Book Description
Complexity science uses computation to explore the physical and social sciences. In Think Complexity, you'll use graphs, cellular automata, and agent-based models to study topics in physics, biology, and economics.
Whether you're an intermediate-level Python programmer or a student of computational modeling, you'll delve into examples of complex systems through a series of worked examples, exercises, case studies, and easy-to-understand explanations.
In this updated second edition, you will: Work with NumPy arrays and SciPy methods, including basic signal processing and Fast Fourier Transform; Study abstract models of complex physical systems, including power laws, fractals and pink noise, and Turing machines; Get Jupyter notebooks filled with starter code and solutions to help you re-implement and extend original experiments in complexity; and models of computation like Turmites, Turing machines, and cellular automata; Explore the philosophy of science, including the nature of scientific laws, theory choice, and realism and instrumentalism.
Ideal as a text for a course on computational modeling in Python, Think Complexity also helps self-learners gain valuable experience with topics and ideas they might not encounter otherwise.
This open book is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA). You can download Think Complexity ebook for free in PDF format (6.6 MB).
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Complexity Science
Chapter 2
Graphs
Chapter 3
Small World Graphs
Chapter 4
Scale-free networks
Chapter 5
Cellular Automatons
Chapter 6
Game of Life
Chapter 7
Physical modeling
Chapter 8
Self-organized criticality
Chapter 9
Agent-based models
Chapter 10
Herds, Flocks, and Traffic Jams
Chapter 11
Evolution
Chapter 12
Evolution of cooperation
A Reading list