Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity (Helix Books)

However, if you are new to the phenomena of complex adaptive systems (CAS) or agent-based models (ABM), this might not be the best intro book for you. This is particularly true if you are wondering what a genetic algorithm is right now. I think you will get the most out of the book if you are already somewhat familiar with CAS and ABM as Holland does not dwell on illustrative examples. (Yes there are examples, but they are very short compared to other authors on this topic.) Because of this, I think this book will be rather dry and technical and non-intuitive for a real newbie. If you have no idea where to begin, try _Growing Artificial Societies_ by Joshua Epstein and Robert Axtell.

One final comment: for excellent in-depth look at the reiterated Prisoner's Dilemna model with genetic algorithms that Holland briefly discusses, read _The Complexity of Cooperation_ by Robert Axelrod. (Axelrod and Holland mention each other in their books.)


Interesting ideas, bad writing   February 10, 2004
 15 out of 42 found this review helpful

The ideas presented in this book by John Holland are no doubt interestring. The thought of spontaneous self-organization though hardly new has intrigued humans for centuries. Intuitively it makes sense and appeals to most peoples physical and methaphysical sensibilities. We know and hope that there is more to life than our common sense knowledge of it and the often dull and mechanistic accounts of natural science. Emergence theory therefore has an immediate appeal. Holland manages to keep this "flame" alive for one chapter (the first one) then the wholle enterprise is drowned in techno babble and most "non-hacker" readers are bored and dissappointed. This book is one more instance of a genuinly interesting idea being mercilessly slaughtered by bad writing. It's a true waste. It makes you wish writing courses were made compulsory for natural scientists and techo folks. Unfortunatelly it is hard to reckommend a better book on this subject... Most of the existing books are either written by litterary incompetent but hard core techno devotees or by soft science writers ruminating the self evident and riding the tidal wave of hype. All for the buck and a snapshot in the spotlight. A non-trivial sign of an over-hyped field of inquiry, dangerously bordering the realms of pseudoscience. At least chaos theory had Edward Lorenz as a respectable and astute front figure, managing to keep the delicate balance between scientific integrity and popular appeal. As for emergence theory that post is still vacant. Holland may be an important contributor to the field of emergence theory but he fails the requirements for that post.


John Holland is the master   July 5, 2002
 26 out of 32 found this review helpful

In the worlds of Complexity and Artificial Intelligence, the name of John Holland is revered, and for good reason. One of the most important contributions to both fields was Holland's invention of genetic algorithms, a class of optimization techniques that applies a survival-of-the-fittest heuristic to a broad range of otherwise intractable problems. He is certifiably a genius, and his words on the subject of complexity should be considered close to the gospel.

To the benefit of all mankind, this god of complexity has seen fit to lay down his word on the subject in a manner suitable to the masses. He posits seven basic properties of complex adaptive systems (worth reading and memorizing in their own right), then uses the rest of the book to demonstrate that adaptive systems possess these properties and shows us how a computer can capture such adaptive mechanisms. Pure gold and totally accessible.

This book excels as an exposition of complex adaptive systems for the masses, and as a tutorial for the technically inclined. If you are so technically inclined, follow this book with Holland's "Emergence" and "Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems." Then head on over to Goldberg's book on genetic algorithms and maybe some Koza (a quick Amazon search can find these for you).