Books by author: Steven Johnson

The properties that sometimes emerge from large collections of very simple objects can be mind-blowing and fascinating. I was first introduced to them by Hofstadter's "Prelude, Ant Fugue" in Godel, Escher, Bach and I've often viewed Minsky's Society of Mind in the same way.

Johnson does a great job of making emergent behavior approachable to a popular science reader. He touches on the structure of cities, the "intelligence" of an ant colony, and more. This is well-written and interesting material.