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Review
[An] exceptionally well organized and superbly illustrated volume. -- "Choice
An important contribution to biology, and to complex systems research more generally, and certainly an enthralling subject. -- Carl Anderson, Complexity
This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book. . . . The authors provide an excellent introduction to the main ideas underlying the theory of self-organization and also deal with some of the criticisms leveled at this emerging field. . . . An eminently readable and stimulating book. -- Jens Krause and Iain Couzin, The Quarterly Review of Biology
This book is an entertaining and well-written introduction to the basics of self-organization. . . . Given the clear prose and interesting examples, this book should have wide appeal. -- Diane Lipscomb, Science Books & Film
Considering the complexity of the subject, this account is surprisingly and pleasantly accessible and readable. It is one of the few biology books that will appeal equally to research workers and undergraduates. -- "Bulletin of the British Ecological Society
Broad in scope, thorough yet accessible, this book is a self-contained introduction to self-organization and complexity in biology--at the forefront of life sciences research. -- "Zentralblatt MATH
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The synchronized flashing of fireflies at night. The spiraling patterns of an aggregating slime mold. The anastomosing network of army-ant trails. The coordinated movements of a school of fish. Researchers are finding in such patterns--phenomena that have fascinated naturalists for centuries--a fertile new approach to understanding biological systems: the study of self-organization. This book, a primer on self-organization in biological systems for students and other enthusiasts, introduces readers to the basic concepts and tools for studying self-organization and then examines numerous examples of self-organization in the natural world.
Self-organization refers to diverse pattern formation processes in the physical and biological world, from sand grains assembling into rippled dunes to cells combining to create highly structured tissues to individual insects working to create sophisticated societies. What these diverse systems hold in common is the proximate means by which they acquire order and structure. In self-organizing systems, pattern at the global level emerges solely from interactions among lower-level components. Remarkably, even very complex structures result from the iteration of surprisingly simple behaviors performed by individuals relying on only local information. This striking conclusion suggests important lines of inquiry: To what degree is environmental rather than individual complexity responsible for group complexity? To what extent have widely differing organisms adopted similar, convergent strategies of pattern formation? How, specifically, has natural selection determined the rules governing interactions within biological systems?
Broad in scope, thorough yet accessible, this book is a self-contained introduction to self-organization and complexity in biology--a field of study at the forefront of life sciences research.
Self-organization refers to a broad range of pattern-formation processes in both physical and biological systems, such as sand grains assembling into rippled dunes (Figure 1.1), chemical reactants forming swirling spirals (Figure 1.3a), cells making up highly structured tissues, and fish joining together in schools. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
However, this book takes a pure biology approach describing the phenomena of self-organising systems and a number of case studies (fireflies, army ants, fish, bees etc). Each case study has a chapter dedicated to it. The text is readable by the non-biologist, non-mathematician and helps to provide an intuitive understanding of the processes.
So whilst the book may not be as rigorous as some may need for modelling purposes, or as applied as some computer science types want, I have found it to be very inspirational in looking for new ways to build software.
I have bought other books in the area but this is by far my favourite.
I finally came up buying this book and reading every centimeter of it closely.
An excellent book for AI students and for Computer Science Engineers, showing you that there are simpler ways to solve problems, without much intelligence, complication or knowledge but with extreme response to feedback and redundancy.
Even if you don't work in mathematics, biology, or software, if you're on this page you must have some interest. Buy it, read it, its worth it.
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