Book Reviews Book Review: "The Social Atom"
| Book Review: "The Social Atom" |
| Written by Berthold Kastel |
| Tuesday, 16 June 2009 21:50 |
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Detailed Review
Published 2007 As he has done in his "Ubiquity," Mark Buchanans mixture of story telling and hard logic is compelling and enjoyable at the same time. He tackles the notion that social interactions would be best explained as based on rationality and narrowly defined self-interest. Without losing a beat he describes his own model of social interactions. It is based on treating humans as the equivalent of atoms in the physics. He sees them being motivated by imitation, adaption, and cooperation. The almost scary consequence is that computer models do not only mimic what he has described in a number of stories. They seem to correctly describe what is actually happening. Such conclusions can be drawn by observing patterns of social interactions that are based on a more realistic description of an individual human's behavior. Buchanan is explicit about not trying to describe individual behavior, but the actions and the results of actions of social groups.
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Important Definitions
"Complexity"The state or quality of being intricate or made up of interconnected parts. What does it mean for 21st century projects?
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New Ideas
Layers of Complex ProjectsWhen talking about complex projects it is critical to understand their scope in the world of the early 21st century.They are much more than a standalone grouping of activities that are connected to each other. In reality, at least five different layers of projects can be identified.
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