Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software

This book is well written and provides an insight to the science of emerergence and how it can help exlain the fundamental texture of everything from ant colonies to cafe-society. It is one of those rare books that readers will benefit from reading many times. For those with a scientific appreciation it fully satisfies while those readers with a more cultural focus will still find it very readable.The subject matter is highly important and may help create models of better societies in the economically and environmentally challenging years ahead. This book undoubtedly helps us to see a way.

An interesting look at the new discipline of Complexity science, and a subtle jab at the idea of reductionism as the only way to understand the universe. Johnson, a columnist for Discover, looks at the phenomenon of Emergence as it takes new forms. Starting from the idea of slime molds and ant colonies, both of which are collectives made up of not particularly "intelligent" individual parts that do pretty amazing things as a collective, to brain cells (again not particularly amazing on their own), to computer software that gains complexity as time goes on. Emergence is a complicated subject that covers a verity of phenomena, but is about how things go from simple to complex, and pic up new qualities as they do so. This runs counter to the normal way that science tends to do things, namely to reduce things to the smallest units to understand a thing. Emergence is noted for having a "downwardly causative" affect upon the individual parts that is not particularly predictable by looking at the parts. That is in part why it can be a confusing book: it seems to jump from topic to topic, all the while it is talking about a phenomenon that cuts across all sorts of disciplines and can be seen in many different places. It also, as I noted, works in a way that runs counter to the general dogmatic proposition of reductionist thought that dominates analytic philosophy and science. This leads many to reject the concept out of hand as being "unscientific" or "unfocused." However, it is a real thing, that can be seen in slime mold movements and the development of urban areas. The book points to how it can be harnessed and tapped in order to build a, potentially, better future.

Good copy of the paperback – just one or two pages of margin notes, but perfectly readable.

This book attempts to explain artificial intelligence in terms of how ant colonies, cities, and modern software operate. If it seems to have the feel of a magazine article, it's because it's not written by a professional in the field but by a professional writer who is a frequent contributor to trendy, popular publications such as Feed and Wired. Although it did not give me the understanding I was looking for about emergence theory, I would not dismiss it completely because it does have a lot of interesting information, as any good magazine article would. It has an overview of Jane Jacobs new urbanism that is both complete and illustrating, it explains how an intelligent kind of feedback makes some web sites successful as virtual communities, and what I found most interesting, how video games are evolving in ways that seem to give them a life of their own. If you are looking for an insightful, deep look at artificial intelligence for the layman, Douglas Hofstadter's "Godel Escher Bach" is still unchallenged. On the other hand if you are looking for a more relaxed, amusing and down to earth approach, filled with cool stuff you can impress your friends with, this book is for you.

"Emergence"--closely related to "self-organization"--is a process which has always characterized so many different areas studied by science, but of which we have become really aware only in the last few years. This book is an excellent introduction to how "emergence" solves so many puzzles about ants, cities, computers, and so many more areas of scientific interest.

The publishing industry continues to fuel the growth of popular science with titles like Emergence. I'm all for the growth of science titles, but the price comes at the increase in the number of watered-down, easy-to-digest material you'll find in bookstores. With the explosion in books written on the topic of complex adaptive systems, I found it difficult to choose a single book in the category. With little restraint, I dove in.Emergence is a light, easy read devoted to describing systems that demonstrate adaptive behavior. The author sends significant time on contemporary systems such as the news media, the worldwide web, and large urban areas. On more than one occasion, the author appears to be reaching to make a conclusion. It's difficult to say whether he hadn't done the research or wanted the reader to draw his/her own conclusion.Nonetheless, Steven Johnson paints an abstract picture of systems that demonstrate a larger, collective set of smarts. Like most abstract art, some people will be inspired and others won't. I found the writing and subject matter interesting enough to keep my curiosity fueled to pick up another book on complex systems. If you approach Emergence with a mind-set of getting more art than science, you're less likely to be let down.

I purchased this book as required reading for a class. It's extremely interesting... the class is over and I have decided to keep the book so I can read it in its entirety. The concept of emergent behavior is fascinating and something everyone should be versed in.

An excellent read - I first read it 10+ years ago, but lent my copy out (terminally, it appears) and have been missing it ever since. Picked up the digital copy for my Kindle and have found it just as interesting now as it was the first time around.

Excellent content

perfect

one of the best book i have ever read, steven johnson is one of the few writers who can share the wisdom by telling a beautiful story .

This book changed my life!

El producto estaba en perfectas condiciones, muy bien empaquetado. Por contra, el envío ha tardado más de lo previsto en el anuncio.