3 ms·

What are some good resources (books/papers/videos/etc.) to get started on "Complex Systems", "Emergence", "Self-Organization" and related topics?

epsilonic 2y ago
Anything by John H. Holland is good.
- rramadass 2y ago
  Thanks. I have his Hidden Order book and also Per Bak's How Nature Works. Any others you would recommend by these or other authors?
danyala 2y ago
I can't recommend books but here are a couple of other good phrases to search with, or just to discuss with one of the sparkier LLMs, which tend to find this topic quite interesting: 1. cross-scale interaction 2. downward causation Would be happy to learn of other terms too.
- rramadass 2y ago
  I generally find Wikipedia a very good starting point to get an overview and a gateway to further research/study; their "See Also" sections list plenty of terms/phrases to look up; 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_system#See_also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_system#See_also 2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization#See_also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization#See_also 3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence#See_also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence#See_also
uoaei 2y ago
Prerequisites are heavily aligned with physics / applied math, particularly: thermodynamics, dynamical systems, network theory, and a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary study. All should be approached from a perspective rooted mostly in rigorous information theory.
- rramadass 2y ago
  Well said. This recommendation from user JPC21 seems to cover everything you list - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189
  - uoaei 2y ago
    I did a master's in complexity science and a lot of it was basically "what if this graph of things is a computer? what does it compute?"
    - rramadass 2y ago
      What were the textbooks used in your master's course?
JPC21 2y ago
Personally I would read a book on statistical physics instead, since this is where the study of 'emergence' began. The Feynman lectures would be good for this. I actually haven't found many good books for 'Complex systems', but if you want to take a shot anyway, I would look at https://academic.oup.com/book/25504 https://academic.oup.com/book/25504 and https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691122045/critical-transitions-in-nature-and-society https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691122045/cr...
- rramadass 2y ago
  Great. The OUP book linked above viz. Introduction to the Theory of Complex Systems by Stefan Thurner et al. looks particularly good since the ToC lists all the needed interdisciplinary topics for a study of this subject.
abetusk 2y ago
Complexity and Criticality by Christensen and Moloney [0]. It goes through three main systems, percolation, the Ising model and the rice pile model. It's an introduction that gives the tools to analyze each and provides the foundation to understand other models and other literature in the area. I found it pretty accessible from a programmers point of view. [0] https://www.amazon.com/COMPLEXITY-CRITICALITY-Imperial-College-Advanced/dp/1860945171 https://www.amazon.com/COMPLEXITY-CRITICALITY-Imperial-Colle...
- rramadass 2y ago
  Thank you; This looks pretty interesting.
dlojudice 2y ago
"Introduction to Complexity" by Melanie Mitchell from Santa Fe Institute. https://www.complexityexplorer.org/courses/185-introduction-to-complexity https://www.complexityexplorer.org/courses/185-introduction-... This free course is based on her book "Complexity: A Guided Tour" https://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitchell/dp/0195124413 https://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitche...
- rramadass 2y ago
  Thanks. I was aware of her book but not the course.
FergusArgyll 2y ago
Kind of tangentially related but I think pretty relevant is Scale by Geoffreys West
- rramadass 2y ago
  Thanks; this is definitely related and relevant. The 3rd chapter of this book is on Scaling - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189
chermi 2y ago
Crutchfield has recorded lectures on YouTube. I thought they were quite good. I'm biased toward learning statistical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics as a starting point. Search "phy 256 a(b) crutchfield" on YouTube. Crutchfield has been doing amazing work for quite some time. If you want a critical and very entertaining read, I would check out cosma shalizi's blog. He does a lot of book reviews too that may be helpful. http://bactra.org/weblog/ http://bactra.org/weblog/ Other names/references include "The nature of computation" Stuart kauffman. "Nonlinear dynamics and chaos" Too many stat mech books to possibly recommend, for the idea of emergence you'll want something including phase transitions so... Can't go wrong with 'thermodynamics and an introduction to thermostatistics". And for stat mech with lots of complex systems diversions, Sethna's book is excellent but difficult to learn from. "Entropy, complexity, and order parameters. Names in thermo/complexity: Sethna Goldenfeld Parisi HE stanley Finally, it's hard to talk about complex systems without talking about networks, "Networks"-Newman is unambiguously the best choice. Names in networks: Mark Newman Reka Albert Avoid barabasi especially more recent stuff. There may be better lectures/resources out there I don't know of, but I would start with crutchields lectures. Note again I am coming from heavy physics bias.
- rramadass 2y ago
  Thanks! There is a lot here to study/research on; appreciate your writing it out.
pdfernhout 2y ago
My wife (Cynthia F. Kurtz) wrote a non-mathematical book on complexity a couple years ago: "Confluence: Tools for Thinking about How Organized Plans and Self-organized Patterns Flow Together" https://www.cfkurtz.com/confluence/ https://www.cfkurtz.com/confluence/ The blurb: "A path winds its way through a forest. Why does it go the way it goes? Did someone design it? Or was the path made smooth by feet that chose the smoothest path? Maybe some of both? Confluence examines the many ways in which organized, intentional plans (like paths we design) and self-organized, unintentional patterns (like paths that emerge where we walk) intermingle (happen at the same time and place) and interact (influence each other). The book lays out seven “thinking spaces” (like this one) that explore various aspects of the structures and relationships that flow together in our lives."
- rramadass 2y ago
  Thank you; looks quite interesting and different from the rest.

epsilonic 2y ago

Anything by John H. Holland is good.

rramadass 2y ago
Thanks. I have his Hidden Order book and also Per Bak's How Nature Works. Any others you would recommend by these or other authors?

danyala 2y ago

I can't recommend books but here are a couple of other good phrases to search with, or just to discuss with one of the sparkier LLMs, which tend to find this topic quite interesting: 1. cross-scale interaction 2. downward causation Would be happy to learn of other terms too.

rramadass 2y ago
I generally find Wikipedia a very good starting point to get an overview and a gateway to further research/study; their "See Also" sections list plenty of terms/phrases to look up; 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_system#See_also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_system#See_also 2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization#See_also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization#See_also 3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence#See_also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence#See_also

uoaei 2y ago

Prerequisites are heavily aligned with physics / applied math, particularly: thermodynamics, dynamical systems, network theory, and a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary study. All should be approached from a perspective rooted mostly in rigorous information theory.

rramadass 2y ago
Well said. This recommendation from user JPC21 seems to cover everything you list - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189
- uoaei 2y ago
  I did a master's in complexity science and a lot of it was basically "what if this graph of things is a computer? what does it compute?"
  - rramadass 2y ago
    What were the textbooks used in your master's course?

JPC21 2y ago

Personally I would read a book on statistical physics instead, since this is where the study of 'emergence' began. The Feynman lectures would be good for this. I actually haven't found many good books for 'Complex systems', but if you want to take a shot anyway, I would look at https://academic.oup.com/book/25504 https://academic.oup.com/book/25504 and https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691122045/critical-transitions-in-nature-and-society https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691122045/cr...

rramadass 2y ago
Great. The OUP book linked above viz. Introduction to the Theory of Complex Systems by Stefan Thurner et al. looks particularly good since the ToC lists all the needed interdisciplinary topics for a study of this subject.

abetusk 2y ago

Complexity and Criticality by Christensen and Moloney [0]. It goes through three main systems, percolation, the Ising model and the rice pile model. It's an introduction that gives the tools to analyze each and provides the foundation to understand other models and other literature in the area. I found it pretty accessible from a programmers point of view. [0] https://www.amazon.com/COMPLEXITY-CRITICALITY-Imperial-College-Advanced/dp/1860945171 https://www.amazon.com/COMPLEXITY-CRITICALITY-Imperial-Colle...

rramadass 2y ago
Thank you; This looks pretty interesting.

dlojudice 2y ago

"Introduction to Complexity" by Melanie Mitchell from Santa Fe Institute. https://www.complexityexplorer.org/courses/185-introduction-to-complexity https://www.complexityexplorer.org/courses/185-introduction-... This free course is based on her book "Complexity: A Guided Tour" https://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitchell/dp/0195124413 https://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitche...

rramadass 2y ago
Thanks. I was aware of her book but not the course.

FergusArgyll 2y ago

Kind of tangentially related but I think pretty relevant is Scale by Geoffreys West

rramadass 2y ago
Thanks; this is definitely related and relevant. The 3rd chapter of this book is on Scaling - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40644189

chermi 2y ago

Crutchfield has recorded lectures on YouTube. I thought they were quite good. I'm biased toward learning statistical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics as a starting point. Search "phy 256 a(b) crutchfield" on YouTube. Crutchfield has been doing amazing work for quite some time. If you want a critical and very entertaining read, I would check out cosma shalizi's blog. He does a lot of book reviews too that may be helpful. http://bactra.org/weblog/ http://bactra.org/weblog/ Other names/references include "The nature of computation" Stuart kauffman. "Nonlinear dynamics and chaos" Too many stat mech books to possibly recommend, for the idea of emergence you'll want something including phase transitions so... Can't go wrong with 'thermodynamics and an introduction to thermostatistics". And for stat mech with lots of complex systems diversions, Sethna's book is excellent but difficult to learn from. "Entropy, complexity, and order parameters. Names in thermo/complexity: Sethna Goldenfeld Parisi HE stanley Finally, it's hard to talk about complex systems without talking about networks, "Networks"-Newman is unambiguously the best choice. Names in networks: Mark Newman Reka Albert Avoid barabasi especially more recent stuff. There may be better lectures/resources out there I don't know of, but I would start with crutchields lectures. Note again I am coming from heavy physics bias.

rramadass 2y ago
Thanks! There is a lot here to study/research on; appreciate your writing it out.

pdfernhout 2y ago

My wife (Cynthia F. Kurtz) wrote a non-mathematical book on complexity a couple years ago: "Confluence: Tools for Thinking about How Organized Plans and Self-organized Patterns Flow Together" https://www.cfkurtz.com/confluence/ https://www.cfkurtz.com/confluence/ The blurb: "A path winds its way through a forest. Why does it go the way it goes? Did someone design it? Or was the path made smooth by feet that chose the smoothest path? Maybe some of both? Confluence examines the many ways in which organized, intentional plans (like paths we design) and self-organized, unintentional patterns (like paths that emerge where we walk) intermingle (happen at the same time and place) and interact (influence each other). The book lays out seven “thinking spaces” (like this one) that explore various aspects of the structures and relationships that flow together in our lives."

rramadass 2y ago
Thank you; looks quite interesting and different from the rest.