Notes

In addition to the utilities suggested by the title that the book is an introduction to the computational models of social complex adaptive system, this is a good book to learn about the new development in formalism in adaptive system, or more broadly nonlinear system. The formalism developed before the complexity science in mathematics is the formalization of process that could be characterized precisely with linearity and limit. The operations are categorized as algebra, analysis, geometry, topology. The formalism for nonlinear phenomenon is different. For the nonlinear phenomenon, the process is unrolled nonlinearly, and thus the linear and limiting argument is not enough to characterize the process. We could analyze the condition that a solution could be reached or not, or the parameters that influence the development of the process, or design a process that fits our purpose ultimately. However, among these predictive process, there are many of which the behaviors are just chaotic. Thus, to understand and analyze such phenomenon, either for the purpose of understanding them, or utilizing the understanding for further goals, the algorithmic nature of the problem is inherent, and could only be analyzed with algorithmic tools.

In this book, the algorithmic side of formalism is explored. Though the authors do not analyze the formalism from the philosophy of mathematics side, the development in this book is a good source to understand the overview of such algorithmic formalism in the recent decades.

Only a sketchy reading of the book is made.