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A review by erikars
Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order by Steven Strogatz
4.0
This book provides an introduction to synchronization in as detailed a way as can be expected without actually delving into the mathematics. Sync is order that arises without centralized intelligence. Yet in a universe driven by entropy how can order arise from chaos? The answer is that in non-linear systems, systems where the change in the output is not proportional to the change in the input, self organizing behavior can emerge. This book delves into what that means.
The first two chapters were my highlights. They delve into how synchronization can be predicted and modeled using systems of coupled oscillators. Chapters five, seven, and nine are also fascinating insights into the mathematics of sync. The rest of the chapters, as well as those chapters, cover sync over a broad array of domains from sleep to lasers to the electric grid to human thought and physiology. The grab bag was interesting but it was the underlying mathematics which really fascinated me. Thus my follow-up purchase of Strogatz's textbook Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering. :-)
The first two chapters were my highlights. They delve into how synchronization can be predicted and modeled using systems of coupled oscillators. Chapters five, seven, and nine are also fascinating insights into the mathematics of sync. The rest of the chapters, as well as those chapters, cover sync over a broad array of domains from sleep to lasers to the electric grid to human thought and physiology. The grab bag was interesting but it was the underlying mathematics which really fascinated me. Thus my follow-up purchase of Strogatz's textbook Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering. :-)