The Collapse of Chaos
by Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart · first published 1995
2mentions
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2HN commenters
2019–2021first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
"The Collapse of Chaos is the first post-chaos, post-complexity book, a groundbreaking inquiry into how simplicity in nature is generated from chaos and complexity. Rather than asking science's traditional question of how to break the world down into its simplest components, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart ask something much more interesting: why does simplicity exist at all? Their story combines chaos and complexity and - surprisingly - derives simplicity from the interaction of the two." "The Collapse of Chaos is composed of two parts. The first half is a witty primer, a guided tour of the island
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…changed my life to live according to what it teaches. Now, onto the sorts of books you were more likely looking for, although most of these have only changed my perspective, and not my day-to-day: - "The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World" by Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart (1995). The most mind-blowing thought was that if you, say, accurately simulate an atom, and then build molecules out of it, then,…
on “Ask HN: Which book/essay changed your life?” ↗…underlying order (it might just be impossible to discern), but they are not complex. Complex systems might have multiple orders, none at all or everything in between. See for an in-depth discussion: The Collapse of Chaos; Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World, Jack Cohen & Ian Stewart, Penguin, 2000. 2. Practical: The amount of tidiness in a complex system does not say anything about its efficiency, but neither does…
on “The Efficiency-Destroying Magic of Tidying Up” ↗