Synopses & Reviews
In the tradition of andlt;Iandgt;Being Digitalandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;The Tipping Point,andlt;/Iandgt; Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" andlt;Iandgt;(The Village Voice),andlt;/Iandgt; takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;A andlt;Iandgt;NEW YORK TIMESandlt;/Iandgt; NOTABLE BOOKandlt;BRandgt;A andlt;Iandgt;VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENTandlt;/Iandgt; TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEARandlt;BRandgt;AN andlt;Iandgt;ESQUIREandlt;/Iandgt; MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEARandlt;/bandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web? andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, andlt;Iandgt;Emergenceandlt;/Iandgt; puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.
Review
"Emergence is thoughtful and lucid and charming and staggeringly smart, all of which I've come to expect from Steven Johnson. But it's also important, I think a rare, bona fide glimpse of the future." Kurt Andersen, author of Turn of the Century
Review
"A lucid presentation of emergence theory the way decentralized thinking allows for cannily effective self-organization from Feed editor-in-chief Johnson....Johnson's clarity is a boon....Thought-provoking and deeply appealing to the inner iconoclast." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Emergence will make understanding 'emerge' in your own head, as Steven Johnson explains a lot of phenomena you may not even have noticed: Why are kids so comfortable with complex discovery games? Why are the anti-globalization protests resonating so widely? How can Websites foster trust when their visitors don't know one another?" Esther Dyson, author of Release 2.0
Review
"A lucid discussion of a fascinating and timely set of ideas." Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology, MIT, and author of How the Mind Works Works
Synopsis
Emergence is what happens when an interconnected system of relatively simple elements self-organizes to form more intelligent, more adaptive higher-level behavior. It's a bottom-up model, rather than being engineered by a general or a master planner; emergence begins at the ground level. Systems that at first glance seem vastly different ant colonies, human brains, cities, immune systems all turn out to follow the rules of emergence. In each of these systems, agents residing on one scale start producing behavior that lies a scale above them: ants create colonies, urbanites create neighborhoods. In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson takes readers on an eye-opening intellectual journey from the discovery of emergence to its applications.
Synopsis
In the tradition of
Being Digital and
The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart"
(The Village Voice), takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
A VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
AN ESQUIRE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web?
In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.
Synopsis
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
AN ESQUIRE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" (The Village Voice), takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications. Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web?
In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.
About the Author
Johnson holds a BA in semiotics from Brown University and an MA in English from Columbia.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introduction: andlt;Iandgt;Here Comes Everybody!andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;Part Oneandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;ol type="1" start="1"andgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;The Myth of the Ant Queenandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/olandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;Part Twoandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;ol type="1" start="2"andgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;Street Levelandlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;The Pattern Matchandlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;Listening to Feedbackandlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;Control Artistandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/olandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;Part Threeandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;ol type="1" start="6"andgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;The Mind Readersandlt;BRandgt;andlt;liandgt;See What Happensandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/olandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index