I have written a new interdisciplinary book about rapid
transitions in evolution and the emergence of complexity in
multi-agent systems. You will certainly know "A Short
History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson, "The Emergence
of Everything: How the World Became Complex" by Harold J.
Morowitz and "The Major Transitions in Evolution" by John
Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary. My new book starts where
these three books end and tries to answer some of the
questions which are left open in these excellent books.
The Emergence of Complexity Jochen Fromm Kassel University
Press, 2004 ISBN 3-89958-069-9 200 Pages upress.uni-kassel.de3 89958 069Open ↗
9.html Price: printed book 12 Euro, printable PDF version 5
Euro, unprintable PDF version free, the unprintable PDF file
is free for download here cgi.uni-kassel.dedownload frei.pdf.cgiOpen ↗
89958-069-9
Short Abstract This book considers the question how complex
systems suddenly emerge during the course of evolution and
why the long-winded evolution of systems and species is
interspersed with short phases of fast revolutions. Based on
an agent based view of complex systems, it describes how
systems become more and more complex, well illustrated with
many examples for the emergence of complexity. From ancient
cultures to modern states and from the earliest primitive
organisms to self-conscious human beings, the text explores
the widest range of phenomena with the fewest possible
principles.