Introducing Chaos: A Graphic Guide

Introducing Graphic Guides

by Ziauddin Sardar, Iwona Abrams (Contributor)

Sardar examines the roots of chaos in modern mathematics and physics, and explores the relationship between chaos and complexity--the new unifying theory which suggests that all complex systems evolve from a few simple rules. Illustrations.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics, Graphic Novels, Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Ziauddin Sardar has written or edited 45 books over a period of 30 years, many with his long-time co-author Merryl Wyn Davies. Recent titles include Balti Britain: a Journey Through the British Asian Experience (Granta, 2008); and How Do You Know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (Pluto, 2006). The first volume of his memoirs is Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim (Granta, 2006). His recent television work includes a 90-minute documentary for the BBC in 2006 called 'Battle for Islam'. Sardar's online work includes a year-long blog on the Qur'an published in 2008 by The Guardian newspaper.
Sardar is a Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Department of Arts Policy and Management at City University London and is Editor of the forecasting and planning journal, Futures. He is also a member of the UK Commission on Equality and Human Rights. His journalism appears most often in The Guardian and The Observer, as well as the UK weekly magazine, New Statesman. In the 1980s, he was among the founders of Inquiry, a magazine of ideas and policy focusing on Muslim countries. His early career includes working as a science correspondent for Nature and New Scientist magazines and as a reporter for London Weekend Television.
>>(from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziauddin... )<<
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*You can know more from his own site:
http://www.ziauddinsardar.com/Biograp...

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short, illustrated (with cartoons!) introduction to Chaos Theory. Being a math-challenged poet type, I understood just enough of this to inspire me with wonder and to add a few strangely attractive words to my vocabulary--like "strange attractor," for instance.

[Amir · Rating 4 out of 5]

آشوب یا نظم
نظریه آشوب یا اثر پروانه ای انقلاب بزرگی در علم به وجود آورد که باعث به وجود آمدن دانش پساطبیعی شد.
یکی از علت های اینکه نظریه آشوب به اثر پروانه ای معروف شد به خاطر داستان نویس معروف،"ری برادبری"است که برای ما بیشتر به خاطر رمان 451 فارنهایت معروف است.در یکی از داستان های وی به نام "صدای رعد"مرگ یک پروانه ماقبل تاریخ نتیجه انتخابات ریاست جمهوری حال حاضر را تغییر می دهد!...
و نظریه آشوب نیز به ما می گوید نمیشود آب و هوا را به طور دقیق و در طولانی مدت پیش بینی کرد چون سامانه به شدت وابسته به شرایط اولیه است...
یکی از تعاریف ساده آشوب این است:نوعی از نظم بدون تناوب
آشوب مفاهیم جدیدی را به علم افزود(بازخورد،پیجیدگی،جاذب ها و...)که باعث می شود آینده سامانه برای ما مبهم باشد.
لاپلاس:مختصات دیروز و امروز سامانه را به من بدهید تا آینده آن را به شما بگویم
ولی علم،دیگر در مقام یک پیشگو صادق،عمل نخواهد کرد

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful overview of chaos theory - which would be chaotic for someone with my math background to understand - if not for this book. I think that we are just seeing the 'cusp' of what CT will be used to address in the future: one can see applications to cyber currency (just to name one emerging field).

[Andrew Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little learning might be a dangerous thing but still, I think these guides are great. If you can get me to even somewhat understand this stuff that’s an achievement.

[raghunadh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caught me off guard and took me by surprise

When I started this book, I thought differently accepting things and pushing unknown phenomena in my life to my mind black box. After reading this book, it created a new perspective to my understanding about science, nature, technology and even social relationships. It's not simple to explain this choas in simple book, but this book is a great start for uncovering new interest to this discipline of subject. And the same way, please consider choas and complexity as one portion of life, not as essence of survival.

[Khalid Almoghrabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

truly amazing theory that will make your mind boggles :). i found the book quite interesting yet some parts, especially the physics and maths parts, are difficult to digest. the drawing can be better as well but still a good book to read about the subject of chaos theory.

[Essam Munir · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an introduction to chaos theory, I guess this is a good book, although it is easy to forget most of the ideas in it, so it needs to be read again.
There are a lot of definitions which make it easier to be read.

[Krypton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Introducing Chaos: A Graphic Guide
موضوع جالب و تصویرسازی‌های خلاقانه‌ای داشت که هر دو با بی‌سوادی نویسنده هدر رفته بودند. نوع نگارش متن بیش‌ از یک قالب علمی از خصوصیات شاعرانه برخوردار بود و در کل مجموعه‌‌ای بود از جملات قصار و پاراگراف‌های معرف Chaos و موضوعات نزدیک و نظیرش.
چیزی که تو ذوق می‌زد احاطه‌ی به‌نظر ناکامل نویسنده به موضوع بود؛ ضیاءالدین سردار یک چهره‌ی سیاسی و نویسنده‌ی مذهب پژوهه، تا کاراکتر علمی یا آکادمیک و این یکم (بیشتر از یکم) در چنین زمینه‌ای برای شخص من مطلوب نیست. چیزی که بیشتر از همه این ناجالبی رو به رخ می‌کشه، سوگیری‌های [شاید] عقیدتی نویسنده‌ست، به نحوی که در جایی گفته شده:
New variables occur over time and do not require an outside force in order to “be”. This is not a problem for physicists, but is more of a problem for biologists, because it appears to contradict Darwinian ideas.

[~با این حال، در گذر زمان متغیرهای تازه‌ای پدیدار می‌شوند، بی‌آنکه نیرویی بیرونی برای «وجود داشتن» آن‌ها لازم باشد. این مسئله برای فیزیک‌دانان دردسری ایجاد نمی‌کند، اما برای زیست‌شناسان چالش‌برانگیز است، چرا که به‌ظاهر با اندیشه‌های داروینی در تضاد قرار می‌گیرد.]
برای مثال این پاراگراف از نظر علمی فاقد ایراد نیست. در زیست‌شناسی تکاملی، پدید آمدن تغییرات ژنتیکی (جهش‌ها، نوترکیبی، رانش ژنی) دقیقاً بدون نیروی بیرونی رخ می‌ده. این مسئله نه تنها «چالشی» برای زیست‌شناسان نیست، بلکه اساساً شالوده‌ی نظریه‌ی تکامله.
پیچیدگی و آشوب در زیست‌شناسی مدرن مکمل‌هایی برای داروینیسم‌ به‌شمار می‌رن، و نه برعکس، و رفتارهای آشوبناک ممکنه آغازگر الگوها و فنوتیپ‌های نو باشن. برآیند این پدیده‌ها غنی‌تر شدن چارچوب انتخاب طبیعی رو ممکن می‌کنند، نه اینکه اون رو نقض کنند.
بنابراین، تضاد مطرح‌شده در متن، بیش از اینکه از دل شواهد علمی استخراج شده باشه، محصول یک خوانش سطحی و شاعرانه از مفاهیمه.
در مجموع، Introducing Chaos بیشتر یک روایت ادبی و سطحی از نظریه‌ی آشوبه تا یک معرفی علمی. در کل شاید در برانگیختن کنجکاوی مخاطب عام بتونه مفید باشه، اما برای کسی که به دنبال یک معرفی بی‌طرفانه یا حتی مروری از پیچیدگی و آشوبه، این کتاب گزینه‌ی جالبی نخواهد بود.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a brief overview of the mathematical and scientific concept called “Chaos” (as opposed to the colloquial definition.) Chaos theory is most popularly associated with “the butterfly effect” in which small changes in initial conditions can result in large and / or unpredictable variations in outcome (e.g. the Houston butterfly that causes a typhoon in Hong Kong.) Chaos profoundly changed the landscape in many domains of science. Before Chaos, it was generally assumed that if one had a relatively simple model without random elements that one could make short work of developing predictions. Scientists working in Chaos discovered that this wasn’t necessarily the case, despite the intuitive appeal. In fact, one could have a relatively simple model without random elements that still resulted in irregular behaviors / outcomes.

Chaos overlaps with a number of subjects including the science of Complexity and Fractal Geometry. The book explores these connections, and gives the reader a basic understanding of how those subjects differ and what they share in common with Chaos. The book also draws examples from a number of different disciplines including meteorology, biology, city planning, etc. This is a beneficial way to broaden one’s understanding of this fundamentally interdisciplinary science.

I’ve read many titles in this series because they are available on Amazon Prime and provide readable overviews of subjects that are suitable for a neophyte reader. I found this to be one of the better titles in the series. I thought the author did a good job of explaining the concepts in clear, approachable language, aided by graphics. If you’re looking for a non-mathematical overview of Chaos theory, this is a fine book to consider.

[Erkin Unlu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaos teorisine giriş için ideal olup olmadığını anlayamadığım kitap. Taleb ve Mandelbrot sayesinde lineer olmayan sistemler ve fraktaller hakkında biraz bilgim olmasina rağmen kitabi okurken baya kafamın karıştığını ifade etmeliyim. Resimlerle konuyu daha iyi anlatabilirler miydi ondan bile emin değilim:). Sonuç olarak, doğadaki her olguyu (en azından şimdilik) olcemedigimizi, bir denkleme oturtamadigimizi biliyoruz. Ama buradan karmaşıklık teorisine iyi bağlanmamış kitap. Gene de kafa dağıtıcı ve sıkıcı olmayan bir çalışma.

[Ekin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok anlamadım çünkü fizik kitabı. Benim ne haddime fizik kitabı okumak? Olacak iş değil.

[Nero_22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Dhritimaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ended in Chaos ! In the end found myself agreeing with the criticism especially by Peter Allen.

[Nicky Neko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Great primer for getting into the subject

[Eszter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for amateurs interested in what makes the world go round in terms of physical circumstances. While giving a step by step, no-nonsense explanation driven through a thread leading to more and more insight, it never made me feel it was either too much or too little - or rather that I was any of those. Actually, it was exciting.

Probably the objective of the book could be most appropriately summmarized by saying that it lets you go beyond what up till now has been perceived only within the constraints that science had filtered out from the rich diversity of our world. That is to say, science used to make its life be comfortable enough in order to be able to observe the world around us with all what we used to have. By doing so, some statistically unrelevant details were dismissed in exchange for focusing on relevant ones. Today, when we have computers of nearly endless capabilities, we are allowed to observe seemingly unrelevant things, too. And that is when we understand that there are phenomena that could probably never be explained, let alone forecast. As if nature said: here you stop.

Chaos is the knowledge about not knowing. That, in turn, is knowledge and we can get better in it.

This is a little book with lots in it. The content is enhanced and made friendly by the cheerful illustrations which make it all even more attractive. Recommended to the curious.

[Jagrut Gadit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non-periodic oscillations = nonlinear feedback = unstable equilibrium = positive feedback = fractals = aperiodic dynamics = Non-deterministic systems = sensitivity to initial conditions = strange attractors = nonlinear phase-space = butterfly effect = turbulence = period doubling = bifurcations = self-organization = Non-irreversibility = Breakdown of second law of thermodynamics = universe = quantum mechanics = Law of increasing returns = period three = complexity = adaptive systems = emergent systems = ……=……= Chaos = ????...

Even though I am fairly familiar with most of the above mentioned concepts I could hardly make sense of what actually is chaos theory. The book is a real chaos! Maybe the author intends to give a demo! Not worth at all for a lay person.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have little experience with narcotics, so I don't know if so-called "gateway drugs" are by their very nature supposed to be unsatisfying, leading the disappointed user by dint of this deficiency to seek out "the hard stuff," but it seems to me like the "Introducing..." series is just such a "gateway drug" for information junkies. I should have known by the title that the book wouldn't go in-depth on the subject (or any of the subjects that it covers) but it doesn't make any of the main points clear, either. I'll give it credit, though, for the disappointment that led me to a much better, more readable, more informative book on Chaos. Hooray!

[Joseph Harriott · Rating 5 out of 5]

marvellous. Blew apart my cosy enlightenment style fantasy that science has the whole picture. With increased computational abilities came an ability to look at the disordered scientifically, and to discover patterns there too. What's astonishing is that chaotic systems are the norm, so getting to grips with them is necessary for our understanding of our universe to move forward.

[Irtaza Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

To a layman like myself who is trying to make sense of it all, the guide introduced me to a lot of things and that's all I wanted so the book gets a good rating from me just because it was cheap and gave me direction.

[Brent]

I love Beginners books.

[Imran Parvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome introduction. It lucidly presents all the quantitative, qualitative and applied aspects of chaos theory.

[Bill Tyne · Rating 1 out of 5]

When it sticks to its brief on introducing Chaos, it does so with poor definitions, bad or zero explanations, and a total lack of clarity and detail. I suspect that the rhetoric and hubris are a cover for the authors own lack of understanding - a view supported by the later section of the book (pp 150- 167), where it descends into a fashionable anti science, anti Western po mo essay that tviews the ideas of Islamic art and Eastern mysticism as true progenitors of Chaos theory and believes Chaos theory points to demoting the role of the expert. But then what can one expect from a cultural critic, Islamic scholar, and visiting professor of science policy who writes books on postmodernism. As with far too many science journalists, his knowledge is superficial, while his own agenda and rhetoric are overwhelming.
The hype surrounding Chaos theory has died down significantly since this book was written, especially amongst the science community - the criticism of it, from Peter Allen and Ian Stewart, at the end of the book seems pretty much spot on, while knocking down the scientists is not as much a fashionable sport as it once was in some circles - the covid pandemic may have something to do with that. Sadly, I suspect the whole self-flagellating, anti-west, anti-science mode of thought will reassert itself in the distant future and more polemical gibberish in the guise of popular science or critique of science books will find there way into the shops.

[Rıdvan Efe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okuyalı yaklaşık on sene oldu. Yıllar sonra kitabı yeniden gözden geçiriyorum. İlüstrasyonlarla anlatılmış olması yanıltmasın. Klasik fizik ve kuantum mekaniği hakkında genel bir bilgiye sahip değilseniz okuması zorlayabilir. Yıllar önce ilk okuduğumda kitap benim için yorucu olmuştu. Ancak zamanla popüler bilim ve felsefe kitapları okuyarak, modern bilim hakkında genel bir birikim edinince, bu kitabı rahat okuyabildiğimi fark ettim. Kaos ve karmaşıklık bilimi çağımızın en önemli ve gelişmekte olan konuları. Bilim ve felsefenin gitmekte olduğu alan bu konular üzerinde şekilleniyor. Kitap Kaos ve karmaşıklık üzerine iyi bir başlangıç kitabı. Ancak öncesinde mutlaka fizik üzerine bazı popüler bilim kitapları okumanızı tavsiye ederim. Kerem Cankoçak'ın "50 soruda maddenin evrimi" kitabı modern fizik üzerine genel bilgi edinmek için çok iyi bir kaynak.

Kaos ve karmaşıklık bilimi üzerine ileride üç kitabı daha okuma listeme ekledim. Gaia (James Lovelock), Derin Basitlik (John Gribbin) ve Kaos (James Gleick). Felsefe alanında da Spinoza'nın sevinci nereden geliyor (Çetin Balanuye) ve Ethica (Spinoza) kitaplarına da eklemek lazım. Konuyla ilgilenenler bu kitaplara da göz atabilirler.

[Nasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

We grew up thinking and idealizing that everything needs to be in control and organized. The more orderly your life is, the more it reflects positively on your personality and how you live.

But nature tells a different story, much like this book. We are born out of chaos. In fact, even before our birth, we’re already in a chaotic moment—deciding which sperm is healthiest and worthy enough to enter the womb and create the zygote that eventually becomes me, you, and everyone reading this review. These chaotic events, often seen as bad luck, are actually the very reason we achieve balance and order.

Every chaotic moment in our lives, whether expected or unexpected, leads us to the happiest parts that unlock new core memories—or the most challenging experiences that spark personal growth, helping us develop rational thinking and a better understanding of how things work.

Just like the butterfly effect, a small, unexpected action can create a ripple that leads to a breakthrough moment in our lives, whether we realize it at the time or not.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

150 pages are spent introducing and explaining this “new” concept, this fascinating and innovative approach to the universe that scientists have come to understand explains systems and phenomena from the subatomic to the galactic level. The last ten pages toss in as an afterthought the fact that plenty of cultures and societies have always thought this way, but the West didn’t value it, so whoops. Why weren’t the non-Western traditions discussed and expanded upon throughout? If it’s truly a mode of thinning rather than a scientific theory, then wouldn’t those ancient approaches be just as important in any contemporary discussion of the complexity of chaos? I had begun to wonder what exactly was special about chaos theory and the study of complexity, and those final ten pages revealed the answer: nothing. For historians of Western mathematics and Classical science, it’s revolutionary; for everyone else, it’s common sense.

[Obed M. Parlapiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little book, the scientific explanations are great and since it's an introduction to a subject, it starts from the very beginning, everything is clear and very very few times I had to re-read a paragraph, something that is a good thing in a heavily scientific book.

I would rather read a text-only or a less heavy imagery book, the images, in my opinion, didn't add much value to the written text 9 out of 10 times. A lot of times they were just there to fill up space. I'm not taking away rating due to this since the title is "A graphic guide".

However, the information given is great, intriguing and captivating, a truly good introduction to Chaos. The only cons are the cons every "introduction" book has, very shallow information in a lot of parts, but that's intended for the audience it targets, however, I personally enjoy more in depth books.

Good read overall.

[Edwin Setiadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an introduction!

This is a short but detailed book, with nice illustration at every page, covering everything about the subject matter that has always been the most intriguing for me: the chaos theory.

But what delightfully surprises me is, what I thought would be a breeze “introduction” book (as per the name of the series) with only 171 pages long, can turn out to be so densed, mind-bending, and enlightening enough to make me see science and a lot of other concepts connected to chaos theory in a new light.

It completely ruined my plan for a relaxed, no-brainer, weekend. But oh it’s so invigorating.

[Madhumita Bharde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let’s face it - Gleick’s ‘Chaos’, although a phenomenal masterpiece, is a daunting read. And I am always all for books “scratching the surface”; but IMO, this book doesn’t do a very good job of inviting the reader to “dig” more on the topic. Would have given it 3 stars if the repetitive and completely unnecessary fractal brain graphic were avoided. It’s gross - not sure if and when I would be able to have cauliflower back in my diet.

[Narin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Çizgibilim serisindeki herhangi bir kitabın, konuyla pek bir alakası olmayan herhangi birine bir şey anlatabileceğini düşünmüyorum. Konunun ortaya çıkışını, birkaç terimi, bilimadamlarını kronolojik olarak anlatıyor, ancak bu konular yalnızca birkaç cümle ile anlaşılabilecek konular değil. Çizimlerin anlamaya yardımcı olma gibi bir amacı yok. O sebeple ilgili konu hakkında bilgi edinmek için bu seriden herhangi bir kitap okuyacaklar, okumayabilir. :)

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick overview on chaos

The book is, as expected, a quick introduction to the topic. Sometimes it feels like rushing to fast on some ideas.

I would recommend the book to anybody wanting to skim over the topic to be somehow familiar with complexity and chaos.

I wasn't expecting anything further than an introduction, so I give 4 stars to the content as i believe mostly delivers on expectations