Complex Adaptive Systems

John H. Miller; Scott Page

John H. Miller and Scott Page

Complex Adaptive Systems

An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life

In: Princeton Studies in Complexity, 17

Princeton University Press | 2007

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400835522

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About this book

This book provides the first clear, comprehensive, and accessible account of complex adaptive social systems, by two of the field's leading authorities. Such systems--whether political parties, stock markets, or ant colonies--present some of the most intriguing theoretical and practical challenges confronting the social sciences. Engagingly written, and balancing technical detail with intuitive explanations, Complex Adaptive Systems focuses on the key tools and ideas that have emerged in the field since the mid-1990s, as well as the techniques needed to investigate such systems. It provides a detailed introduction to concepts such as emergence, self-organized criticality, automata, networks, diversity, adaptation, and feedback. It also demonstrates how complex adaptive systems can be explored using methods ranging from mathematics to computational models of adaptive agents.

John Miller and Scott Page show how to combine ideas from economics, political science, biology, physics, and computer science to illuminate topics in organization, adaptation, decentralization, and robustness. They also demonstrate how the usual extremes used in modeling can be fruitfully transcended.

Author information

John H. Miller is professor of economics and social sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Scott E. Page is professor of complex systems, political science, and economics at the University of Michigan. He is the author of The Difference (Princeton).

Reviews

"This is a wonderful book that will be read by graduate students, faculty, and policymakers. The authors write in an extraordinarily clear manner about topics that are very technical and difficult for many people. I sat down to begin thumbing through and found myself deeply engaged."—Elinor Ostrom, author of Understanding Institutional Diversity

"In Complex Adaptive Systems, two masters of this burgeoning field provide a highly readable and novel restatement of the logic of social interactions, linking individually based micro processes to macrosocial outcomes, ranging from Adam Smith's invisible hand to Thomas Schelling's models of standing ovations. The book combines the vision of a new Santa Fe school of computational, social, and behavioral science with essential 'how to' advice for apprentice modelers."—Samuel Bowles, author of Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, Evolution

"The use of computational, especially agent-based, models has already shown its value in illuminating the study of economic and other social processes. Miller and Page have written an orientation to this field that is a model of motivation and insight, making clear the underlying thinking and illustrating it by varied and thoughtful examples. It conveys with remarkable clarity the essentials of the complex systems approach to the embarking researcher."—Kenneth J. Arrow, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Figures Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xiii
Tables Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xv
Preface Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xvii
Part I. Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
Part II. Preliminaries Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	33
Part III. Computational Modeling Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	55
Part IV. Models of Complex Adaptive Social Systems Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	91
Part V. Conclusions Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	211
Appendix A. An Open Agenda for Complex Adaptive Social Systems Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	231
Appendix B. Practices for Computational Modeling Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	245
Bibliography Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	255
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	261

Complex Adaptive Systems

An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life

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