Frontiers of Complexity

Coveney and Highfield, scientist and journalist, respectively, who collaborated on the acclaimed The Arrow of Time, have composed a marvelous and comprehensive work explaining recent insights into the genesis and analysis of complexity. ``Within science, complexity is a watchword for a new way of thinking about the collective behavior of many basic but interacting units, be they atoms, molecules, neurons, or bits within a computer.'' The interactions can ``lead to coherent collective phenomena''--profuse in the real world and ranging from human brain function to the setting of concrete-- which the book considers in some depth. The authors emphasize interdependence of advances in computing, as well as in conceptualizing complexity, then describe a new generation of approaches for developing artificial intelligence and for viewing life itself. This articulate and exceptionally readable account elucidates a new field that transcends old boundaries between disciplines and that may have the most far-reaching impact of all contemporary basic research. Virtually any scientist or interested lay reader will find this book engrossing, edifying and inspiring. Illustrations. (Oct.)