Emergence: From Chaos to OrderIn Emergence, Holland demonstrates that a small number of rules of laws can generate systems of surprising complexity. Board games provide an ancient and direct example: Chess is defined by fewer than two dozen rules, but the myriad patterns that result lead to perpetual novelty and emergence. It took centuries of study to recognize certain patterns of play, such as the control of pawn formations. But once recognized, these patterns greatly enhance the possibility of winning the game. The discovery of similar patterns in other facets of our world opens the way to a deeper understanding of the complexity of life, answering such questions as: How does a fertilized egg program the development of a trillion-cell organism? How can we build human organizations that respond rapidly to change through innovation? Throughout the book, Holland compares different systems and models that exhibit emergence in the quest for common rules or laws. |
What people are saying - Write a review
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
LibraryThing Review
User Review - MyopicBookworm - LibraryThingI have to say that I found this book less interesting than I had hoped. Coming to it with a biologist's interest in the emergence of complexity from simple systems, I found its detailed discussion of ... Read full review
Emergence: from chaos to order
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictEmergence, where simple systems generate complex ones, is a fundamental concept in many modern scientific theories. Phenomena as diverse as a game of checkers, neural networks, and even the origin of ... Read full review
Contents
1 Before we Proceed | 1 |
2 Games and Numbers | 16 |
3 Maps Game Theory ComputerBaseil Modeling | 28 |
4 Checkers | 53 |
5 Neural Nets | 81 |
6 Toward a General Setting | 115 |
7 Constrained Generating Procedures | 125 |
8 Samuels Checkersplayer and Other Models as Cgp s | 143 |
9 Variation | 161 |
10 Levels of Description and Redution | 188 |
11Metaphor and Innovation | 202 |
12Closing | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
activity agents array axon behavior billiard ball board games building blocks cell cellular automaton cgp-v cgp’s Chapter checkers checkersplayer chess complex components computer-based models concepts configurations connections constrained construction Conway’s Copycat define definition detail determine difficult emer emergent phenomena exhibit emergence Figure find fire firing rate first fixed framework free input game tree genetic algorithm glider Hebb’s id tag indefinite insights interactions interconnections large number laws learning line of play look lookahead macrolaws mathematical mecha mechanisms metaphor minimax model building modified move neural nets neural networks neurons nisms notation observations opponent output patterns perpetual novelty persistence pieces ahead player possible prediction procedure pulses reflex reverberating role rules saccades Samuel’s scientific selected sequence signal simple specified square strategy string study of emergence subroutines synapses target theory threshold tile time-step tion transition function understanding weights
Bibliographic information
| Title | Emergence: From Chaos to Order Emergence: From Chaos to Order, John Henry Holland Helix book |
| Author | John Henry Holland |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, 1998 |
| ISBN | 0198504098, 9780198504092 |
| Length | 258 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |