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Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being
An electrifying introduction to complexity theory, the science of how complex systems behave—from cells to human beings, ecosystems, the known universe and beyond—that profoundly reframes our understanding and illuminates our interconnectedness.
Nothing in the universe is more complex than life. Throughout the skies, in oceans, and across lands, life is endlessly on the move. In its myriad forms—from cells to human beings, social structures, and ecosystems--life is open-ended, evolving, unpredictable, yet adaptive and self-sustaining. Complexity theory addresses the mysteries that animate science, philosophy, and metaphysics: how this teeming array of existence, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, is in fact a seamless living whole and what our place, as conscious beings, is within it. Physician, scientist, and philosopher Neil Theise makes accessible this “theory of being,” one of the pillars of modern science, and its holistic view of human existence. He notes the surprising underlying connections within a universe that is itself one vast complex system—between ant colonies and the growth of forests, cancer and economic bubbles, murmurations of starlings and crowds walking down the street.
The implications of complexity theory are profound, providing insight into everything from the permeable boundaries of our bodies to the nature of consciousness. Notes on Complexity is an invitation to trade our limited, individualistic view for the expansive perspective of a universe that is dynamic, cohesive, and alive—a whole greater than the sum of its parts. This takes us to the exhilarating frontiers of human knowledge and in the process restores wonder and meaning to our experience of the everyday.
Nothing in the universe is more complex than life. Throughout the skies, in oceans, and across lands, life is endlessly on the move. In its myriad forms—from cells to human beings, social structures, and ecosystems--life is open-ended, evolving, unpredictable, yet adaptive and self-sustaining. Complexity theory addresses the mysteries that animate science, philosophy, and metaphysics: how this teeming array of existence, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, is in fact a seamless living whole and what our place, as conscious beings, is within it. Physician, scientist, and philosopher Neil Theise makes accessible this “theory of being,” one of the pillars of modern science, and its holistic view of human existence. He notes the surprising underlying connections within a universe that is itself one vast complex system—between ant colonies and the growth of forests, cancer and economic bubbles, murmurations of starlings and crowds walking down the street.
The implications of complexity theory are profound, providing insight into everything from the permeable boundaries of our bodies to the nature of consciousness. Notes on Complexity is an invitation to trade our limited, individualistic view for the expansive perspective of a universe that is dynamic, cohesive, and alive—a whole greater than the sum of its parts. This takes us to the exhilarating frontiers of human knowledge and in the process restores wonder and meaning to our experience of the everyday.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 9, 2023
About the author
Neil Theise
3 books48 followersNeil Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Through his scientific research, he has been a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity and the anatomy of the human interstitium. He is also a longtime student of Zen Buddhism. Dr. Theise’s studies in complexity theory have led to interdisciplinary collaborations in fields such as integrative medicine, consciousness studies, and the science-religion dialogue.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
February 21, 2023
First, I would like to thank publisher Speigel & Grau and distributor Edelweiss for the advanced reader copy of Neil Theise's Notes on Complexity. In author Theise's own words, the book weaves "together aspects of all three important streams of human exploration of the nature of reality - empirical science, philosophy, and metaphysics." Theise is an accomplished liver pathologist who has also spent his adult life exploring spiritual practices. The book begins by explaining the science behind life. How everything in our physical world is connected by a self-organizing complexity theory. He then layers in philosophies, and finally adds several metaphysical practices. By observing these three disciplines, Theise helps us understand our place in this beautiful and complex world we live in. He uses these three disciplines in tandem to explore the nature of consciousness. And this connectedness - from subatomic particles to galaxies becomes a lesson we desperately need as we burst into our post-pandemic world. Each of has to continually find healthy ways to connect deeply and personally with the world around us. To once again quote the author, "It is our misapprehension that each of us is an unimportant cog in an unfeeling, nonliving universe. It is our collective delusion that we are separate and alone." This truth has implications far beyond the confines of the book. No matter who you are, no matter your background, or intellect, reading this heady book is a reminder to reach out and continue to connect with people and the greater world.
Notes on Complexity lands digitally and in print on May 9, 2023.
Notes on Complexity lands digitally and in print on May 9, 2023.
November 19, 2023
Like many other reviewers, I really enjoyed the first half of this book. However, the second half lost me. The author made some basic but important wrong turns that made his argument fall flat.
Before I get to the specifics though, I want to make clear that I was totally there for the *idea* of the second half of the book. I do believe that complexity theory has something to tell us about consciousness and that religion, despite its problems when taken too literally, does provide insights into consciousness and being. I was looking forward to someone taking my vague intuitions in this space and making the connections clearer. After reading the first half of this book, I was especially excited to see that done in the author's clear yet rich style.
Sadly, the book failed to deliver. Instead of making a clear path from complexity theory to religion and consciousness, the author took the *vibe* of complexity theory and used that as a tenuous launching point for talking about vague parallels to several religions and then talking about his own version of metaphysics, Fundamental Awareness.
Along the way, he made a couple of choices that made his already hand-wavy argument even more problematic. The big one is that he misinterpreted quantum decoherence, the collapse of the probabilistic wave function of a quantum particle, as requiring *conscious* observation. Even I know enough to know that this is a mistake. Observation doesn't require consciousness, just interaction that constraints the probabilities.
The author's discussion of materialism, panpsychism, and idealism also was unsatisfying because he seemed to be putting a strawman version of materialism up against a hand-wavy sense of idealism. He also spent way too much time talking about the Vienna Circle and vilifying their goals instead of focusing on comparing the ideas.
That said, the first half of this book was one of the most concise and comprehensible discussions of complexity theory I've seen so far. I especially liked the way the middle of the book was structured around exploring how "quenched disorder", the reining in of disorder which keeps a system poised between disorder and mechanical predictability, applies at different levels of existence.
Despite the fact that I would actively warn people away from the second half of the book, the first half was excellent enough that the book managed to get 2 stars from me instead of 1.
Before I get to the specifics though, I want to make clear that I was totally there for the *idea* of the second half of the book. I do believe that complexity theory has something to tell us about consciousness and that religion, despite its problems when taken too literally, does provide insights into consciousness and being. I was looking forward to someone taking my vague intuitions in this space and making the connections clearer. After reading the first half of this book, I was especially excited to see that done in the author's clear yet rich style.
Sadly, the book failed to deliver. Instead of making a clear path from complexity theory to religion and consciousness, the author took the *vibe* of complexity theory and used that as a tenuous launching point for talking about vague parallels to several religions and then talking about his own version of metaphysics, Fundamental Awareness.
Along the way, he made a couple of choices that made his already hand-wavy argument even more problematic. The big one is that he misinterpreted quantum decoherence, the collapse of the probabilistic wave function of a quantum particle, as requiring *conscious* observation. Even I know enough to know that this is a mistake. Observation doesn't require consciousness, just interaction that constraints the probabilities.
The author's discussion of materialism, panpsychism, and idealism also was unsatisfying because he seemed to be putting a strawman version of materialism up against a hand-wavy sense of idealism. He also spent way too much time talking about the Vienna Circle and vilifying their goals instead of focusing on comparing the ideas.
That said, the first half of this book was one of the most concise and comprehensible discussions of complexity theory I've seen so far. I especially liked the way the middle of the book was structured around exploring how "quenched disorder", the reining in of disorder which keeps a system poised between disorder and mechanical predictability, applies at different levels of existence.
Despite the fact that I would actively warn people away from the second half of the book, the first half was excellent enough that the book managed to get 2 stars from me instead of 1.
May 26, 2023
Neil Theise’s “Notes On Complexity” is a surprisingly easy-to-read and yet dense work that brings together so many threads, it should’ve been titled “A Theory Of Everything.” He describes our roles as active and complete agents in this universe. Theise describes features and links of our universe from the subatomic and atomic up to the cellular, to the self, and further macro to space/time and the entirety of the universe. The entirety of the universe and our connection to it, the impact of our consciousness: this book has opened my eyes. We all are a part of an amazing, wonderful interconnectedness.
May 29, 2023
Not much on complexity theory here except in a basic introductory way. Mostly this book seemed to focus on science in general and the history of science as well as some thoughts on metaphysics and spirituality. It was a bit of a waste of time, but the subject matter is fun to revisit even though I have heard it all before.
Read
September 11, 2023The book was way over my thinking. I don’t know if that makes it a bad book or just bad for me. So I don’t want to rate it. I loved an interview I heard with the author about the topic but just couldn’t follow it on the audio format. Maybe a written book would have been better?
October 9, 2023
This book is in my head pretty much every day since I finished it. I have never been a religious person, but the scientific discoveries that shed light on our interconnectedness give me so much peace. I have been recommending this to everyone who is willing to listen to me blabber on about it.
November 17, 2023
The book wasn't for me. It was a long list of thesis and studies related to complexity. Cells, molecules... I read it until the end, thinking he was presenting the studies to reach some conclusion or new idea, but that didn't happen. The cover is beautiful, though.
January 2, 2024
I loved this book and will likely read it again. I love contemplating the universe and human existence from multiple lenses and perspectives. Quantum physics, religious traditions, and Theory of General Relativity all work together here.
January 2, 2024
This is an absorbing and elegant read that merges science with art, philosophy, and religion instead of pitting them against each other. I sometimes associate the word complexity with human intelligence and human nature’s tendency to complicate, often in a destructive way. However, complexity within this book is a beautiful and harmonious blending of concepts, theories, and perspectives. I can’t stop thinking about chaos and order tugging at each other in space-time until something emerges from randomness and about how we are made of non-living and living parts in an alive and conscious universe. Hopefully, one day soon I’ll be able to stop saying, “We’re all just quantum foam.” However, I hope to hang on to thoughts of big-c consciousness, Gödel’s intuition, metaphysics, and the feeling of awe that transpires while reveling in it all.
April 9, 2024
Wow, I wanted to like this. I heard the author speak on a podcast and was excited to read the book, and was so disappointed. The opening sections are a very basic primer on complexity theory, which were clear and useful, and aimed at a very general audience. Everything after that felt like hand-wavey, surface-level appropriations of spiritual ideas. He set forth ideas that are directly contradictory to Buddhist ideas, such as this idea of oneness of all existence, and a universal consciousness, and these are literally the orthodox Indian ideas that all the early Indian Buddhist thinkers were directly arguing against. He continually makes statements that seem relatable only to form, not mind, and then conflates living things with sentience (not explicitly, but his language suggests they are the same). It just felt sloppy and a willful reading into a spiritual tradition what he wanted it to say. I am not going to criticize his spiritual practice or insights, or how they have improved his life, but I didn’t find anything compelling in this book regarding spiritual or religious exploration or how it specifically supports scientific inquiry. This dis-interest is magnified in the final chapter, when, instead of just (mis?)appropriating Buddhist ideas he goes to do the same for three other mystical spiritual traditions, each getting barely a page of explanation followed by the idea that somehow these four random traditions are syncretic in how they work together to form some sort of complementary idea of Consciousness that can exist behind complexity theory. He kind of put his whole ethos on display here with the line, “To (over)simplify this in a way that I find useful,” which felt like justification for highlighting surface level observations to fit his pre-existing vibes. None of his evidence or narrative here felt additive or compelling in any way.
There was a long digression about the Vienna Circle and Kurt Gödel, which all seemed like a journey that added nothing to the conversation except giving himself, as a scientist, permission (from within the tradition) to incorporate intuitive/spiritual/non-empirically-provable ideas into his scientific outlook. None of this felt necessary for me, as a reader. The Mind & Life Institute has been around since 1987, where prominent scientists and (Western) philosophers have these annual conferences with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist thinkers and leaders, with consciousness studies being a huge component of those conferences; none of this is new or radical, at least outside of scientific-orthodox circles. This whole section felt like a digression at the end that pulled me far away from his project.
He concludes, in the afterword, with some really interesting rallying cries about how complexity theory can motivate us to be better. “Complexity tempts us into taking notice. Complexity spurs us into taking part. Complexity humbles us, showing us how we are but infinitesimal parts of a stupefying vast whole.” This is what I wish he had focused on. Instead of the wishy-washy, hand-wavey attempts at integrating broad spiritual conjecture, after giving a primer on complexity theory, show us how this theory can be incorporated into our lives to make us better human custodians, of this planet and of each other. Sure, part of that can be that complexity can show us a parallelism between scientific inquiry and spiritual practice, but that isn’t the only way it is compelling. This is where his strengths really seem to lie, his actual personal experience of understanding and applying complexity into his participation in reality. I wish he shared more of that with us.
There was a long digression about the Vienna Circle and Kurt Gödel, which all seemed like a journey that added nothing to the conversation except giving himself, as a scientist, permission (from within the tradition) to incorporate intuitive/spiritual/non-empirically-provable ideas into his scientific outlook. None of this felt necessary for me, as a reader. The Mind & Life Institute has been around since 1987, where prominent scientists and (Western) philosophers have these annual conferences with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist thinkers and leaders, with consciousness studies being a huge component of those conferences; none of this is new or radical, at least outside of scientific-orthodox circles. This whole section felt like a digression at the end that pulled me far away from his project.
He concludes, in the afterword, with some really interesting rallying cries about how complexity theory can motivate us to be better. “Complexity tempts us into taking notice. Complexity spurs us into taking part. Complexity humbles us, showing us how we are but infinitesimal parts of a stupefying vast whole.” This is what I wish he had focused on. Instead of the wishy-washy, hand-wavey attempts at integrating broad spiritual conjecture, after giving a primer on complexity theory, show us how this theory can be incorporated into our lives to make us better human custodians, of this planet and of each other. Sure, part of that can be that complexity can show us a parallelism between scientific inquiry and spiritual practice, but that isn’t the only way it is compelling. This is where his strengths really seem to lie, his actual personal experience of understanding and applying complexity into his participation in reality. I wish he shared more of that with us.
January 1, 2024
I enjoyed how interconnected so many of the concepts of this book are with my unique experiences. Concepts of complexity at different scales, mathematics and metaphysics, and Buddhist meditation are all reoccurring themes in this book and it was assuring to hear an author tie these concepts together in ways I hadn’t thought of before. I enjoyed the first half of the book but I found it harder to follow in the second half as it got a bit too hand wavey for me.
September 9, 2023
Much like many of the other reviews have said, the first half or so of the book was fascinating. It broke down some very interesting and complex science concepts into bite-size, chewable, and understandable concepts. The last part of the book had me absolutely lost. I honestly don't even know what I just read and don't think it'll digest.
I heard about the book from the author on the podcast, "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown." The episode held my interest and made me excited to read the book. I think I was expecting more of the same kind of material as the episode, but without a host guiding the author along to keep it simple for the lay person, things got lost for me.
All in all, not a waste of a read because of the parts that I did understand and learn from. But if you get to the point in the book where things just aren't working for you anymore, don't feel bad about not finishing it.
I heard about the book from the author on the podcast, "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown." The episode held my interest and made me excited to read the book. I think I was expecting more of the same kind of material as the episode, but without a host guiding the author along to keep it simple for the lay person, things got lost for me.
All in all, not a waste of a read because of the parts that I did understand and learn from. But if you get to the point in the book where things just aren't working for you anymore, don't feel bad about not finishing it.
November 1, 2023
Essential reading
I’m a professor of law and am assigning portions of this remarkable book in one of my courses to expand the awareness of my students in areas outside of “law” into fields that examine the nature of rules in different contexts.
I’m a professor of law and am assigning portions of this remarkable book in one of my courses to expand the awareness of my students in areas outside of “law” into fields that examine the nature of rules in different contexts.
July 5, 2023
So good - adding to my list of fave/must-read books. Thoughtfully written and incredibly enlightening.
November 13, 2023
A fantastic book that explains very complex ideas and fields in a way that maintain their complexity while being able to be understood by the layman. An extremely interesting read that connects the dots between scientific thought and traditional concepts on mindfulness and consciousness.
May 26, 2023
Takes a lot of high-level stuff and boils down into easy language, even though the concepts aren’t inherently easy. Got me to understand some stuff. I’ve been struggling with for a long time one of those books that I will be thinking about and re-reading for a long time.
April 11, 2023
Great book, amazing subject and author. I'm excited to interview Dr. Neil Theise! Can't wait!
May 28, 2023
Short, sweet, and very interesting topics.
July 20, 2023
I enjoyed this book as an overview of all things complexity theory and quantum physics, and I was intrigued by the argument the author builds regarding the limits of empirical science. Still, I felt like the logical leap from the flaws of logical positivism to "introspection as inquiry" was not entirely well-motivated. However, the book overall is very engaging and does not overstay its welcome.
December 3, 2023
Nothing special or earth shattering in this book! The author makes a lazy attempt to connect theories and discoveries from multiple disciplines which ends up being shallow and forced! And of course quantum mechanics is the star of the show every time a new age author like this wants to bring in metaphysics to wrap all the scientific theories around !
November 22, 2023
I don’t think this book was about complexity as much as it was another (physics + mathematics) × buddhism book, only it wasn’t quite that either, because it was written by a pathologist, but I guess that’s the early twenty-first century
February 18, 2024
Memorable quotes.
Complexity turned out to be a science of being… Complexity theory provides a powerful yet delicately nuanced understanding of the nature of reality and our place within it as conscious, living beings.
A distinguishing feature of life’s complexity is that, in every single instance, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even if one knows the characteristic and behaviors of all the individual elements of a living system (a cell, a body, an ecosystem), one cannot predict the extraordinary properties that emerge from their interactions. In complexity theory, these surprising outcomes are called emergent properties or just plain emergence.
Chaotic systems, in contract, are processes that only reveal themselves over time.
The adaptations made in response to changing environments drive evolution toward increasing computational complexity.
In complexity, while we can predict that emergence will occur, its precise nature can never be predicted, even if we begin with the same starting conditions. In complexity, the whole is unpredictably greater than the sum of its parts. Kind of like the world. Kind of like our lives.
Rule #1: Numbers matter. #2: Interactions are local, not global. #3: Negative feedback loops prevail. #4: The degree of randomness is key.
Negative feedback loops prevail in complex systems, keeping a system’s conditions within an oscillating, healthy, homeostatic range. In homeostasis, the system sustains the capacity for adaptation to the changing world around it, preventing any one member of the system from overwhelming others.
Life is ceaseless movement; stability is found in balance, not rigidity.
If positive feedback loops overtake the balancing negative ones, then the self-sustaining homeostatic equilibrium gives way. Energy-expending behaviors come to predominate, ultimately crashing and burning the system. Think economic bubbles or cancer. Both arise out of a preexisting homeostatic living system - a well-functioning economy, a healthy body made of interacting cells - yet for reasons particular to each, negative feedback declines, allowing positive feedback to predominate. Explosive growth ensures, followed by utter collapse: recessions or depressions in economies; death in the case of those with terminal cancer.
Unpredictability is a defining hallmark of complex systems. Unpredictability is also the source of all the extraordinary capacities for unbridled creativity in complex systems.
It is as though in every moment of its life, a complex system is enveloped by a shimmering cloud of adjacent possibles, all the possibilities that might evolve in the very next moment. And then in that moment, one unpredictable possibility manifests from all those available. This new iteration of the complex system now faces new conditions coupled with that limited randomness, and a different cloud of potentials manifests around it.
Planck himself said it directly: “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
When it comes to the true nature of reality, a complexity perspective says that all is process, movement, flow, change. The Buddhists call this “emptiness”
There was no rigidly determined material existence “out there”, only probabilities of possibilities, until the moment when an observer steps in to make a measurement.
Quantum mechanics sets a limit on the capacity of empirical science to define reality in a purely objective fashion.
By weaving together aspects of all three important methods of human exploration of the nature of reality - empirical science (complexity theory), philosophy (idealist), and metaphysics (Buddhism, Kabbalah, Vedanta, Saivism) - we find that the realm of the Platonic ideal is nothing other than this nondual realm of pure awareness, a fundamental awareness before any split into subject-object duality.
The universe is its own first subject and object. The ceaseless and profound creative potential of fundamental awareness gives rise to mechanisms by which it can recognize itself. Mystics of the Abrahamic monotheisms speak of this primordial Consciousness as the deepest reality of God and ascribe a creative volition to it.
Across all levels of scale we find these recursive aspects arising from a steady, enduring flow of processes: differentiation (within fundamental awareness), emanation (of space-time and the quantum foam), and self-organization (at all higher levels of scale), by which all of existence comes into being. Through these processes, complementarities arise. It seems almost as if flow, complementarity, and recursion form a trinity of global characteristics,of universal “laws”. These would be the truly primary features of how existence comes into being out of Consciousness, every element of the world recursively linked in parallel ascending and descending spirals.
It is in times of foment that the cloud of adjacent possibles expands.
Complexity turned out to be a science of being… Complexity theory provides a powerful yet delicately nuanced understanding of the nature of reality and our place within it as conscious, living beings.
A distinguishing feature of life’s complexity is that, in every single instance, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even if one knows the characteristic and behaviors of all the individual elements of a living system (a cell, a body, an ecosystem), one cannot predict the extraordinary properties that emerge from their interactions. In complexity theory, these surprising outcomes are called emergent properties or just plain emergence.
Chaotic systems, in contract, are processes that only reveal themselves over time.
The adaptations made in response to changing environments drive evolution toward increasing computational complexity.
In complexity, while we can predict that emergence will occur, its precise nature can never be predicted, even if we begin with the same starting conditions. In complexity, the whole is unpredictably greater than the sum of its parts. Kind of like the world. Kind of like our lives.
Rule #1: Numbers matter. #2: Interactions are local, not global. #3: Negative feedback loops prevail. #4: The degree of randomness is key.
Negative feedback loops prevail in complex systems, keeping a system’s conditions within an oscillating, healthy, homeostatic range. In homeostasis, the system sustains the capacity for adaptation to the changing world around it, preventing any one member of the system from overwhelming others.
Life is ceaseless movement; stability is found in balance, not rigidity.
If positive feedback loops overtake the balancing negative ones, then the self-sustaining homeostatic equilibrium gives way. Energy-expending behaviors come to predominate, ultimately crashing and burning the system. Think economic bubbles or cancer. Both arise out of a preexisting homeostatic living system - a well-functioning economy, a healthy body made of interacting cells - yet for reasons particular to each, negative feedback declines, allowing positive feedback to predominate. Explosive growth ensures, followed by utter collapse: recessions or depressions in economies; death in the case of those with terminal cancer.
Unpredictability is a defining hallmark of complex systems. Unpredictability is also the source of all the extraordinary capacities for unbridled creativity in complex systems.
It is as though in every moment of its life, a complex system is enveloped by a shimmering cloud of adjacent possibles, all the possibilities that might evolve in the very next moment. And then in that moment, one unpredictable possibility manifests from all those available. This new iteration of the complex system now faces new conditions coupled with that limited randomness, and a different cloud of potentials manifests around it.
Planck himself said it directly: “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
When it comes to the true nature of reality, a complexity perspective says that all is process, movement, flow, change. The Buddhists call this “emptiness”
There was no rigidly determined material existence “out there”, only probabilities of possibilities, until the moment when an observer steps in to make a measurement.
Quantum mechanics sets a limit on the capacity of empirical science to define reality in a purely objective fashion.
By weaving together aspects of all three important methods of human exploration of the nature of reality - empirical science (complexity theory), philosophy (idealist), and metaphysics (Buddhism, Kabbalah, Vedanta, Saivism) - we find that the realm of the Platonic ideal is nothing other than this nondual realm of pure awareness, a fundamental awareness before any split into subject-object duality.
The universe is its own first subject and object. The ceaseless and profound creative potential of fundamental awareness gives rise to mechanisms by which it can recognize itself. Mystics of the Abrahamic monotheisms speak of this primordial Consciousness as the deepest reality of God and ascribe a creative volition to it.
Across all levels of scale we find these recursive aspects arising from a steady, enduring flow of processes: differentiation (within fundamental awareness), emanation (of space-time and the quantum foam), and self-organization (at all higher levels of scale), by which all of existence comes into being. Through these processes, complementarities arise. It seems almost as if flow, complementarity, and recursion form a trinity of global characteristics,of universal “laws”. These would be the truly primary features of how existence comes into being out of Consciousness, every element of the world recursively linked in parallel ascending and descending spirals.
It is in times of foment that the cloud of adjacent possibles expands.
March 15, 2024
The first half of the book was excellent. One of the most insightful explorations of complexity. It mostly deals with the very basic, but anyone reading it should get a clear idea of the big ideas, though not the technical details. Some of his examples are so powerful that it is hard to resist repeating them during a chat with friends. For example, when we look at a flock of murmuring sterlings, they look like a single organism, until we look closely and notice the individual birds. We, you and I, have a definite boundary, inside of which it is 'me', and outside is the rest of the world. But if we get closer and look through a microscope, we cannot see such a sharp boundary, but just a collection of individual cells interacting with each other. So, is there a 'me' or just a collection of individual cells? Both these views are correct -- it depends on the scale of our observation.
So far, so good. However, the author then takes a philosophical turn and starts making a series of dubious connections between complexity and consciousness and panpsychism, religion, and other forms of metaphysics. Nothing wrong with making these connections if they are well-argued. Unfortunately, I found his arguments weak, hand-wavey, and sometimes completely wrong. The collapse of the wave function in Quantum Physics does not require a 'conscious' observer, but just any observer will do. A bunch of metal and silicon chips will do unless, of course, you believe in panpsychism and see a little bit of consciousness in a hammer.
So far, so good. However, the author then takes a philosophical turn and starts making a series of dubious connections between complexity and consciousness and panpsychism, religion, and other forms of metaphysics. Nothing wrong with making these connections if they are well-argued. Unfortunately, I found his arguments weak, hand-wavey, and sometimes completely wrong. The collapse of the wave function in Quantum Physics does not require a 'conscious' observer, but just any observer will do. A bunch of metal and silicon chips will do unless, of course, you believe in panpsychism and see a little bit of consciousness in a hammer.
April 13, 2023
I want to thank Spiegal and Grau for the ARC.
3.5, actually. (Really need that half star, Goodreads!)
This was a difficult book to read and it took me several days, despite being a very short book. Several passages had to be read a few times to fully grasp what he was trying to say. It's not because he doesn't do a good job explaining things. On the contrary, his analogies were helpful and he took some very complicated topics and made them as simple as possible. But when you start talking about quantum anything (especially quantum foam which apparently comes from nothing - literally) I have trouble paying attention. Ultimately, about a third of the book reviewed topics related to atomic, subatomic, and quantum concepts. The beginning and end of the book were far more interesting, at least to me. My only complaint is that this felt like more of an explanation of the underpinnings of the theory than a discussion of the theory in general. I would have liked to read more about how we can apply complexity theory to daily life.
However, the general idea of complexity theory is mind-boggling. (I am curious if the consciousness Thiess discusses is in any way related to Jung's collective unconscious.) If I understand the theory, this reinforces my suspicion that we are all far more connected with nature than we comprehend. I have a new appreciation for the world around me. And it furthers my belief that we need to do everything we can to protect our environment.
3.5, actually. (Really need that half star, Goodreads!)
This was a difficult book to read and it took me several days, despite being a very short book. Several passages had to be read a few times to fully grasp what he was trying to say. It's not because he doesn't do a good job explaining things. On the contrary, his analogies were helpful and he took some very complicated topics and made them as simple as possible. But when you start talking about quantum anything (especially quantum foam which apparently comes from nothing - literally) I have trouble paying attention. Ultimately, about a third of the book reviewed topics related to atomic, subatomic, and quantum concepts. The beginning and end of the book were far more interesting, at least to me. My only complaint is that this felt like more of an explanation of the underpinnings of the theory than a discussion of the theory in general. I would have liked to read more about how we can apply complexity theory to daily life.
However, the general idea of complexity theory is mind-boggling. (I am curious if the consciousness Thiess discusses is in any way related to Jung's collective unconscious.) If I understand the theory, this reinforces my suspicion that we are all far more connected with nature than we comprehend. I have a new appreciation for the world around me. And it furthers my belief that we need to do everything we can to protect our environment.
July 13, 2023
I discovered "The Tao of Physics" in my late teens about the same time I was getting interested in Eastern religions and was sold on the resonance if not direct linkage between the new mysteries of quantum physics and the tenets of Buddhism and Hindu philosophy. Almost 50 years later and we now have chaos and complexity theory to add in to the mix. This is a short, light read for the TLDR crowd and does provide some food for thought in this line.
I always like to go to the one star reviews for the most interesting takes on popular works. Many are simply ignorant, but one is occasionally exposed to important countervailing ideas that must be investigated. In this case, I was directed down the rabbit hole of "quantum woo" and had to weather the hard tirades of "real" physicists railing (legitimately) against the appropriation of their dear results in metaphysical discussion. It was a worthwhile and perhaps necessary followup to reading the book which I found entertaining nonetheless.
Theise is nothing if not ambitious and though he claims to unify science, philosophy, and metaphysics, it was a little light on the philosophy. There was some name-dropping (e.g. Hegel, Kant, Schopenhauer), but no time/space to do much else in that dimension. No big deal. Plenty of things to think about as it is.
I always like to go to the one star reviews for the most interesting takes on popular works. Many are simply ignorant, but one is occasionally exposed to important countervailing ideas that must be investigated. In this case, I was directed down the rabbit hole of "quantum woo" and had to weather the hard tirades of "real" physicists railing (legitimately) against the appropriation of their dear results in metaphysical discussion. It was a worthwhile and perhaps necessary followup to reading the book which I found entertaining nonetheless.
Theise is nothing if not ambitious and though he claims to unify science, philosophy, and metaphysics, it was a little light on the philosophy. There was some name-dropping (e.g. Hegel, Kant, Schopenhauer), but no time/space to do much else in that dimension. No big deal. Plenty of things to think about as it is.
October 21, 2023
At first, this book seems like a pop-sci rehashing of ideas in other books – from Mandelbrot’s
The Fractal Geometry of Nature
(a must-read, by the way) to books on chaos theory and Gödel. But then Theise slowly builds to his own ideas that attempt to combine science (quantum mechanics), philosophy (idealism), and metaphysics (Kabbalistic and Buddhist spirituality) into one universal theory of Consciousness – with a big-C, to differentiate between the consciousness of the brain, which functions as a kind of transducer.
And so the entire book works not only as an introduction to complexity theory – for those who haven’t read all those previous texts – but also as an introduction to Theise and Kafatos’s perspective on Consciousness, which draws from all those previous traditions. It is written with a clarity that will appeal to both casual readers and academics. Although I’m not entirely on board with all the conclusions, I am at a point in my life when I am increasingly open to more metaphysical interpretations of the cosmos, which acknowledge the limitations of empiricist modes of perception.
And so the entire book works not only as an introduction to complexity theory – for those who haven’t read all those previous texts – but also as an introduction to Theise and Kafatos’s perspective on Consciousness, which draws from all those previous traditions. It is written with a clarity that will appeal to both casual readers and academics. Although I’m not entirely on board with all the conclusions, I am at a point in my life when I am increasingly open to more metaphysical interpretations of the cosmos, which acknowledge the limitations of empiricist modes of perception.
August 22, 2023
For years I have been reading that science, in particular the study of Quantum Mechanics, has corroborated the true nature of reality as revealed by many of the world’s ancient religions, including the one I practice, Advaita Vedanta. But no single book as made such a comprehensive proof as this one. It both removes any doubt about the nondual nature of reality, but also encourages students of contemplative religions to keep going deeper in their quests.
Weaving together philosophy (Platonic idealism), metaphysics (Buddhism, Kabbalah, Vedanta, Saivism) and empirical science, Theise eloquently builds a tapestry which gives hope for a new world and a new way of being human.
"Complexity prods me to consider how I can participate in the world around me, rather than simply cower with my head down."
"Complexity tempts us into taking notice. Complexity spurs us into taking part. Complexity humbles us, showing how we are but infinitesimal parts of a stupefying vast whole. Complexity exalts us - any small gesture or utterance we can make having the potential to shift the whole world from one cloud of possibility to another."
This Truth is the Universe!
Weaving together philosophy (Platonic idealism), metaphysics (Buddhism, Kabbalah, Vedanta, Saivism) and empirical science, Theise eloquently builds a tapestry which gives hope for a new world and a new way of being human.
"Complexity prods me to consider how I can participate in the world around me, rather than simply cower with my head down."
"Complexity tempts us into taking notice. Complexity spurs us into taking part. Complexity humbles us, showing how we are but infinitesimal parts of a stupefying vast whole. Complexity exalts us - any small gesture or utterance we can make having the potential to shift the whole world from one cloud of possibility to another."
This Truth is the Universe!
June 10, 2023
I put this book on my reading list as soon as I heard it was being published? Why, because I know the man who wrote it and I knew a bit about his approach to life, to spiritually, to science and the overall connectedness of everything.
Quantum physics has always been hard for me to wrap my head around since it arrived on the scene after I completed my undergraduate work. I’ve read various books and articles but I get lost in the applications. Lucky for me Neil’s book is very clear! It’s quite provocative actually. He has a real gift in his ability to explain the merely difficult, the almost incomprehensible, and the stuff the boggles my mind. This book should be on everyone’s reading list who think’s about big things and our place in it.
Quantum physics has always been hard for me to wrap my head around since it arrived on the scene after I completed my undergraduate work. I’ve read various books and articles but I get lost in the applications. Lucky for me Neil’s book is very clear! It’s quite provocative actually. He has a real gift in his ability to explain the merely difficult, the almost incomprehensible, and the stuff the boggles my mind. This book should be on everyone’s reading list who think’s about big things and our place in it.
November 27, 2023
Good coverage of numerous intersecting fields, ideas. Quite readable. None of it new to me, and somewhat verbose (although my idea of verbosity has gotten narrower as I age - so, perhaps for other people there is just the right amount of verbiage in this book). And, I suspect (?) that the thesis presented might well be correct (matter, energy, universe might all be just 'mind' - or 'information' as it is also sometimes characterized; in which case it's inside us as much as outside us). Nevertheless, the usual clarion call for 'meditation' has never worked it's magic on me, no matter how often I've tried. It's likely however that immersion of focus and deep concentration into anything - e.g. painting, math, chess, yoga, gardening, juggling - yields the same benefits as 'meditation' does to other people.
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