Book award nominee and pulitzer prize finalist james gleickthe. Making a new science is the canonical source for a popular account of the subject. Making a new science is the bestselling book by james gleick that first introduced the principles and early development of chaos theory to. It was a finalist for the national book award and the pulitzer prize in 1987, and was shortlisted for the science book prize in 1989. For centuries, scientific thought was focused on bringing order to the natural world. A work of popular science in the tradition of stephen hawking and carl sagan, this 20thanniversary edition of james gleicks groundbreaking bestseller chaos introduces a whole new readership to chaos theory, one of the most significant waves of scientific knowledge in our time. He explains concepts such as nonlinearity, the butterfly effect, universal constants, fractals, and strange attractors, and examines the work of scientists such as mitchell j. Here he takes on the job of depicting the first years of the study of chaosthe seemingly random patterns that characterise many natural phenomena. In chaos, gleick looks at how the science of chaos was developed. From edward lorenzs discovery of the butterfly effect, to. A historythat reveals the science behind chaos theory a work of popular science in the tradition of stephen hawking and carl sagan, this 20thanniversary edition of james gleick s groundbreaking bestseller chaos introduces a whole new readership to chaos. Making a new science it had been well known for twenty years that the distribution of large and small earthquakes followed a particular mathematical pattern, precisely the same scaling pattern that seemed to govern the distribution of. See all 11 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. A history that reveals the science behind chaos theory a work of popular science in the tradition of stephen hawking and carl sagan, this 20thanniversary edition of james gleicks groundbreaking bestseller chaos introduces a whole new readership to chaos theory, one of the most.
The study of chaos was the beginning of analyzing disorder in the atmosphere, in turbulent seas, in fluctuations of wildlife populations, and in oscillations of the heart and the brain. Making a new science by james gleick is the story of how chaos theory was popularized in different fields of study. When information is cheap, attention becomes expensive. Making a new science kindle edition with audiovideo by james gleick author 4. In chaos, james gleick, a former science writer for the new york times, shows that. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonfiction, he has been called one of the great science writers of all time. Chaos, the book, though written in 1987, still does an excellent job of connecting the discoveries that opened the door to chaos theory. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
The book was published on october 29, 1987 by viking books. Making a new science, all of which were shortlisted for the pulitzer prize. A historythat reveals the science behind chaos theory. Its pretty interesting to follow how researchers in different fields somehow discovers how the theory. Making a new science is the bestselling book by james gleick that first introduced the principles and early development of chaos theory to the public. Making a new science is a debut nonfiction book by james gleick that initially introduced the principles and early development of the chaos theory to. A work of popular science in the tradition of stephen hawking and carl sagan, this 20thanniversary edition of james gleick s groundbreaking bestseller chaos introduces a whole new readership to chaos theory, one of the most significant waves of scientific knowledge in our time. The emerging science at the edge of order and chaos. Book award nominee and pulitzer prize finalist james gleickthe author of time travel. As a kid my inspiration came mainly from m mitchell waldrops complexity. Making a new science is the bestselling book by james gleick that. In chaos, james gleick, a former science writer for the new york times, shows that he resides in this exclusive category. Chaos is a kind of science that deals with the parts of the world that are unpredictable. This is not a text book on chaos theory, but rather a history of the study of chaos theory.
Few writers distinguish themselves by their ability to write about complicated, even obscure topics clearly and engagingly. In this seminal work of scientific writing, james gleick lays out a cutting edge field of science with enough grace and precision that any reader will be able to grasp the science behind the beautiful complexity of the world around us. Among the scientists gleick profiled were mitchell feigenbaum, stephen jay gould, douglas hofstadter, richard feynman and benoit mandelbrot. Chaos the millioncopy bestseller by national book award nominee and pulitzer prize finalist james gleick the author of time travel. Making a new science kindle edition by gleick, james. The author describes how scientists studying the growth of complexity in nature are discovering order and pattern in chaos. The highly entertaining new york times bestseller, which explains chaos theory and the butterfly effect, from the author of the information chicago tribune. Published december 1st 1988 by penguin books first published october 29th 1987. A historythat reveals the science behind chaos theory a work of popular science in the tradition of stephen hawking and carl sagan, this 20thanniversary edition of james gleick s groundbreaking bestseller chaos introduces a whole new readership to chaos theory. Making a new science by james gleick in chm, fb3, txt download e book.
The life and science of richard feynman, isaac newton, and chaos. Making a new science it may be that all the laws of energy, and all the properties of matter, and all the chemistry of all the colloids are as powerless to explain the body as they are impotent to comprehend the soul. From edward lorenzs discovery of the butterfly effect, to mitchell feigenbaums calculation of a universal constant, to benoit. Making a new science, an international bestseller, chronicled the development of chaos theory and made the butterfly effect a household phrase. From edward lorenzs discovery of the butterfly effect, to mitchell feigenbaums calculation of a universal. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. The program was written in consultation with james gleick about his brilliant book, chaos. Sometimes he and his father would work out puzzles together. Making a new science summary by michael mcgoodwin, prepared 1988, 1998.
Half of what draws me to physics, to theory, to feynman and fermat. A history, a theory, a flood,was published in march 2011. Among the scientists gleick profiled were mitchell feigenbaum, stephen jay gould, douglas hofstadter, richard. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Its pretty interesting to follow how researchers in different fields somehow discovers how the theory is not as it seems. The millioncopy bestseller by national book award nominee and pulitzer prize finalist james gleick the author of time travel. Just learned about the book through robert sapolskys stanford lecture.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read chaos. The author tries hard to make it attractive for the general reader, with pages of anecdotes about the odd characters who developed the subject, but by about half way through i started to find that irritating and began asking wheres the beef. Making a new science is a debut nonfiction book by james gleick that initially introduced the principles and early development of the chaos theory to the public. Making a new science ebook written by james gleick.
Here he takes on the job of depicting the first years of the study of chaos the seemingly random patterns that characterise many natural phenomena. In the first chapter of chaos, by james gleick, the reader learns about lorenz,a meteorologist who built a weather simulation program on his computer. Making a new science kindle edition by james gleick author 4. Making a new science by james gleick books library. The first edition of the novel was published in 1987, and was written by james gleick. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 352 pages and is available in paperback format. Gleick introduces us to figures like edward lorenz, whose work in weather prediction revealed that tiny differences in input in even simple mathematical models could lead to vast differences in output over. Published on mar 30, 2011 chaos is a kind of science that deals with the parts of the world that are unpredictable, apparently random. Biological systems such as the branching of the circulatory and bronchial systems proved to fit a fractal model.
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