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Complexity and systems science

Science

Books on chaos, networks, emergence, scaling, causality and the Santa Fe Institute view of economies as complex systems.

31 books on Complexity and systems science, 2 of them tier 1, recommended by 26 people including Naval Ravikant and Mohnish Pabrai.

31 books · 29 experts

Start here

  1. ScaleGeoffrey West, 2017
  2. The Book of WhyJudea Pearl, Dana Mackenzie, 2018
  3. CyberneticsNorbert Wiener, 1948
  4. Order Out of ChaosIlya Prigogine, Isabelle Stengers, 1984
  5. Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and ChaosM. Mitchell Waldrop, 1992

The best books on Complexity and systems science 31

ScaleScale
T1 Scale
Geoffrey West · 2017
Open Library
Recommended byNat EliasonBill MillerMarc BenioffStewart BrandVinod Khosla
The Book of WhyThe Book of Why
T1 The Book of Why
Judea Pearl, Dana Mackenzie · 2018
Open Library
Recommended byBill GatesKeith RaboisNaval Ravikant
CyberneticsCybernetics
T2 Cybernetics
Norbert Wiener · 1948
Open Library
Order Out of ChaosOrder Out of Chaos
T2 Order Out of Chaos
Ilya Prigogine, Isabelle Stengers · 1984
Open Library
Complexity: The Emerging Science at the EdgeComplexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
T2 Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
M. Mitchell Waldrop · 1992
Open Library
Recommended byJamie DimonBill GurleyMichael MauboussinPacky McCormick
Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in thIncreasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy
T2 Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy
W. Brian Arthur · 1994
Open Library
Out of ControlOut of Control
T2 Out of Control
Kevin Kelly · 1994
Open Library
Recommended byCynthia JohnsonEv WilliamsSteve Jurvetson
CausalityCausality
T2 Causality
Judea Pearl · 2000
Open Library
The Evolution of Everything
T2 The Evolution of Everything
Matt Ridley · 2015
Open Library
Recommended byNaval Ravikant
Turtles, Termites, and Traffic JamsTurtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams
T3 Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams
Mitchel Resnick · 1994
Open Library
“The first challenge to the centralized mindset comes from a delightful book by MIT Professor Mitchel Resnick, "Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams.”Michael Mauboussin
Recommended byMichael Mauboussin
Critical Phenomena in Natural SciencesCritical Phenomena in Natural Sciences
T3 Critical Phenomena in Natural Sciences
Didier Sornette · 2000
Power laws, scaling and critical points across physical and social systems
Open Library
Recommended byNassim Nicholas Taleb
Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes HappenUbiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen
T3 Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen
Mark Buchanan · 2000
Open Library
Deep SimplicityDeep Simplicity
T3 Deep Simplicity
John Gribbin · 2004
Open Library
Recommended byCharlie Munger
Drift into FailureDrift into Failure
T3 Drift into Failure
Sidney Dekker · 2011
Open Library
Complexity and the Economy
T3 Complexity and the Economy
W. Brian Arthur · 2014
Open Library
ChaosChaos
T4 Chaos
James Gleick · 1987
Open Library
“James Gleick's account of complexity and nonlinear dynamics tracks the same intellectual moment Brand was living through in the 1980s, when the Santa Fe Institute crowd began seeing order and turbulence as two sides of the same phenomenon. Gleick writes the history of ideas the way Brand curates them: sideways, through the people.”Stewart Brand
Recommended byNaval RavikantStewart Brand
More Heat Than LightMore Heat Than Light
T4 More Heat Than Light
Philip Mirowski · 1989
How economics borrowed physics metaphors, and what that cost it
Open Library
“there's a wonderful book called More Heat Than Light by a professor named Phil Mirowski, which documents how economists mapped over equations from Newtonian physics”Michael Mauboussin
Recommended byMichael MauboussinEric Weinstein
ComplexityComplexity
T4 Complexity
Roger Lewin · 1992
Open Library
Recommended byVlad Tenev
Fuzzy ThinkingFuzzy Thinking
T4 Fuzzy Thinking
Bart Kosko · 1993
Open Library
Recommended byEv Williams
At Home in the UniverseAt Home in the Universe
T4 At Home in the Universe
Stuart Kauffman · 1995
Open Library
Recommended byNaval Ravikant
The Nature of Mathematical ModelingThe Nature of Mathematical Modeling
T4 The Nature of Mathematical Modeling
Neil Gershenfeld · 1999
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick CollisonBret Victor
Creation: Life and How to Make ItCreation: Life and How to Make It
T4 Creation: Life and How to Make It
Steve Grand · 2000
Artificial life and emergence; complexity built from very simple rules
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiJeff Bezos
EmergenceEmergence
T4 Emergence
Steven Johnson · 2001
Open Library
Recommended byEv Williams
A New Kind of ScienceA New Kind of Science
T4 A New Kind of Science
Stephen Wolfram · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiSteve Jurvetson
Linked: How Everything Is Connected to EveryLinked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means
T4 Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
The Origin of WealthThe Origin of Wealth
T4 The Origin of Wealth
Eric D. Beinhocker · 2006
Open Library
Recommended byRyan Peterson
Bak's Sand Pile: Strategies for a CatastrophBak's Sand Pile: Strategies for a Catastrophic World
T4 Bak's Sand Pile: Strategies for a Catastrophic World
Ted G. Lewis · 2011
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
The InformationThe Information
T4 The Information
James Gleick · 2011
Open Library
“Gleick's history of how humans learned to store and transmit information — from African drums to Claude Shannon's theorems — is the kind of deep-time framing Andreessen gravitates toward. He has cited it as essential for understanding why software is categorically more powerful than prior general-purpose technologies.”Marc Andreessen
Recommended byMarc AndreessenMark ZuckerbergPatrick CollisonStewart Brand
Why Information GrowsWhy Information Grows
T4 Why Information Grows
Cesar Hidalgo · 2015
Open Library
Recommended byNaval Ravikant
Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at theAdaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Speed of Thought
T4 Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Speed of Thought
Andrew W. Lo · 2017
Princeton University Press. Open Library API unreachable this pass.
Open Library
Thermoinfo Complexity
T4 Thermoinfo Complexity
Behzad Mohit
unverified
Recommended byNaval Ravikant

Experts 29

The people who wrote this page's books, and the people who recommend them.

Authors 3

Andrew W. Lowrote 1 book here
KK
Kevin Kellywrote 1 book hereMatt Ridleywrote 1 book here

Recommenders 26

Naval Ravikantrecommends 6 books here
MP
Mohnish Pabrairecommends 4 books here
MM
Michael Mauboussinrecommends 3 books hereEv Williamsrecommends 3 books hereStewart Brandrecommends 3 books herePatrick Collisonrecommends 2 books hereSteve Jurvetsonrecommends 2 books hereCharlie Mungerrecommends 1 book hereMarc Andreessenrecommends 1 book hereNassim Nicholas Talebrecommends 1 book here
BM
Bill Millerrecommends 1 book hereMarc Benioffrecommends 1 book here
Show all 26
Bill Gatesrecommends 1 book hereBill Gurleyrecommends 1 book hereBret Victorrecommends 1 book here
CJ
Cynthia Johnsonrecommends 1 book hereEric Weinsteinrecommends 1 book hereJamie Dimonrecommends 1 book hereJeff Bezosrecommends 1 book hereKeith Raboisrecommends 1 book hereMark Zuckerbergrecommends 1 book here
NE
Nat Eliasonrecommends 1 book here
PM
Packy McCormickrecommends 1 book here
RP
Ryan Petersonrecommends 1 book hereVinod Khoslarecommends 1 book hereVlad Tenevrecommends 1 book here
See all 29 in the Experts tab →

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