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This book explores the exciting new field of complexity. It features in-depth coverage of important theoretical areas, including fractals, chaos, nonlinear dynamics, artificial life, and self organization. It also provides overviews of complexity in several applied areas, including parallel computation, control systems, neural systems, and ecosystems. Contributors examine some of the properties that best characterize complex systems, including algorithmic richness, nonlinearity, and abundant interactions between components. In this way the book draws themes, especially the ideas of connectivity and natural computation, that reveal deep, underlying similarities among phenomena that have formerly been treated as completely distinct. Researchers in a wide array of fields, including ecology, neuroscience, computer science, and mathematics, will find this volume to be a fascinating collection of ideas.
List of contents
1. Introduction Terry R. J. Bossomaier and David G. Green; 2. Self-organisation in complex systems David G. Green; 3. Network evolution and the emergence of structure D. A. Seeley; 4. Artificial life: growing complex systems Z. Aleksi¿; 5. Deterministic and random fractals John E. Hutchinson; 6. Non-linear dynamics D. E. Stewart and R. L. Dewar; 7. Non-linear control systems M. R. James; 8. Parallel computers and complex systems G. C. Fox and P. D. Coddington; 9. Are ecosystems complex systems? R. H. Bradbury, David G. Green and N. Snoad; 10. Complexity and neural networks Terry R. J. Bossomaier; Index.
Summary
This book, first published in 2000, explores the exciting field of complexity. It features in-depth coverage of important theoretical areas, including fractals, chaos, non-linear dynamics, artificial life and self-organization. It also provides overviews of complexity in several applied areas, including parallel computation, control systems, neural systems and ecosystems.
