A Crude Look at the Whole: The Science of Complex Systems in Business, Life, and Society

Description

Imagine trying to understand a stained glass window by breaking it into pieces and examining it one shard at a time. While you could probably learn a lot about each piece, you would have no idea about what the entire picture looks like. This is reductionism,the idea that to understand the world we only need to study its pieces,and it is how most social scientists approach their work.In A Crude Look at the Whole , social scientist and economist John H. Miller shows why we need to start looking at whole pictures. For one thing, whether we are talking about stock markets, computer networks, or biological organisms, individual parts only make sense when we remember that they are part of larger wholes. And perhaps more importantly, those wholes can take on behaviours that are strikingly different from that of their pieces.Miller, a leading expert in the computational study of complex adaptive systems, reveals astounding global patterns linking the organization of otherwise radically different structures: It might seem crude, but a beehive's temperature control system can help predict market fluctuations and a mammal's heartbeat can help us understand the heartbeat" of a city and adapt urban planning accordingly. From enduring racial segregation to sudden stock market disasters, once we start drawing links between complex systems, we can start solving what otherwise might be totally intractable problems.Thanks to this revolutionary perspective, we can finally transcend the limits of reductionism and discover crucial new ideas. Scientifically founded and beautifully written, A Crude Look at the Whole is a powerful exploration of the challenges that we face as a society. As it reveals, taking the crude look might be the only way to truly see.

John H. Miller is a professor of economics and social science at Carnegie Mellon University and the head of the university's Department of Social and Decision Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan, and serves on the faculty of the Santa Fe Institute.

"A Crude Look at the Whole is a delightful tour of the core principles of complex systems. You will see the world differently, and more clearly, after reading this erudite and wondrous romp." --Michael J. Mauboussin, Head of Global Financial Strategies, Credit Suisse "Well-written, interesting, and stimulating. This book shows us how individual elements--bees, traders, neurons--interact to produce 'endless forms most beautiful.' John Miller makes complexity seem simple." --W. Brian Arthur, author of Complexity and the Economy and recipient of the Lagrange Prize in Complexity Science. "The "sciences of complexity" crystalized about thirty years ago, partially at the Santa Fe Institute. John Miller was the first postdoctoral fellow at SFI. His A Crude Look at the Whole is a superb "look". Miller's range is synoptic. More, the topics are essential for the world of today. Read this book." --Stuart Kauffman, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, emeritus professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania and author of At Home In the Universe "[A Crude Look at the Whole is a] succinct, elegant study of systems thinking, the newish science examining basic principles, such as emergence, that govern physics, biology and economics. Miller reveals compelling echoes between apparently unrelated phenomena, such as "hivemind" behaviour in bee colonies and consumers, or responses to local stimuli in how a cone snail patterns its shell and how a market functions." --Nature "Miller's whirlwind tour is...well-grounded; he stresses complexity theory as an approach and a complementary way of thinking, not as a cure-all." --Slate "Miller...provide[s] a thought-provoking introduction to the study of complexity." --Publishers Weekly "Miller offers a vigorous survey of the tools, techniques, and ideas underlying complex systems and their study." --Kirkus Reviews "From economic instability, to climate change, to the deep failure of our political process, most of the big challenges to society today are manifestations of complex systems, not tractable to analysis by traditional reductionist approaches. Miller's book is a fine introduction to complex systems thinking in the context of social systems." --Jim Rutt, past Chairman of the Santa Fe Institute and Director of the Proteus Foundation PRAISE FOR A CRUDE LOOK AT THE WHOLE "A Crude Look at the Whole presents most of the starter-level examples of complexity. Social insects are an illustration crucial to Miller's economic focus. He gives an engaging account of how the simple behaviour of individual ants produces something that looks a bit like intelligence in the nest as a whole." --New Scientist "Mr. Miller, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, argues that complexity science--the study of the phenomena that emerge unpredictably from components that function as a whole--is providing insights to help businesses, scientific and political leaders recognize how interconnected their spheres are and how to manage them when they go unexpectedly awry...In a promising area involving complexity science, Mr. Miller describes his work with researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to find novel and effective chemotherapy cocktails." --Wall Street Journal