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Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another Paperback – 3 Feb 2005

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Philip Ball (Author)
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Philip Ball (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 23 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 656 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow (3 Feb. 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099457865
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099457862
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 4 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 210,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product description

Review

"Exquisitely produced and painstakingly researched... Ball writes patiently and eloquently.. Exciting... A rousing call-to-arms, and an elegant answer to the shallow tradition of British empiricism." (Independent)

"In his fascinating new book, Critical Mass, Philip Ball tells the story of this research in a comprehensive and often captivating way... Ball delves far beyond today's headlines... Impressively clear and breathtaking in scope... Substantial, impeccably researched and...persuasive. For anyone who would like to learn about the intellectual ferment at the surprising junction of physics and social science, Critical Mass is the place to start." (Nature)

"Lucid, accessible and engaging... Ball makes a persuasive, comprehensive case and it's a welcome antidote to popular individualistic thought." (Glasgow Herald)

"Critical Mass fizzes with ideas and insights" (The Guardian)

"more than a book, this in an intellectual curiosity" (Independent on Sunday)

Book Description

The winner of the Aventis Prize for Science Books, this is a fascinating exploration of the age-old question: are there 'laws of nature' that guide human affairs? Is there anything inevitable about the ways humans behave and organise themselves? Do we have complete freedom in creating our societies, or are we trapped by 'human nature'?

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By Amazon Customer on 30 April 2017
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
An interesting foray into the science of complexity.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA very interesting book.
By Stu VINE VOICE on 25 Aug. 2008
Format: Paperback
Critical Mass provides an overview and investigation into the study of human society and interactions using physics-based models.

The book gets off to a roaring start, beginning with exploring the models used throughout. Then it moves to looking at how they can be applied to crowds and other physical human interactions such as traffic flow. Philip Ball, I think, succeeds here most in showing how the physics-based models apply to real-life behaviour.

Where he least succeeds for me is in relation to economics but this is mostly because I find this particular subject dull and I've recently read Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and it's left me somewhat sceptical of making any sense of economics. Indeed Black Swan The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable makes a good (if cynical) companion book as it covers the role of chance occurences more fully.

Later sections on networks such as the internet and our social connectedness fare better. They don't contain much new information but they're very interesting nonetheless as the author has an engaging style.

All very interesting and well recommended.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPhilip Ball's Masterpiece
By M. Wilkinson on 9 Dec. 2005
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Yes, without a doubt, Philip Ball's greatest book to date. He is probably better known among scientists than laypersons as he was for a long time editor at Nature one of the worlds top multi-disciplinary science journals. He has a degree in chemistry and a doctorate in physics but he seems to know a great deal more, when he mentions literature he sounds like an english professor but enough about the man - what about his book?
The joy of Ball's erudition is that he can speak intelligently on any subject which must have been useful at Nature and is essential when he tackles popular science books such as this. His books are not for the lazy but curious person, to get joy out of Ball's books you must be prepared to think hard, concentrate a little and then the rewards will come. In this book, Ball discusses the startling results that physicists have had when applying physics to social phenomena - war, business, traffic. People are particles is a common theme. Obviously classical physics or even quantum phenomena are not going to predict a single persons actions, but what about a million? As it turns out there are parallels which we run in to again and again. One fascinating analogy - and it is more than just analogy really, thats the whole point - is how traffic slowing to a jam is much like water freezing. Phase changes and critical points come up repeatedly. Reading this book was absolutely fascinating. I looked forward to my bus rides to work so I'd have another chance to read some more.
The diagrams ease comprehension and the writing is lucid and entertaining throughout. There is even some dry humour which I found refreshing.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsHard Work, but worth making the effort
By R. Chant on 22 Aug. 2007
Format: Paperback
Like other reviewers, at times I found this really hard work to read - coming as I did from a non-science background. The first few chapters are necessarily tough, as they set a lot of the groundwork and understanding for the rest of the book. I recommend sticking with it, as reading this book offered me a different perspective on 'how things are' to many of the more arts-based ones I've tended to be more influenced by previously. If we're to understand the challenges society faces going forward, then it's important to make the effort and engage with this sort of thinking and rationale - even if I finished the book not entirely convinced by his central arguments.
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4.0 out of 5 starsEfficient popular science
By The Emperor on 5 Dec. 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This was well written and interesting throughout. The subject matter is often quite familiar now but he presents it well and generally makes convincing arguments.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCollective Ebullition
By demola on 29 Mar. 2010
Format: Paperback
Why do we decide individually or so we think but end up acting collectively? This is the central theme explored in this marvelous book that runs the gamut from traffic systems to network topology to urban planning. I love the multi-dimensionality this book displays which enriches the mind and gets one thinking about old problems in new ways. Surely in such a troublesome world such as ours with 7 billion-ish people and problems ad infinitum, solving problems must be one of the most valuable skills that can be taught. This is (sort of) what "Critical Mass" delivers.

There are a few fault lines where Ball employs novelistic stunts. I'll give two. First is his indiscriminate use of the so called "power law" discovered in many studies to describe collective behaviour. This law turns out to be nothing but an inverse relationship between two variables but "power" and "law" together sound sexier and so much more authoritative. Pah! The second is where he's talking about Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment) and Ball casually refers to D as a criminal to prove a point. Well, yes kind of, but Dostoyevsky was condemmed for associating with radicals who wanted to free serfs/slaves. It wasn't like he was a murderer. Rant over. Read the book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPeople as particles
By I. Davidson on 11 July 2005
Format: Hardcover
I found this book incredibly thought provoking. It would have been much quicker to read in fact if I hadn't been constantly writing down ideas that occured to me as I delved into its chapters.

It covers an enormous amount of ground and is, mostly, very readable despite sometimes covering a whirlwind of several hundred years of theory.

The main gist of the book is applying physics theories to human social interaction (be it in crowds, queues, crime, traffic, war, politics, markets, towns, businesses etc). It highlights how certain signature patterns seem to turn up time and time again in all these disparate theatres of human life.

It covers the familiar "bell curves" of probability theory but it was most interesting (to me) when discussing phase changes - for example how a liquid line of traffic suddenly morphs into a solid because one car (particle) brakes too fast and the knock on effects this has.

I'd strongly recommend this book as I think it's given me a better understanding of how certain types of change happen. Now I know why you wait ages for a bus and then three turn up at once.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsIt makes you think deep

The book is a wisely-structured collection of citations, experiments, and research by great thinkers since Hobbes' masterpiece, The Leviathan. Read more

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I really enjoyed this book, I just grabbed it at the airport because I needed something to read.
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