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

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In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a cultural critic with a poet s heartThe Village Voice , takes readers on an eye opening journey through emergence theory and its applications Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self organization, and adaptive learning How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers How does a media event take on a life of its own How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide WebIn the coming years, the power of self organization coupled with the connective technology of the Internet will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought. Best Download Books Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software author Steven Johnson – kino-fada.fr Every now and then I start reading and realize this book is going to change how I think Its a little bit scary and a lot of bit exciting.While I know I know I picked this up because I thought it was about disease, Emergence has proved farinteresting and satisfying than I could hope Emergence s premise is about networks and organized behavior that develops from a lower level to asophisticated one In one sense, this is a very real snapshot of the history of thinking science cap Every now and then I start reading and realize this book is going to change how I think Its a little bit scary and a lot o...In my mind I ve split this book into two halves the half that is severely fascinating, opening doors for me to think about emergence on new scales and inspiring me to contemplate how I could build a model of memory with the principle at its core memory as a decentralized, locally interconnected, self organizing network of instances I could do that And I owe the complete absorption of my thoughts with the idea to Johnson and his fascinating first few chapters.The other half of the book is a In my mind I ve split this book into two halves the half that is severely fascinating, opening doors for me to think about emergence on new scales and inspiring me to contemplate how I could build a model of memory with the principle at its core memory as a decentralized, locally interconnected, self organizing network of instances I could do that And I owe the complete absorption of my thoughts with the idea to Johnson and his fascinating first f...Some would call me indecisive, fickle, foolish, or a good candidate for Ritalin, given my tendency to engage in many disciplines at once Even now, with a masters degree in environmental science, I am plotting an eventual return to school for an MFA, or MBA, or MEd, or perhaps just some PhDs I prefer to think of myself as a generalist, however, in the great tradition of cockroaches, crabgrass, Leonardo DaVinci and Jesse The Body Ventura Indeed, I love finding connections between elements as Some would call me indecisive, fickle, foolish, or a good candidate for Ritalin, given my tendency to engage in many disciplines at once Even now, with a masters degree in environmental science, I am plotting an eventual return to school for an MFA, or MBA, or MEd, or perhaps just some PhDs I prefer to think of myself as a generalist, however, in the great tradition of cockroaches, crabgrass, Leonardo DaVinci and Jesse The Body Ventura Indeed, I love finding connections between elements as seemingly unrelated as spineless arthropods and politicians though perhaps that s not the best example , and in turn to connect those connections with important issues and strategies for change.Given my penchant for unusual logic, it was a no brainer to revisit Steven Johnson s Emergence the connected lives of ants, brains, cities and software, published by Scribner Press in 2001 These organisms and objects do indeed have con...I enjoyed this book and then I didn t Emergence starts out as a field guide to the idea of emergence and how it crosses all kinds of disciplines This is the best part But the bulk of the book, written in Wired Magazine style gee whiz techster prose, is devoted to computer programming and the author going on and on about what he thinks is and isn t emergence Tedious Also, if any book could benefit from a thorough soaking in Austrian economics, this is it Hayekian notions of dispersed inform I enjoyed this book and then I didn t Emergence starts out as a field guide to the idea of emergence and how it crosses all kinds of disciplines This is the best part But the bulk of the book, written in Wired Magazine style gee whiz techster prose, is devoted to computer programming and the author going on and on about what he thinks is and isn t emergence Tedious Also, if any book could benefit from a thorough soaking in Austrian economics, this is it Hayekian notions of dispersed information, decentralized order, and rela...More stuff emerges from the cloud of gasSometimes the cloud turns into an insectSometimes the insects turn into brainsSometimes the brains go to French ravesOnce in a while i come across books that challenge you to think differently and connect the dots between seemingly unrelated subjects This book is one among them I like the way how ants, slime mold, cities and distributed software are related I like the idea of how simple systems by following simple rules can become complex organized systems It gives a good idea about how feedback loops will change or already changing the software industry and AI One minor setback on the book is some storie Once in a while i come across books that challenge you to think differently and connect the dots between seemingly unrelated subjects This book is one among them I like the way how ants, slime mold, cities and distributed software are related I like the idea of how simple systems by following simple rules can become complex organized...See my brief review of Complexity the emerging science at the edge of order and chaos This book began to flesh out for me the fascinating area of emergence as a phenomenon This shows how individual items e.g ants combi...Johnson selects really interesting topics for his books Both this and his book on neuroscience, Mind Wide Open , are about fundamentally important and fascinating subjects with far reaching implications However, in both cases, the finished product remains somewhat dissatisfying.This volume starts with a lot of promise, as Johnson describes the results of emergence in various contexts, like ant colonies, slime mold aggregation, the organic growth of cities, SimCity, and neuroscience I got exc Johnson selects really interesting topics for his books Both this and his book on neuroscience, Mind Wide Open , are about fundamentally important and fascinating subjects with far reaching implications However, in both cases, the finished product remains somewhat dissatisfying.This volume starts with a lot of promise, as Johnson describes the results of emergence in various contexts, like ant colonies, slime mold aggregation, the organic growth of cities, SimCity, and neuroscience I got excited because I expected this was a prelude to a formal description of emergence or at least a sketch of how emergence generally operates I remained largely disappointed Johnson tosses off a few high level signifiers of emergence simple behaviors enhanced by local feedback, positive feedback loops, complexity, random encounters, pattern detection, etc , but he does little wo...Mainstream media meets complex adaptive systems in this book 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.Emerg Mainstream media meets complex adaptive systems in this book 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 fi...Published in 2001 but still holds up well today in its discussion of the subject of emergence and self organization It briefly touches on the possibilities of emergent patterns brought to bear on an expended layer of networked items such as appliances and their learned ability to read minds which results in some event or action to be taken An idearecently discussed ...

Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software
  • English
  • 02 May 2018
  • Paperback
  • 288 pages
  • 0684868768
  • Steven Johnson
  • Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software