This book was recommended by Charlie Munger, of Berkshire Hathaway fame. It's a very scientific book written by an astrophysicist (nuff said). The topic is seductive: Chaos Theory. Who doesn't want to learn some rudimentary chaos theory to regurgitate at a dinner conversation in order to impress members of the opposite gender?
Naturally, it turned out to be one of the most difficult books I have read in awhile, due to the sheer number of ideas covered, my inadequate recollection of college level physics, and the complexity of the topics covered (chaos theory, butterfly effect, fractals, etc). Despite my deliberate pace (over the course of probably 20+ hours), I probably only grasped about 50% of the material in here - too meaty for my digestion. The material covered here is initially very scientific... definitely not for everyone. It would be apt to think of the first part as a brief refresher on Physics 101, along with some concepts from Physics 901. Nevertheless, the latter part of the book is not as much about chaos theory, and thermodynamics, so much as it is about Gribbin's insights into how chaos plays a role in our lives, and our world. In that view, it's a very enjoyable, yet challenging read. It covers topics such as how we forecast the weather, the 'true' length of the coast of Normandy, things that are 1.5 dimensional, evolutionary theory, the possibility of a major global extinction event...
Pretty fascinating stuff!
You still have the book?
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