Klaus Mainzer – författare

The theory of nonlinear, complex systems has become by now a proven problem-solving approach in the natural sciences. And it is now also recognized that many if not most of our social, ecological, economical and political problems are essentially of a global, complex and nonlinear nature. And it is now further accepted than any holistic perspective of the human mind and brain can hardly be achieved by any other approach. In this wide-ranging, scholarly but very concise treatment, physicist, computer scientist and philosopher Klaus Mainzer discusses, in essentially nontechnical language, the common framework behind these ideas and challenges. Emphasis is given to the evolution of new structures in natural and cultural systems and we are lead to see clearly how the new integrative approach can give insights not available from traditional reductionistic methods. The fifth edition enlarges and revises almost all sections and supplements an entirely new chapter on the complexity of economic systems.

From the reviews of the fourth edition:

"… this highly recommended book is a wonderful resource for intuitive basic ideas in the need of rigorous formulation." (Albert A. Mullin, Zentralblatt MATH)

This Brief is an essay at the interface of philosophy and complexity research, trying to inspire the reader with new ideas and new conceptual developments of cellular automata. Going beyond the numerical experiments of Steven Wolfram, it is argued that cellular automata must be considered complex dynamical systems in their own right, requiring appropriate analytical models in order to find precise answers and predictions in the universe of cellular automata.

Indeed, eventually we have to ask whether cellular automata can be considered models of the real world and, conversely, whether there are limits to our modern approach of attributing the world, and the universe for that matter, essentially a digital reality.

Die Schwierigkeit Mathematik zu lernen und zu lehren ist jedem bekannt, der einmal mit diesem Fach in Berührung gekommen ist. Begriffe wie "reelle oder komplexe Zahlen, Pi" sind zwar jedem geläufig, aber nur wenige wissen, was sich wirklich dahinter verbirgt. Die Autoren dieses Bandes geben jedem, der mehr wissen will als nur die Hülle der Begriffe, eine meisterhafte Einführung in die Magie der Mathematik und schlagen einzigartige Brücken für Studenten.

Die Rezensenten der ersten beiden Auflagen überschlugen sich.