Beginning Complex Systems

Complex systems thinking is permeating all fields. This book by John Holland, guru of genetic algorithms, is a good introduction to the topic.

Connectionsm

Connectionism, known more today as neural networks, is a fascinating topic going back 50 years. I just finished reading this book about Alan Turing's approach.

Fooled by Randomness

This "prequel" to "The Black Swan" was an excellent read.

Fractals, Chaos, Power Laws

I have not read this cover-to-cover, but it comes in handy for references to complex adaptive systems (see previous post on The Quark and the Jaguar). It was recommended to me. It appears it is out of print, but you can get used copies here:

The Quark and the Jaguar

Written by Murray Gell-Mann, famous physicist on the Manhattan Project and co-founder of the Sante Fe Institute, this book presents the ideas of simplicity and complexity from the perspective of complex adaptive systems.

Spook Country

This is the last work of fiction I read. By one of  my favorite science fiction authors: William Gibson. He made the term "cyberspace" popular with his Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive series. This one is more "modern fuure" than futuristic.

Malcolm Gladwell

This guy writes very accessible popular science books. Two I found quite interesting are Blink and The Tipping Point.

Introduction to Genetic Algorithms

My master's degree work was done in the field of genetic algorithms. Here a nice introduction to the subject with plenty of pointers to seminal and recent work.

The Singularity Is Near

Ray Kurzweil predicts a singular moment in history is upon us.

The Black Swan

This is one of the most influential books I have read in a long time. A must read for people who do forecasting and prediction. Taleb posits that we build narratives of our experience to help us predict the future. While this may serve sociological needs, it can be very dangerous in making scientific predictions. This is especially the case for "Black Swans", those highly improbable but significant events that we would never anticipate based on our past experience.

Your Inner Fish

How have our body plans developed from fish to human?