Cellular Automata: A Discrete Universe

Rating:
Summary: A well-written, comprehensive introduction to the field
Review: Cellular Automata: A Discrete Universe is a fascinating overview of the wide variety of discrete systems researchers have developed in the past quarter-century, and how these might be used to model a range of natural phenomena, including (in the book's most speculative section) the universe itself. Illustrations are supplied in all the right places--serving to enlighten, rather than overwhelm, the reader. The list of references is superb, making the book not only a great introduction and an important reference, but also a valuable guide to the field of complexity.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: This book is clearly a labor of love and contains a great wealth of material. However, it sorely lacks focus, the presentation is unclear and the results are often out of date. Here is a selection of more particular criticisms. Many rules remain undefined and the reader has to guess their details. The writer seems to be unfamiliar with the last five years worth of research, so particularly the chapter on probabilistic CA is not worth much. Far too many parts of the book are outlines of original papers (or books) with details omitted. Many claims in the said papers are accepted without scrutiny. (Two examples: (1) There is absolutely no evidence that any cellular automaton studied by Packard and Wolfram has a shape that is close to circular. (2) It has been discovered as far back as 1989 that the famous FHP lattice gas does NOT approach the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation, due to the fact that viscosity increases to infinity with increasing size of a finite system.) World Scientific editors need to do a much better job.