Complexity Chaos And Biological Evolution

Author : Erik Mosekilde
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9781468478495
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.94/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity, Chaos, and Biological Evolution written by Erik Mosekilde and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-11-26 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From time to time, perhaps a few times each century, a revolution occurs that questions some of our basic beliefs and sweeps across otherwise well guarded disciplinary boundaries. These are the periods when science is fun, when new paradigms have to be formulated, and when young scientists can do serious work without first having to acquire all the knowledge of their teachers. The emergence of nonlinear science appears to be one such revolution. In a surprising manner, this new science has disclosed a number of misconceptions in our traditional understanding of determinism. In particular, it has been shown that the notion of predictability, according to which the trajectory of a system can be precisely determined if one knows the equations of motion and the initial conditions, is related to textbook examples of simple; integrable systems. This predictability does not extend to nonlinear, conservative systems in general. Dissipative systems can also show unpredictability, provided that the motion is sustained by externally supplied energy and/or resources. These discoveries, and the associated discovery that even relatively simple nonlinear systems can show extremely complex behavior, have brought about an unprecedented feeling of common interest among scientists from many different disciplines. During the last decade or two we have come to understand that there are universal routes to chaos, we have learned about stretching and folding, and we have discovered the beautiful fractal geometry underlying chaotic attractors.

Author : Richard J. Bird
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231501552
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Chaos and Life written by Richard J. Bird and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2003-11-26 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why, in a scientific age, do people routinely turn to astrologers, mediums, cultists, and every kind of irrational practitioner rather than to science to meet their spiritual needs? The answer, according to Richard J. Bird, is that science, especially biology, has embraced a view of life that renders meaningless the coincidences, serendipities, and other seemingly significant occurrences that fill people's everyday existence. Evolutionary biology rests on the assumption that although events are fundamentally random, some are selected because they are better adapted than others to the surrounding world. This book proposes an alternative view of evolving complexity. Bird argues that randomness means not disorder but infinite order. Complexity arises not from many random events of natural selection (although these are not unimportant) but from the "playing out" of chaotic systems—which are best described mathematically. When we properly understand the complex interplay of chaos and life, Bird contends, we will see that many events that appear random are actually the outcome of order.

Author : Erik Mosekilde
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1468478478
Total Pages : 417 pages
Book Rating : 4.71/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity, Chaos, and Biological Evolution written by Erik Mosekilde and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-08 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From time to time, perhaps a few times each century, a revolution occurs that questions some of our basic beliefs and sweeps across otherwise well guarded disciplinary boundaries. These are the periods when science is fun, when new paradigms have to be formulated, and when young scientists can do serious work without first having to acquire all the knowledge of their teachers. The emergence of nonlinear science appears to be one such revolution. In a surprising manner, this new science has disclosed a number of misconceptions in our traditional understanding of determinism. In particular, it has been shown that the notion of predictability, according to which the trajectory of a system can be precisely determined if one knows the equations of motion and the initial conditions, is related to textbook examples of simple; integrable systems. This predictability does not extend to nonlinear, conservative systems in general. Dissipative systems can also show unpredictability, provided that the motion is sustained by externally supplied energy and/or resources. These discoveries, and the associated discovery that even relatively simple nonlinear systems can show extremely complex behavior, have brought about an unprecedented feeling of common interest among scientists from many different disciplines. During the last decade or two we have come to understand that there are universal routes to chaos, we have learned about stretching and folding, and we have discovered the beautiful fractal geometry underlying chaotic attractors.

Author : Richard J. Bird
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231501552
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Chaos and Life written by Richard J. Bird and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2003-11-26 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why, in a scientific age, do people routinely turn to astrologers, mediums, cultists, and every kind of irrational practitioner rather than to science to meet their spiritual needs? The answer, according to Richard J. Bird, is that science, especially biology, has embraced a view of life that renders meaningless the coincidences, serendipities, and other seemingly significant occurrences that fill people's everyday existence. Evolutionary biology rests on the assumption that although events are fundamentally random, some are selected because they are better adapted than others to the surrounding world. This book proposes an alternative view of evolving complexity. Bird argues that randomness means not disorder but infinite order. Complexity arises not from many random events of natural selection (although these are not unimportant) but from the "playing out" of chaotic systems—which are best described mathematically. When we properly understand the complex interplay of chaos and life, Bird contends, we will see that many events that appear random are actually the outcome of order.

Author : Brian Goodwin
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780691088099
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How the Leopard Changed Its Spots written by Brian Goodwin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2001-02-18 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do genes explain life? Can advances in evolutionary and molecular biology account for what we look like, how we behave, and why we die? This intervention into biological thinking argues that such genetic reductionism has limits. It shows how an understanding of the self-organizing patterns of networks is necessary for making sense of nature.

Author : Stavros G. Stavrinides
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030354415
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.11/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Chaos and Complex Systems written by Stavros G. Stavrinides and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-19 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the proceedings of the “5th International Interdisciplinary Chaos Symposium on Chaos and Complex Systems (CCS).” All Symposia in the series bring together scientists, engineers, economists and social scientists, creating a vivid forum for discussions on the latest insights and findings obtained in the areas of complexity, nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory, as well as their interdisciplinary applications. The scope of the latest Symposium was enriched with a variety of contemporary, interdisciplinary topics, including but not limited to: fundamental theory of nonlinear dynamics, networks, circuits, systems, biology, evolution and ecology, fractals and pattern formation, nonlinear time series analysis, neural networks, sociophysics and econophysics, complexity management and global systems.

Author : John Gribbin
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0141042214
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Deep Simplicity written by John Gribbin and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2009-08-27 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Gribbin takes us through the basics with his customary talent for accessibility and clarity' Sunday Times The world around us can be a complex, confusing place. Earthquakes happen without warning, stock markets fluctuate, weather forecasters seldom seem to get it right - even other people continue to baffle us. How do we make sense of it all? In fact, John Gribbin reveals, our seemingly random universe is actually built on simple laws of cause and effect that can explain why, for example, just one vehicle braking can cause a traffic jam; why wild storms result from a slight atmospheric change; even how we evolved from the most basic materials. Like a zen painting, a fractal image or the pattern on a butterfly's wings, simple elements form the bedrock of a sophisticated whole. Synthesizing chaos and complexity theory for the perplexed, Deep Simplicity brilliantly illuminates the harmony underlying our existence.

Author : Roger Lewin
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226476551
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity written by Roger Lewin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Put together one of the world's best science writers with one of the universe's most fascinating subjects and you are bound to produce a wonderful book. . . . The subject of complexity is vital and controversial. This book is important and beautifully done."—Stephen Jay Gould "[Complexity] is that curious mix of complication and organization that we find throughout the natural and human worlds: the workings of a cell, the structure of the brain, the behavior of the stock market, the shifts of political power. . . . It is time science . . . thinks about meaning as well as counting information. . . . This is the core of the complexity manifesto. Read it, think about it . . . but don't ignore it."—Ian Stewart, Nature This second edition has been brought up to date with an essay entitled "On the Edge in the Business World" and an interview with John Holland, author of Emergence: From Chaos to Order.

Author : Klaus Mainzer
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3662030144
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thinking in Complexity written by Klaus Mainzer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complexity and nonlinearity are prominent features in the evolution of matter, life, and human society. Even our mind seems to be governed by the nonlinear dynamics of the complex networks in our brain. This book considers complex systems in the physical and biological sciences, cognitive and computer sciences, social and economic sciences, and philosophy and history of science. An in terdisciplinary methodology is introduced to explain the emergence of order in nature and mind and in the econ omy and society by common principles. These methods are sometimes said to foreshadow the new sciences of complexity characterizing the scientific deve10pment of the 21 st century. The book critically an alyzes the successes and limits of this approach, its sys tematic foundations, and its historical and philosophical background. An epilogue discusses new standards of eth ical behavior which are demanded by the complex prob lems of nature and mind, economy and society.

Author : John E. Mayfield
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231535287
Total Pages : 417 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Engine of Complexity written by John E. Mayfield and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concepts of evolution and complexity theory have become part of the intellectual ether permeating the life sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, and, more recently, management science and economics. In this book, John E. Mayfield elegantly synthesizes core concepts from multiple disciplines to offer a new approach to understanding how evolution works and how complex organisms, structures, organizations, and social orders can and do arise based on information theory and computational science. Intended for the intellectually adventuresome, this book challenges and rewards readers with a nuanced understanding of evolution and complexity that offers consistent, durable, and coherent explanations for major aspects of our life experiences. Numerous examples throughout the book illustrate evolution and complexity formation in action and highlight the core function of computation lying at the work's heart.