This primer introduces key concepts of complex and emergent behavior, along with essential mathematical methods. The reorganized fourth edition features new chapters and exercises, covering topics like network theory, chaos, and self-organization. It serves as a guide for graduate students in natural sciences and engineering, emphasizing analytical techniques.
Helping us understand our complex world, this book presents key findings in quantitative complex system science. Its approach is modular and phenomenology driven. Examples of phenomena treated in the book include the small world phenomenon in social and scale-free networks; life at the edge of chaos; the concept of living dynamical systems; and emotional diffusive control within cognitive system theory. Each chapter includes exercises to test your grasp of new material. Written at an introductory level, the author provides an accessible entry for graduate students in physics, mathematics, and theoretical computer science.