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Google reports nearly a million hits for “Complexity Science” and half that for “Complex Adaptive Systems”, so there is no shortage of information available on the subject. As a matter of fact, it's hard to know where to start. I started my education on the subject with a book about the Santa Fe Institute, which introduces you to the various bodies of thought that came together at the institute and the personalities, as well, “Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos", Simon and Schuster, by Mitchell M. Waldrop, will give you a good start, and snooping it's bibliography will lead you to the works of the principal thinkers on the subject, as well. Stu Kauffman's “At Home In the Universe”, Oxford University Press, will give you the argument from a visionary biologist, will introduce you to the mysteries of the “N K Model” and extrapolate from the natural to the man-made system. Can't be without John Holland's “Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity”, Addison Wesley, which is fundamental to a layman's understanding of genetic algorithms and the role they play in system adaptation, both natural and artificial. When AOL keeps sending you that free software CD, they are attempting to capitalize on the now famous theory of increasing returns, in which those that have get more, and you have W. Brian Arthur to thank for the irritation, in his “Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy”, Michigan University Press. Real working world evidence of a phase transition. And on into the practical application, “Would-be Worlds: How Simulation is Changing the Frontiers of Science”, Wiley, by John L. Casti, modeling complex systems with computers; “The Evolution of Cooperation” Basic, by Robert Axelrod, for the fundamentals of game theory, “Swarm Intelligence: From Natural to Artificial Systems:, Oxford University Press, by Eric Bonabeau, Marco Dorigo and Guy Theraulaz, a detailed look at social insect behavior and it's implication on artificial systems. Finally, what happens when you try it, “Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business”, Crown Business, by Richard T. Pascale, Mark Millemann, and Linda Gioja. But this is just my list, it's like picking a good restaurant in New Orleans , everyone has their own favorite. My favorite Web Sites include: www.santafe.edu: The SFI www.nutechsolutions.com: A leading CAS software development company, and my business partner, www.anl.gov: The Argonne National Laboratory, where much heavy duty research is done, www.pscs.umich.edu: University of Michigan Center for Study of Complex Systems, But again, these are just a few from my list. |
