Complexity
by Roger Lewin · first published 1992
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3recommended by
4HN commenters
2007–2024first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
Investigates the set of rules that lie at the root of all complex systems.
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I assume you've read GEB. That wanders all over the map, and is fascinating for it. "Complexity" by Roger Lewin is a sort of journalistic take on the early history of the slightly vague field of complexity science. But its fairly interesting. "The Computational Beauty of Nature" by Microsoft R&D…
on “Alpha Geek” ↗This has been a topic of interest for me for almost a decade so far. See also: non-linear dynamics, dynamical systems The study of Complexity in the US Sciences is fairly recent, with the notable kickoff of the Santa Fe Institute [1]. They have all the resources there, from classes to scientific conferences. A few book recommendations I've…
on “The Puzzle of How Large-Scale Order Emerges in Complex Systems” ↗Those who enjoyed this should check out Roger Lewin's "Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos". It's a bit dated now but covers the founding of the Santa Fe Institute, which was more or less founded to answer an even more fundamental question: what are the varieties…
on “The varieties of material existence” ↗…software toy ecosystems which eventually developed viruses and parasites and prey-predator cycles and what not. The very first one, by the way, was implemented in Lisp (cited and commented upon in the book "Complexity" by Roger Lewin.) Now doing it with Windows machines adds a sarcastic/sadistic tone to the whole thing.
on “xkcd - Network” ↗