Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: new biology

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  The Selfish Gene

  by Richard Dawkins

  Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life. In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume,... (more)
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  At Home in the Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity

  by Stuart Kauffman

  A major scientific revolution has begun, a new paradigm that rivals Darwin's theory in importance. At its heart is the discovery of the order that lies deep within the most complex of systems, from the origin of life, to the workings of giant corporations, to the rise and fall of great civilizations. And more than anyone else, this revolution is the work of one man, Stuart Kauffman, a MacArthur Fellow and... (more)
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  Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos

  by M. Mitchell Waldrop

  Why did the stock market crash more than 500 points on a single Monday in 1987? Why do ancient species often remain stable in the fossil record for millions of years and then suddenly disappear? In a world where nice guys often finish last, why do humans value trust and cooperation? At first glance these questions don't appear to have anything in common, but in fact every one of these statements refers to a... (more)
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  Plagues and Peoples

  by William H. McNeill

  Upon its original publication, Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impact--political, demographic, ecological, and psychological--of disease on cultures. From the conquest of Mexico by smallpox as much as by the Spanish, to the bubonic plague in China, to the typhoid epidemic in Europe, the... (more)
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  Gaia

  A New Look at Life on Earth

  by James Lovelock

  In this classic work that continues to inspire its many readers, James Lovelock deftly explains his idea that life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for the non-scientist, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its... (more)
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  Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity (Helix Books)

  by John H. Holland

  al readers how Complexity--the watershed science agenda for at least the nexttwo decades--is affecting our lives.
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  Life's Other Secret: The New Mathematics of the Living World

  by Ian Stewart

  "Stewart writes with such compelling clarity that general readers can share in the intellectual daring of his perspective."—Booklist An invitation to a hidden world In Life’s Other Secret, mathematician and award-winning science writer Ian Stewart reveals the way mathematics describes the origin, structure, and evolution of life. Featuring a sumptuous gallery of color illustrations demonstrating nature’s intricate... (more)
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  Fearful Symmetry: Is God a Geometer? (Penguin Science)

  by Ian Stewart

  Starting with an analysis of the forms of symmetry, the authors show how a few key principles can help us understand everything from cat's movements, corn circles, and snow crystals to subatomic particles and the overall structure of the cosmos. 127 figures. of full-color illustrations.
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  Heaven

  by Ian Stewart

  The internationally renowned scientists who wrote Wheelers and The Collapse of Chaos team up again to pen an intriguing new SF novel. All Second-Best Sailor wants is to sail his boat and trade with the wandering Neanderthals. But when the reefwives discover that a Cosmic Unity mission fleet is heading for his homeworld, his comfortable lifestyle vanishes in an instant. All Servant-of-Unity XIV Samuel wants is to... (more)
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  The Selfish Meme: A Critical Reassessment

  by Kate Distin

  Culture is a unique and fascinating aspect of the human species. How did it emerge and how does it develop? Richard Dawkins has suggested that culture evolves and that memes are the cultural replicators, subject to variation and selection in just the same way as genes are in the biological world. In this sense human culture is the product of a mindless evolutionary algorithm. Does this imply, as some have argued,... (more)
• Foundations of Epidemiology (Paper)David E. Lilienfeld, Paul D. Stolley

  

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  Foundations of Epidemiology (Paper)

  by Abraham M. Lilienfeld, David E. Lilienfeld

  EMMES Corporation. Introductory course textbook for medical students and public health students. Hardcover version. DNLM: Epidemiologic Methods.
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  The Wisdom of Crowds

  by James Surowiecki

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  The Wisdom of Crowds

  by James Surowiecki

  In this fascinating book, New Yorker business columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea: Large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant–better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future. With boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture,... (more)
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  Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World

  by Kevin Kelly, Kevin Kelly

  In a book about the marriage of the born and the made--the biologicalization of everything from computers to government--the executive editor of Wired chronicles the dawn of a new era in which the machines and systems that dri ve our economy are so complex and autonomous as to be indistinguishable from living things.
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  Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software

  by Steven Johnson

  A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR AN ESQUIRE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In the tradition of Being Digital and The 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. Explaining why the whole is... (more)
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  Emergence: From Chaos to Order (Helix Books)

  by John H. Holland

  In this important book, John H. Holland dramatically shows us that the "emergence" of order from chaos has much to teach us about life, mind, and organizations. Creative activities in both the arts and the sciences depend upon an ability to model the world. The most creative of those models exhibits emergent properties, so that "what comes out is more than what goes in." From the ingenious checkers-playing... (more)
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  Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution

  by Howard Rheingold

  Smart Mobs takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next techno-cultural shift. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, wireless-paging, and Internet-access devices-that will allow us to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere. Rheingold offers a penetrating perspective on the new convergence of pop culture, cutting-edge... (more)
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  The Meme Machine

  by Susan J. Blackmore

  What is a meme? First coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 study The Selfish Gene, a meme is any idea, behavior, or skill that can be transferred from one person to another by imitation: stories, fashions, inventions, recipes, songs, and ways of plowing a field, throwing a baseball, or making a sculpture. It is also one of the most important--and controversial--concepts to emerge since Darwin's Origin of the... (more)