Chaos: Making a New Science
James GleickA work of popular science in the tradition of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, this 20th-anniversary edition of James Gleick’s groundbreaking bestseller Chaos introduces a whole new readership to chaos theory, one of the most significant waves of scientific knowledge in our time. From Edward Lorenz’s discovery of the Butterfly Effect, to Mitchell Feigenbaum’s calculation of a universal constant, to Benoit Mandelbrot’s concept of fractals, which created a new geometry of nature, Gleick’s engaging narrative focuses on the key figures whose genius converged to chart an innovative direction for science. In Chaos,Gleick makes the story of chaos theory not only fascinating but also accessible to beginners, and opens our eyes to a surprising new view of the universe.
| status | Copy #1 (5316): in |
|---|---|
| genre | Hard Science » Mathematics |
| publisher | Penguin Books |
| publish date | |
| popularity | checked out 3 time(s) |
Gleick made his mark with this intense book. Well conceived and written in lay language, Gleick profiles researchers who work literally on the fringes of science: where empirical scientific laws governing the movement of material break down into non-deterministic ways. We lose the ability to predict the behavior, say, of clouds, even though the properties of gas and water vapor are understood very well. Investigators looking into the dynamics of systems try to piece together rules out the seemingly random noise. This book sets the tone for much of Gleick’s later work.
Great intro to important subject.