gfbarbieri/how-nature-works

A demonstration of the simulations from How Nature Works by Per Bak

Simulations from How Nature Works by Per Bak

How Nature Works introduces the concepet of self-organization and demonstrates the universality of a particular systemic property called "self-organized criticality" or SOC. The thesis of the book is that SOC is a universal property of systems seen in nature and potentially social systems.

The book is available online for free here.

Description

The book discusses several prominent models used to study complex systems, in particular the emergence of a property called self-organized criticality. Three models interest me: The Sandpile Model, The Game of Life, and The Model of a Critical Economy. These are not the "official" names of these models. In this notebook, I have so far produced demonstrations of The Sandpile Model and The Game of Life.