Larger	Complexification Author: John L. Casti
	Book Information Publisher: HarperPerennial Book Type: Paperback Rating: 2 ISBN-13: 9780060925871 - ISBN-10: 0060925876 Publication Date: 4/12/1995 Pages: 336

*Why does time seem to fly on some occasions and drag at others?
*How does a butterfly in Brazil affect the weather in Alaska?
*Why does atonal music sound "worse" to most of us than traditional music?
*Why are some societies more prone to totalitarianism than others?

The science of complexity offers answers to these and dozens of other questions that beg the larger question of why our universe is so paradoxical. John L. Casti, renowned mathematician and science writer, shows directly, engagingly, and with a wealth of illustrations how complexity arises and how it works. He explores numerous phenomena in science, the arts, the economy, nature, and everyday life-from earthquakes to "damned if you do and damned if you don't" paradoxes to the origin of life itself-that have, until now, always eluded science's attempts to understand them. With authority and wit, this myth-shattering book shows how an emerging "science of surprises" is at last beginning to demystify some of the universe's most persistent mysteries.

"Casti's a good teacher and this is the sort of groundwork [in complexity theory] readers should have." --Publishers Weekly