Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software [Paperback]

In the tradition ofBeing DigitalandThe Tipping Point,Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a cultural critic with a poet's heart (The Village Voice),takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications.

ANEW YORK TIMESNOTABLE BOOK
AVOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENTTOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
ANESQUIREMAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web?

In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging,Emergenceputs you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.Introduction: Here Comes Everybody!

In August of 2000, a Japanese scientist named Toshiyuki Nakagaki announced that he had trained an amoebalike organism called slime mold to find the shortest route through a maze. Nakagaki had placed the mold in a small maze comprising four possible routes and planted pieces of food at two of the exits. Despite its being an incredibly primitive organism (a close relative of ordinary fungi) with no centralized brain whatsoever, the slime mold managed to plot the most efficient route to the food, stretching its body through the maze so that it connected directly to the two food sources. Without any apparent cognitive resources, the slime mold had solved the maze puzzle.

For such a simple organism, the slime mold has an impressive intellectual pedigree. Nakagaki's announcement was lă!