readers patient enough to read through the lines will be rewarded with occasional gems such as Mainzer’s speculation on a possible correlation between a society’s development of atomistic ideas and its possession of a phonetic alphabet. The author takes pains to point out essential differences between classical science and the science of complexity. … Thinking in Complexity is an outstandingly readable book."
Thinking in Complexity: The Computational Dynamics of Matter, Mind, and Mankind
Klaus Mainzer
Springer 2007 482 pages PDF 7,4 MB
