{"title":"Ricard Solé","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"phase-transitions-book-ricard-sol-9780691150758","title":"Phase Transitions","description":"Phase transitions--changes between different states of organization in a complex system--have long helped to explain physics concepts, such as why water freezes into a solid or boils to become a gas. How might phase transitions shed light on important problems in biological and ecological complex systems? Exploring the origins and implications of sudden changes in nature and society, Phase Transitions examines different dynamical behaviors in a broad range of complex systems. Using a compelling set of examples, from gene networks and ant colonies to human language and the degradation of diverse ecosystems, the book illustrates the power of simple models to reveal how phase transitions occur. Introductory chapters provide the critical concepts and the simplest mathematical techniques required to study phase transitions. In a series of example-driven chapters, Ricard Sole shows how such concepts and techniques can be applied to the analysis and prediction of complex system behavior, including the origins of life, viral replication, epidemics, language evolution, and the emergence and breakdown of societies. Written at an undergraduate mathematical level, this book provides the essential theoretical tools and foundations required to develop basic models to explain collective phase transitions for a wide variety of ecosystems.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49669599723793,"sku":"GOR013768394","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51005668983057,"sku":"NIN9780691150758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53133694468369,"sku":"CIN0691150753A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0691150753.jpg?v=1751168297"},{"product_id":"viruses-as-complex-adaptive-systems-book-santiago-elena-9780691158846","title":"Viruses as Complex Adaptive Systems","description":"How complex systems theory sheds new light on the adaptive dynamics of viral populationsViruses are everywhere, infecting all sorts of living organisms, from the tiniest bacteria to the largest mammals. Many are harmful parasites, but viruses also play a major role as drivers of our evolution as a species and are essential regulators of the com","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49730910585105,"sku":"NGR9780691158846","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50914300231953,"sku":"GOR013601610","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53601408319761,"sku":"CIN0691158843VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0691158843.jpg?v=1750847926"},{"product_id":"self-organization-in-complex-ecosystems-book-jordi-bascompte-9780691070407","title":"Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems","description":"Can physics be an appropriate framework for the understanding of ecological science? Most ecologists would probably agree that there is little relation between the complexity of natural ecosystems and the simplicity of any example derived from Newtonian physics. Though ecologists have long been interested in concepts originally developed by statistical physicists and later applied to explain everything from why stock markets crash to why rivers develop particular branching patterns, applying such concepts to ecosystems has remained a challenge. Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems is the first book to clearly synthesize what we have learned about the usefulness of tools from statistical physics in ecology. Ricard Sole and Jordi Bascompte provide a comprehensive introduction to complex systems theory, and ask: do universal laws shape the structure of ecosystems, at least at some scales? They offer the most compelling array of theoretical evidence to date of the potential of nonlinear ecological interactions to generate nonrandom, self-organized patterns at all levels. Tackling classic ecological questions--from population dynamics to biodiversity to macroevolution--the book's novel presentation of theories and data shows the power of statistical physics and complexity in ecology. Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems will be a staple resource for years to come for ecologists interested in complex systems theory as well as mathematicians and physicists interested in ecology.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50296976703761,"sku":"CIN0691070407G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0691070407.jpg?v=1750847823"},{"product_id":"endless-endings-book-ricard-sol-9780691276274","title":"Endless Endings","description":"A scientific exploration of the varied forms, origins, and meanings of death   While death may be one of life’s most predictable surprises, it has also proved itself to be one of the most fascinating and cutting-edge areas of scientific inquiry. Our bodies and lives tell a story of cellular creation and destruction that can be traced back to Earth’s primordial oceans. Yet when we follow the interwoven thread of beginnings and endings in an effort to discover death’s origins, nature, and meaning, we find that we cannot settle on a single definition of death or even a single interpretation of it. It would seem that there is not one death, but an endless variety of forms, each of which raises further questions about how well we understand death’s counterpoint—life.  Using death as a connecting theme, in Endless Endings, Ricard Solé explores the differing meanings of death in varied forms, reflecting on questions that are pushing forward the frontiers of scientific understanding. What is the physical basis of inevitable decay? Can we manipulate cellular rules to avoid death? What does death mean if life occurs inside a computer? Can a conscious machine save itself from death? Is immortality possible? What does it mean for language, thought, or information to die? As Solé reveals, life’s endings can be just as fascinating and varied as life itself.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52499270500625,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52499270533393,"sku":"NGR9780691276274","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780691276274.jpg?v=1769162198"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-ricard-sol.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}