Simplexity : simplifying principles for a complex world

Bibliographic Information

Simplexity : simplifying principles for a complex world

Alain Berthoz ; translated by Giselle Weiss

Yale University Press, c2012

  • : hardback

Other Title

La Simplexité

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Note

"Translated from La Simplexité, by Alain Berthoz, published by Éditions Odile Jacob in 2009."--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-249) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In this book a noted physiologist and neuroscientist introduces the concept of simplexity, the set of solutions living organisms find that enable them to deal with information and situations, while taking into account past experiences and anticipating future ones. Such solutions are new ways of addressing problems so that actions may be taken more quickly, more elegantly, and more efficiently. In a sense, the history of living organisms may be summed up by their remarkable ability to find solutions that avoid the world's complexity by imposing on it their own rules and functions. Evolution has resolved the problem of complexity not by simplifying but by finding solutions whose processes-though they can sometimes be complex-allow us to act in the midst of complexity and of uncertainty. Nature can inspire us by making us realize that simplification is never simple and requires instead that we choose, refuse, connect, and imagine, in order to act in the best possible manner. Such solutions are already being applied in design and engineering and are significant in biology, medicine, economics, and the behavioral sciences.

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