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A review by moseslh
Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick
4.0
EDIT (after second read)
This book really changed the way I thought about the world, and I found myself thinking about it a lot over the past year and ultimately decided to read it again. Chaos theory is such a beautiful, powerful framework that allows for deterministic randomness, connecting rigorous math and science with the intuitive (but often ignored in math/science classes) idea of sensitive dependence on initial conditions, i.e. that small changes in inputs can result in vastly different outputs. After all, one can easily imagine (as many of us do) that the world could be quite a different place if a certain person had not (e.g.) uttered the phrase "basket of deplorables" in Fall 2016. Only with chaos theory, however, can one provide an adequate explanation for those vast differences in outcomes from a seemingly small, random event in a way that is mathematically rigorous and deterministic rather than reliant on luck.
I had heard of the "Butterfly Effect" well before reading this book, but I always assumed it was metaphorical. It amazes me to realize that it is intended fairly literally by the scientists who developed the theory. I hope to be able to read and learn more about chaos, fractals, strange attractors, and the other related subjects addressed in this book.
Original Review
I was assigned part of this book for class and enjoyed it enough that I decided to read the rest of it as well. The subject matter is a really interesting and novel (for me) way of looking at the world through the lens of fractals and deterministic unpredictability.
This book lost a star because a few of its chapters are a bit dry or not explained as clearly, but for the most part Chaos is engaging and well-written.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in math or the physical sciences who wants to explore topics that are not covered in standard K-12 math education.
This book really changed the way I thought about the world, and I found myself thinking about it a lot over the past year and ultimately decided to read it again. Chaos theory is such a beautiful, powerful framework that allows for deterministic randomness, connecting rigorous math and science with the intuitive (but often ignored in math/science classes) idea of sensitive dependence on initial conditions, i.e. that small changes in inputs can result in vastly different outputs. After all, one can easily imagine (as many of us do) that the world could be quite a different place if a certain person had not (e.g.) uttered the phrase "basket of deplorables" in Fall 2016. Only with chaos theory, however, can one provide an adequate explanation for those vast differences in outcomes from a seemingly small, random event in a way that is mathematically rigorous and deterministic rather than reliant on luck.
I had heard of the "Butterfly Effect" well before reading this book, but I always assumed it was metaphorical. It amazes me to realize that it is intended fairly literally by the scientists who developed the theory. I hope to be able to read and learn more about chaos, fractals, strange attractors, and the other related subjects addressed in this book.
Original Review
I was assigned part of this book for class and enjoyed it enough that I decided to read the rest of it as well. The subject matter is a really interesting and novel (for me) way of looking at the world through the lens of fractals and deterministic unpredictability.
This book lost a star because a few of its chapters are a bit dry or not explained as clearly, but for the most part Chaos is engaging and well-written.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in math or the physical sciences who wants to explore topics that are not covered in standard K-12 math education.