Nonlinear Dynamics, Mathematical Biology, And Social Science

✍ Scribed by Joshua M. Epstein

• Publisher: Westview Press
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 177
• Series: Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity Lecture Notes
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

If you were ever at all comfortable with integral calculus and differential equations, for example if you took these in college, then J. Epstein's book is a wonderful breezy read through a smorgasbord of social science and biology. The book covers a series of his mathematical lectures on combat, arms races, revolutions, drug epidemics, ecosystems, etc.. All the while, he weaves threads of connectivity between the topics.

This is not a book of proofs. Rather, it reminds me of what the book Freakonomics might have been like if it had equations. [By the way, I wish everyone in the world could get to page 82 of this book, to gain an insight into the ideas of herd immunity and decentralized totalitarianism.] Although the book does linear and nonlinear treatments throughout, the final chapter/lecture delves more deeply into understanding the issues of nonlinear models. Unfortunately, I am now left with a thirst I cannot slake, the thirst for the next few chapters after I've finished the book. Joshua, when can I get the next one??

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
LECTURE 1: On The Mathematical Biology of Arms Races, Wars, and Revolutions......Page 20
LECTURE 2: An Adaptive Dynamic Model of Combat......Page 32
LECTURE 3: Imperfect Collective Security and Arms Race Dynamics: Why a Little Cooperation Can Make a Big Difference......Page 54
LECTURE 4: Revolutions, Epidemics, and Ecosystem: Some Dynamical Analogies......Page 82
LECTURE 5: A Theoretical Perspective on The Spread of Drugs......Page 102
LECTURE 6: An Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamical Systems......Page 120
References......Page 164
Index......Page 172
E......Page 174
M......Page 175
S......Page 176
W......Page 177