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Rating: 
Summary: Intuitive view about the emergence of complexity
Review: It explains, mainly through examples in chemistry and physics, what are the required components for "complex behaviors" to occur within dynamical systems. It does not insist on the technicalities proper to the examples but rather tries to gather what one can learn from specific situations concerning the necessary components for complexity to arise. Focus is on intuition and global understanding, not on mathematical aspects. However, some knowledge in math would certainly help...a first course in probability theory and some background in dynamical systems is a good idea (at the level of undergraduate courses in pure and applied sciences). All explanations are not rigorous but the objective is to provide a good intuition about the mechanisms driving complexity. Recommended for all people interested in stochastic modeling and chaos theory.
Rating:
Summary: Intuitive view about the emergence of complexity
Review: It explains, mainly through examples in chemistry and physics, what are the required components for "complex behaviors" to occur within dynamical systems. It does not insist on the technicalities proper to the examples but rather tries to gather what one can learn from specific situations concerning the necessary components for complexity to arise. Focus is on intuition and global understanding, not on mathematical aspects. However, some knowledge in math would certainly help...a first course in probability theory and some background in dynamical systems is a good idea (at the level of undergraduate courses in pure and applied sciences). All explanations are not rigorous but the objective is to provide a good intuition about the mechanisms driving complexity. Recommended for all people interested in stochastic modeling and chaos theory.
Rating:
Summary: Want to learn about complexity? Start at the source!
Review: Since non-equilibrium science and complexity theory where actually shaped and influenced by the Brussels school, anybody interested in a concise -yet readable- introduction would do well to start with this book. Written by Nicolis and Prigogine, it will enlighten and entertain you. Some knowledge of math helps when reading this book, but the level is intermediate, thereby making it suitable for a rather large group of interested readers. I found myself reading the book in stages, taking the time to ponder various topics and issues before continuing again. It really made me wonder, and I learned a lot from it (ironically, I actually learned more from this book than from the -much- more advanced books by the author(s) that cover the same material).
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