Notes on Complexity
A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being
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4.8 • 17 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The Marginalian Favorite Books of 2023
An electrifying introduction to complexity theory, the science of how complex systems behave, that explains the interconnectedness of all things and that Deepak Chopra says, “will change the way you understand yourself and the universe.”
Nothing in the universe is more complex than life. Throughout the skies, in oceans, and across lands, life is endlessly on the move. In its myriad forms—from cells to human beings, social structures, and ecosystems—life is open-ended, evolving, unpredictable, yet adaptive and self-sustaining. Complexity theory addresses the mysteries that animate science, philosophy, and metaphysics: how this teeming array of existence, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, is in fact a seamless living whole and what our place, as conscious beings, is within it.
The implications of complexity theory are profound, providing insight into everything from the permeable boundaries of our bodies to the nature of consciousness. Notes on Complexity is an invitation to trade our limited, individualistic view for the expansive perspective of a universe that is dynamic, cohesive, and alive—a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Physician, scientist, and philosopher Neil Theise takes us to the exhilarating frontiers of human knowledge and in the process restores wonder and meaning to our experience of the everyday.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Theise, a pathology professor at New York University, debuts with a disjointed meditation on complexity theory, or the study of the "open-ended, evolving, unpredictable, yet adaptive and self-sustaining" behavior of complex systems. He suggests that a defining feature of complex systems is their tendency to produce outcomes that cannot be predicted by accounting for each of its constituent parts, explaining how cells organize themselves based on their interactions with each other. Using a hypothetical ant colony to illustrate the "rules" of complex systems, he posits that a moderate degree of randomness is vital; ants that wander off from the food line discover new sources of food, but if too many ants stray, there's no system to transport new discoveries back to the anthill. Readers will struggle to keep up as Theise weaves together dizzyingly eclectic reflections on fractals, quantum mechanics, artificial intelligence, and "Jewish and Hindu mysticisms," delving into spiritual territory that will likely give skeptics pause (he claims that because "there are no real distinctions between ‘our own' molecules and the molecules of the world around us," all humans are continuous with the giant single organism that is Earth). Further hampered by abstruse jargon (discussions of "complementarity and holarchy" are likely to baffle), this doesn't live up to its grand ambitions. Illus.
Customer Reviews
Connecting the dots
This book is like the popular science explanation of the Gary Snyder quote “Nature is not a place to visit. Nature is home.” We are not separate from the world, but are part of the seamless whole. Not a lot of new information, but it helps you think in a new perspective. Very cool.
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