LEADER 03627nam 22005652 450 001 9910822778303321 005 20240131143524.0 010 $a1-61444-514-1 035 $a(CKB)2670000000345384 035 $a(EBL)3330336 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000951743 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11603813 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000951743 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10894160 035 $a(PQKB)10317268 035 $a(UkCbUP)CR9781614445142 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3330336 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3330336 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10722447 035 $a(OCoLC)939263608 035 $a(RPAM)17472708 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000345384 100 $a20121212d2012|||| uy| 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aSix sources of collapse $ea mathematician's perspective on how things can fall apart in the blink of an eye /$fCharles R. Hadlock$b[electronic resource] 210 1$aWashington :$cMathematical Association of America,$d2012. 215 $a1 online resource (xiv, 207 pages) $cdigital, PDF file(s) 225 1 $aSpectrum series 300 $aTitle from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015). 311 $a0-88385-579-8 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 189-199) and index. 327 $aIntroduction -- Predicting unpredictable events -- Group behavior: crowds, herds, and video games -- Evolution and collapse: game playing in a changing world -- Instability, oscillation, and feedback -- Nonlinearity: invitation to chaos and catastrophe -- It's all about networks -- Putting it all together: looking at collapse phenomena in "6-D." 330 $aBeginning with one of the most remarkable ecological collapses of recent time, that of the passenger pigeon, Hadlock goes on to survey collapse processes across the entire spectrum of the natural and man-made world. He takes us through extreme weather events, technological disasters, evolutionary processes, crashing markets and companies, the chaotic nature of Earth's orbit, revolutionary political change, the spread and elimination of disease, and many other fascinating cases. His key thesis is that one or more of six fundamental dynamics consistently show up across this wide range. These six sources of collapse can all be best described and investigated using fundamental mathematical concepts. They include low probability events, group dynamics, evolutionary games, instability, nonlinearity, and network effects, all of which are explained in readily understandable terms. Almost the entirety of the book can be understood by readers with a minimal mathematical background, but even professional mathematicians are likely to get rich insights from the range of examples. The author tells his story with a warmly personal tone and weaves in many of his own experiences, whether from his consulting career of racing around the world trying to head off industrial disasters to his story of watching collapse after collapse in the evolution of an ecosystem on his New Hampshire farm. 410 0$aMAA spectrum. 606 $aDisasters$xMathematical models 606 $aEnvironmental disasters$xMathematical models 615 0$aDisasters$xMathematical models. 615 0$aEnvironmental disasters$xMathematical models. 676 $a363.34 700 $aHadlock$b Charles Robert$040855 801 0$bUkCbUP 801 1$bUkCbUP 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910822778303321 996 $aSix sources of collapse$94058787 997 $aUNINA