Sailing the Ocean of Complexity: Lessons from the Physics-Biology Frontier

"Both superb and essential... Succi, with clarity and wit, takes us from quarks and Boltzmann to soft matter - precisely the frontier of physics and life." Stuart Kauffman, MacArthur Fellow, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Gold Medal Accademia Lincea We live in a world of utmost complexity, outside and within us. There are thousand of billions of billions of stars out there in the Universe, a hundred times more molecules in a glass of water, and another hundred times more in our body, all working in sync to keep us alive and well. At face value, such numbers spell certain doom for our ability to make any sense at all of the world around and within us. And yet, they don't. Why, and how - this book endeavours to provide an answer to these questions with specific reference to a selected window of the physics-biology interface. The story unfolds over four main Parts. Part I provides an introduction to the main organizational principles which govern the functioning of complex systems in general, such as nonlinearity, nonlocality and ultra-dimensions. Part II deals with thermodynamics, the science of change, starting with its historical foundations laid down in the 19th century, and then moving on to its modern and still open developments in connection with biology and cosmology. Part III deals with the main character of this book, free energy, and the wondrous scenarios opened up by its merger with the modern tools of statistical physics. It also describes the basic facts about soft matter, the state of matter most relevant to biological organisms. Finally, Part IV discusses the connection between time and complexity, and its profound implications on the human condition, i.e. the one-sided nature of time and the awareness of human mortality. It concludes with a few personal considerations about the special place of emotions and humility in science.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part 1: COMPLEXITY 1: Introducing Complexity 2: The Guiding Barriers 3: Competition and Cooperation 4: Nonlinearity, The Mother of Complexity 5: The Dark Side of Nonlinearity 6: The Bright Side of Nonlinearity 7: Networks, The Fabric of Complexity Part 2: THE SCIENCE OF CHANGE 8: Good Old Thermodynamics 9: The Man Who Trusted Atoms 10: Biological Escapes 11: Cosmological Escapes 12: Free Energy Part 3: THE PHYSICS-BIOLOGY INTERFACE 13: Survival in Molecular Hyperland, the Ozland Valleys 14: Free Energy Funnels 15: Soft Matter, The Stu that Dreams Are Made Of 16: Water, the Wonderuid Part 4: COMPLEXITY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION 17: Time and the Complexity of the Human Condition 18: Harness the Hybris: Hallelujah! 19: Appendices Epilogue Acknowledgements References

About the Author :
Sauro Succi graduated in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Bologna and holds a PhD in Physics from the Swiss Polytechnique Institute in Lausanne. He has been working at several Italian and European institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, EPFL, IBM Europe, The Italian National Research Council and lately the Italian Institute of Technology. He also held numerous teaching and research appointments in Europe and USA, particularly at Harvard University.

Review :
This book gives a nontechnical survey of complex systems, strongly emphasizing the connection of fundamental physics to biology. Starting with a very nice foundational discussion, the Succi goes on to look at the connection developed by Boltzmann between microscopic physics and macroscopic biology...the thoughtful reader will be rewarded. This is an interesting exploration of how the complex macroscopic world is derivable from microscopic physics, and how the non-linearity of complex systems leads to issues of predictability and at the same time accounts for physical structures. The author gives personal comments on his own appreciation of the physics throughout the book, as well as a thought-provoking conclusion suggesting that our experience of time is a consequence of the emergence of complexity. Complexity is between the two infinities "very big" and "very small" - always a fascinating subject. The author explains things in a very easy-going way, and adds some entertaining stories and thoughts which make it entertaining to read. Complexity science is of critical importance in the modern world, but not on the radar screen of the average reader. This book, designed for the general public, is intended to fix that problem in a very enjoyable and entertaining style. A fresh and competent view on a very interesting scientific topic. Sauro Succi's new book is both superb and essential. Succi, with clarity and wit, takes us from quarks and Boltzmann to soft matter - precisely the frontier of physics and life. Someone said, “There is no truth beyond magic”. Succi shows us the magic at the edge of life.