Books like Hidden order by Holland, John H.

An accessible textbook that guides newcomers through the foundations of nonlinear dynamics and chaos, combining analytical methods with real-world applications across physics, biology, and engineering.

Genetic algorithms are playing an increasingly important role in studies of complex adaptive systems, ranging from adaptive agents in economic theory to the use of machine learning techniques in the design of complex devices such as aircraft turbines and integrated circuits. Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems is the book that initiated this field of study, presenting the theoretical foundations and exploring applications. In its most familiar form, adaptation is a biological process, whereby organisms evolve by rearranging genetic material to survive in environments confronting them. In this now classic work, Holland presents a mathematical model that allows for the nonlinearity of such complex interactions. He demonstrates the model's universality by applying it to economics, physiological psychology, game theory, and artificial intelligence and then outlines the way in which this approach modifies the traditional views of mathematical genetics. Initially applying his concepts to simply defined artificial systems with limited numbers of parameters, Holland goes on to explore their use in the study of a wide range of complex, naturally occuring processes, concentrating on systems having multiple factors that interact in nonlinear ways. Along the way he accounts for major effects of coadaptation and coevolution: the emergence of building blocks, or schemata, that are recombined and passed on to succeeding generations to provide, innovations and improvements. -- Publisher description.

From one of today's most innovative thinkers comes the first book to carefully explore emergence - a surprisingly simple notion (the whole is more than the sum of its parts) with enormous implications for science, business, and the arts. In this work, John Holland, a leader in the study of complexity at the Santa Fe Institute, dramatically shows that a theory of emergence can predict many complex behaviors, and has much to teach us about life, the mind, and organizations. In Emergence, Holland demonstrates that a small number of rules of laws can generate systems of surprising complexity. Board games provide an ancient and direct example: Chess is defined by fewer than two dozen rules, but the myriad patterns that result lead to perpetual novelty and emergence. It took centuries of study to recognize certain patterns of play, such as the control of pawn formations. But once recognized, these patterns greatly enhance the possibility of winning the game. The discovery of similar patterns in other facets of our world opens the way to a deeper understanding of the complexity of life, answering such questions as: How does a fertilized egg program the development of a trillion-cell organism? How can we build human organizations that respond rapidly to change through innovation? Throughout the book, Holland compares different systems and models that exhibit emergence in the quest for common rules or laws.

An introductory textbook covering dynamics, Hamiltonian systems, differential and iterated map models, pattern formation, and quantum chaos, with detailed analysis tools, figures, exercises, and reference surveys.