Complexity: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

ThIs short introduction well explains the fundamentals of complexity theory and illustrates its usefulness in physical and some biological domains, as well as the Internet and some aspects of ecology -- where partly differential equations apply. It also admits the many unknowns, such as lack of understanding of human consciousness.
Still, from the perspective of my interests in social sciences and historic processes, with emphasis on lookahead and policy making, my conclusion (also from longer books on this subject) is that complexity theory joins the family of high-ambition endeavor which have not supplied what their developers promised. Examples include theory of games, systems theory, and chaos theory. They contribute some important ideas, such as "emergence," and a number of striking though easily misused metaphors, such as "butterfly effects". But they add to understanding of deep social issues much less than, for instance, theories of evolutionary and depth psychology.
Leaving aside minor points, such as underrating the implications of quantum theory (p. 15); and some more important ones, such as neglect of the self-generated behavior of some innovative humans which cannot be explained in terms of interaction with other agents (p. 24), my main disagreement with the book is more fundamental: it tends to promise too much.
The author seems to expect from complexity theory to become a kind of "theory of everything". Thus, he states "The study of CAS [complex adaptive systerms] is still in its earliest stages....Still the pieces that exist do suggest the possibilities of an overarching theory (p. 32). And, again, "Our search...is for a universal language `tuned' to the description of complex systems, particular CAS" (p. 76).
The few generalizations in the book do not increase my confidence in the author's expectations. Thus, the statement "the resilience of a CAD when confronted with `shocks'...generally depends upon inherited persistent characteristics" (p. 79, emphasis in original) seems to me to be both obvious and incorrect. It is obvious, because success in coping with stressors clearly depends on characteristics of actors. And it is incorrect because good coping with stressors also depends on the ability to adjust core characteristics to novel situations.
Therefore, more modesty on the maximum potentials of complexity theory would have added to the sophistication of the book, without belittling the real, though limited, potentials of complexity theory.
To conclude with a comment related to my concerns with upgrading the performance of political leaders, it is hard to envisage significant contributions from complexity theory to understanding the emerging metamorphosis of humanity and coping with it. Therefore, I cannot recommend this book as essential readings for political leaders. But their professional staff should be familiar with the main ideas of complexity theory as well as its limits, so as to apply it heuristically when appropriate.
Professor Yehezkel Dror
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

This is a decent introduction to complexity. However, I highly recommend that Holland should produce a second edition to this book in which he mentions information entropy, a concept accepted by the general complexity science community. Although information entropy was originally conceived by Shannon as applying to information systems, it is now accepted as applying to all systems.

I found this a much harder read than I expected.

Complexity is a difficulty subject to understand with any depth. This introductory book provided me with a beginner's appreciation for the concept , & some knowledge of the field. I plan to explore the area further.

I just finished reading "Overcomplicated" by Arbesman and realized how much I prefer this book for its depth and clarity.

quick and easy. all good.

Love this series. Well written and argued.

Excellent, prompt service

A perfect distillation of a difficult field.