Book · Yale University Press, 2020

What is a complex system?

James Ladyman and Karoline Wiesner. An accessible introduction to complexity science by a philosopher of science and a physicist.

Complex systems are studied in biology, economics, neuroscience, climate science and many other fields. This book asks what they have in common. It looks for the shared conceptual and mathematical foundations of complexity science, reviews the main features of complex systems and the different ways of defining and measuring complexity, and sets out the authors' own framework.

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Reviews and coverage

Nature, best science picksReview in Nature, December 2020
Complexity Science Hub Vienna"New book by Karoline Wiesner explains complex systems"
More reviewsCollected by Yale University Press

Praise for the book

Endorsed by Sean Carroll, James Owen Weatherall, J. Doyne Farmer, Colm Connaughton, Didier Sornette, Tina Eliassi-Rad and Jenann Ismael.