For most of the writing of this book, Andrew Shroeder played an invaluable role as research assistant, tracking down obscure essays and reading alongside me. (Jay Demas and Josh Saunders also helped with important research along the way.) My agent, Lydia Wills, once again did a masterful job of nudging an unwieldy first-draft proposal toward something that could actually be published. My editor at Penguin UK, Stefan McGrath, made a number of timely and astute contributions to the draft manuscript. At Scribner, Rachel Sussman was incredibly patient with my late arrivals. As for my gifted editor Gillian Blake—not only did she not flinch when I told her about my idea of opening the whole book with slime molds, she also provided exactly the conceptual and sentence-by-sentence guidance that I needed in putting together a complicated, multithreaded book.
Then there’s my wife, Alexa Robinson. There is no finer line editor in the land, and no better advocate, sounding board, and support system. She is, in more ways than one, my ideal reader. This book—along with our marriage—turns out to be one of those future collaborations I alluded to in the last acknowledgments, but I’m fairly sure there are more to come.
Nearly four years ago, days after Alexa and I moved into our apartment in the West Village, I finally got around to reading Jane Jacobs’s Death and Life of the Great American Cities. I knew Jacobs had lived in the Village while writing the book, but I didn’t know the exact whereabouts. From the very first chapter it was clear that she must have lived somewhere nearby. About a hundred pages in, with the help of the Web, I tracked down her actual residence: no more than three blocks from our apartment. All through the writing of this book, I could see the roof of Jacobs’s old building from the study I was working in. I could see the rooftops and the sidewalks of the whole West Village sprawled out below me, the urban ballet that Jacobs had written about so powerfully forty years before. If books like this one require acknowledgments, they have to start—or end—with that great, shifting energy and its connective powers. This is a city book, both in subject matter and in inspiration. If you’re reading these words in a comparably thriving city, put the book down, step outside into the roaring streets, and make your own connections.
MARCH 2001
NEW YORK CITY
INDEX
absolute refractory period, 143
Abuzz, 125
accounting, double-entry, 102
Acer Group, 224
acrasin (cyclic AMP), 14, 15–17, 52, 164
Adams, Richard Newbold, 253n
adrenaline, 141–42
advertising, 210–16
affinity groups, 225
agglomeration, economies of, 107–8
aggregation:
clusters formed by, 210–15, 219–20, 221, 226
computer simulations of, 16–17, 23, 59–63, 163–69
slime-mold, see slime mold
agriculture, 112, 252n–54n
Alexa Internet, 121–26, 181, 205
algorithms:
gaming, 17, 88, 89, 175
genetic, 57–59, 209
mind-reading, 215
network, 88, 89, 161
pattern-recognition, 126
representations vs., 158–59
A-Life, 182–86
alphabet, 54–57, 116
Amazon.com, 122, 215, 221–22, 228
Amazonian rain forest, 73
American Scientist, 46
amino acids, 85
antibodies, 65, 103, 249n–50n, 261n
antiglobalization movements, 67, 225–26
ants, 73–82
collective intelligence of, 9, 29, 33, 62–63, 73–82, 85, 97, 103–4, 115, 120–21, 123, 224, 237n–39n, 255n
colonies of, 18, 20–21, 22, 29–33, 65, 67, 73–82, 84, 88–89, 91, 93–94, 97–100, 115, 164, 224, 237n–39n, 243n–45n, 248n
communal behavior of, 20–21, 31–33, 40, 52, 59–63, 86, 88, 93–94, 168, 181, 226, 232–33, 261n
communication by, 52, 75–76, 77, 78, 79, 84–85
computer simulation of, 59–63, 65
developmental cycles of, 80–82
environmental impact of, 73
evolution of, 31, 73–74, 82–83
foraging by, 18, 31, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 98, 124, 166, 223, 228, 243n
harvester, 29–33, 40, 74, 76–82, 89, 99, 103–4, 120–21, 123, 179, 243n–45n, 261n
leafcutter, 243n
long-term research on, 79–82, 99
nests built by, 18, 30, 74, 77, 78, 79
pheromone-tracking by, 52, 60–63, 64, 74, 75–76, 78, 79, 84–85, 98, 115, 167, 206, 226, 228–29, 243n–44n
population of, 73, 76–77, 82
pupae of, 74
queen, 30–31, 33, 80, 168, 239n
reproduction by, 30–31, 61, 74
as social insects, 22, 73, 74, 82–83, 121
soldier, 243n–44n
species of, 73, 75
survival of, 62, 73–74, 98
swarm logic of, 74, 75, 78, 79, 87, 181, 225–26, 232–33
worker, 74, 81–82, 94, 245n
Ants, The (Wilson and Holldobler), 60, 75
Antz, 31
anxiety, 141
AOL, 218
apes, 202
Arcades Project, The (Benjamin), 39
Architecture Forum, 146
Arte di Por Santa Maria, 101, 102, 104–7, 124, 125, 148
artificial intelligence (AI), 52–63
in games, 182–89, 208–10
human intelligence vs., 45, 124, 127–29, 208
learning processes in, 52–63, 123–24, 127–29, 173
literature on, 65
Australopithecus afarensis, 262n
autism, 199, 205
automation, 238n
automobiles, 92, 96–97, 98, 166, 204, 230–31, 232, 247n–48n
axons, 134, 146
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 65, 128
bacteria, 235n
Baron-Cohen, Simon, 196
Baudelaire, Charles, 92
bees, 82–83
behavior:
adaptive, 18, 19–20, 77, 244n
collective, 13, 16, 20–21, 29, 31–33, 40–41, 52, 59–63, 86, 88, 93–94, 164–65, 168, 181, 185–86, 226, 232–33, 261n
comparison of, 20–21
complex, 18–19, 47–48, 57, 121
decentralized, 31–32, 39–40, 78–79, 86
emergent, see emergence
free will and, 97–98, 99, 187–89
goal-oriented, 186
independent, 97–98, 99, 187–89, 209–10
long-term vs. short-term factors in, 98–99
macro-, 19, 30, 39–40, 74–80, 98–99, 119, 121–26, 168–69
micro-, 30, 39–40, 74–80, 98–99, 168–69
molecular, 46, 65, 85, 86
shifts in, 40–41
simulated, 209–10
tracking of, 121–26, 129
Bell Laboratories, 44–46, 49, 53
Bell System Technical Journal, 45–46
Benjamin, Walter, 39
Berman, Marshall, 95
Berners-Lee, Tim, 115
Bezos, Jeff, 221
biology:
mathematical, 12, 13–14, 15, 42, 43
topo-, 86
see also genetics
biomass, 73
bird flocks, 166–67
birth rate, 99
blind spots, 201
bloodhounds, 76
Boorstin, Daniel, 134–35, 145
brain:
cells of, 83, 133; see also neurons
centralized, 11
“colony,” 115
computational powers of, 74
computers compared with, 45, 53, 254n–55n
evolution of, 73–74, 116, 126–27, 200, 202–3, 204, 262n
fore-, 73
functional topography of, 198–99, 246n
“global,” 114–21, 181, 254n
information processed by, 108, 116, 117, 118, 126–27, 233, 254n–55n
learning cente
rs of, 133–34
modular theory of, 198–99, 202–3
monkey, 198–99
neural network of, 18, 21, 78, 115, 118–19, 121, 127, 133–34, 142–44, 146, 198–99, 203–4, 205, 209, 223, 238n, 241n, 256n, 261n, 262n–63n
size of, 119, 202–3, 262n
Braudel, Fernand, 263n–64n
Brill, Steven, 144
Brokaw, Tom, 131
Brunelleschi, Filippo, 101
bulletin boards, electronic, 147–52
Bush, Vannevar, 251n
business development, 89–90, 106, 107–8, 250n–51n, 263n–64n
cable television, 145, 160, 217
Cale, John, 176
cancer, 119, 147, 152
Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), 106
capitalism, 222, 225–26, 263n–64n
Carlyle, Thomas, 36
cells:
brain, 83, 133; see also neurons
“collectives” of, 85–86
communication by, 84–86, 88
coordinated functions of, 13, 15, 20, 83–86, 88, 96, 198–99, 238n, 249n–50n
division of, 21
germ, 83
of immune system, 65, 103, 128
junctions of, 84–85
pacemaker, 14–15, 16, 17, 23, 40, 64, 67, 164
reproduction by, 82–83, 245n–46n
cemeteries, ant, 32–33
central nervous system, 140
change, 9, 161
environmental, 16, 73
rate of, 34–35
chaos, 38, 52, 65, 117–23, 154, 169, 179, 218–20, 226
Chaos (Gleick), 65
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 106
chess, 170, 181, 188
chicken pox, 103, 104
children, 165–66, 196–97, 243n, 261n–62n
Chimpanzee Politics (de Waal), 197–98
chimpanzees, 197–98, 202
chips, computer, 78
circadian rhythms, 140
cities:
administration of, 34–35, 41, 98, 104
aesthetic experience of, 39, 92, 94–95
ant colonies compared with, 88–89, 91, 93–94, 97–100
centrifugal vs. centripetal forces in, 89–90
class divisions in, 18, 36–40, 41, 52, 91, 95
climax stage of, 147–48
complexity of, 38–39, 40, 49–52, 95–96
computer simulations of, 66, 87–89, 98, 186, 229–30
as cultural superorganism, 51–52, 87, 96–100
economy of, 88–90, 95, 101–2, 104–8, 109, 110, 222, 225–26, 250n–51n
“edge,” 90, 91–92, 117, 120
emergence in, 37–38, 39, 87, 88, 94, 99–100, 104–7, 109–13, 137
evolution of, 104–7, 111–16, 263n
feedback in, 91–97, 146–47, 230–31, 257n–58n
garden, 146, 147, 259n
growth of, 99, 108, 109–13, 116, 146–48, 253n–54n, 256n–57n
information flow in, 94, 96, 108–9, 116, 117, 232–33
Jacobs’s critique of, 18, 38, 50–52, 64–65, 89, 91–97, 146–48, 156, 229, 230, 236n–37n, 256n–58n
Krugman’s model for, 89–91, 120, 159
learning by, 101–13, 116, 128, 232–33
Mumford’s critique of, 146–47, 154, 259n
neighborhoods in, 18, 36–38, 41, 50–51, 87–91, 96, 99, 106, 115, 119, 123, 186, 203, 204, 205, 220, 229–30, 233, 246n, 250n–51n
organic, 247n
patterns of, 40–41, 90–91, 146, 147, 159, 223
political order of, 39–40, 94–95
polycentrism of, 90–91, 159, 223
racial diversity in, 89, 95
safety of, 92–94, 109
self-organization of, 87–100, 104–7, 109–13, 232–33
sidewalk culture of, 51, 91–97, 99, 146, 147, 148, 230–31
social organization of, 9, 27, 33–41, 92–94, 97–100, 109, 204
urban planning for, 49–50, 51, 89, 92, 109, 146–47, 230–31, 259n
City in History, The (Mumford), 107, 147
city-states, 147
Clarke, Arthur C., 114
class divisions, 18, 36–40, 41, 52, 91, 95
Clinton, Bill, 130–36, 137, 143, 144–45
Clinton, Hillary, 144
CNN, 131, 135–36, 145, 159
communication:
by ants, 52, 75–76, 77, 78, 79, 84–85
binary, 76
cellular, 84–86, 88
efficient, 227–29
feedback in, 151–52, 195–96
group, 149–52, 195–96
mass, 151–52; see also media, mass
of mental states, 195–226
semiochemical, 14, 15–17, 52, 60–63, 64, 74, 75–76, 78, 79, 84–85, 98, 115, 167, 206, 226, 228–29
social, 197–98, 202, 262n
tactile, 75
see also language
complexity:
of cities, 38–39, 40, 49–52, 95–96
disorganized, 46–47
“more is different” in, 78, 165
organized, 47–52, 63–66, 231
statistical analysis of, 46–47
systematic, 39–40; see also systems
theory of, 12, 46–49, 66–67, 78
variables in, 46, 88–89, 161
Computer Artworks, 182–86
computers:
brain compared with, 45, 53, 254n–55n
computing power of, 49, 59, 78, 79, 88, 127, 139, 170, 242n
digital, 14, 42, 45, 49, 52, 88, 127, 139
information processed by, 44–45, 53
learning by, 52–63, 170–74
parallel, high-speed, 59, 170, 260n
programs for, see programs, computer
simulations by, see simulations, computer
super-, 53, 59–63, 139, 170–74, 209
computer science, 54
Condition of the Working Class in England, The (Engels), 36
Connection Machine, 59–63, 170–74, 209
consciousness:
global, 113–14
learning and, 102–4
self-awareness and, 127–29, 199–204, 262n
see also mind, human
Content, 144
control:
artistic use of, 163–89
autonomy vs., 186–89
feedback and, 139, 141–42, 221
indirect, 22, 76–77, 117, 163–89, 222, 233–34
Control Revolution, The (Shapiro), 159
corporations, 67, 222–24
Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, 102
cranks, 149–51, 156, 161
crime rate, 87, 88, 186
Cybernetics (Wiener), 53, 139, 140, 169, 238n, 259n–60n
cyclic AMP (acrasin), 14, 15–17, 52, 164
cytoplasm, 85
Daily Me, 159–60, 207, 211, 212–13
Dandy (chimpanzee), 197–98
Darwin, Charles, 12, 18, 22–23
Dawkins, Richard, 59–60, 243n
Death and Life of the Great American Cities, The (Jacobs), 50–52, 91–97, 146–48, 236n–37n, 256n–58n
decision-making, 40, 98–99
De Landa, Manuel, 65, 112–13, 263n
democracy, 91, 224
“demons,” 54–57
dendrites, 146
Deneubourg, Jean-Louis, 244n
Dennett, Daniel, 201
de Waal, Frans, 197–98
Dickens, Charles, 35, 36
Disraeli, Benjamin, 36
DNA, 56, 58, 83–84, 182–83, 185
Dorigo, Marco, 228–29
dot.com companies, 113–14, 117
Dubliners (Joyce), 39
Dungeons & Dragons, 155, 157
Eames, Charles and Ray, 231–32
eBay, 157, 221
ECHO, 147–52, 153
economics, economists, 88–90, 95, 101–2, 104–8, 109, 110, 155–56, 222, 225–26, 243n, 250n–51n, 260n, 263n–64n
Edelman, Gerald, 65, 86, 103, 193, 233
E
EG, 142
electricity, 46, 207
Eliot, George, 22–23
e-mail, 150, 157, 215–16
embryonic development, 85, 86, 87, 91, 238n
emergence:
applied, 20–21, 22, 66–67, 207–8
billiards analogy for, 18–19, 47–48
“bootstrapping” in, 112–13, 121, 126–27
in cities, 37–38, 39, 87, 88, 94, 99–100, 104–7, 109–13, 137
development of, 11–17, 20–21, 63–64, 116–17, 163–69
feedback and, 120–21, 132, 137, 166–68
in gaming, 17, 21, 66, 87–89, 174–89, 208–9
historical analysis of, 17–18, 22, 63–67, 241n–42n
in intelligence, 99–100, 113–14, 127–29
Keller-Segel conception of, 12–17, 18, 42, 43
laws of, 18
logic of, 66–67
in mass media, 130–36, 137, 143–46, 152
rules as influence on, 19, 180–81, 226
social, 22–23, 36–40, 49–50, 92–100
in software, 17, 21, 22, 121–26, 170–74, 186, 189, 204–8, 221–22, 223
web of, 22–23, 38, 44, 185, 226, 233–34
see also self-organization
Emergence, 224
encyclopedias, 125
energy sources, 46, 112–13, 207
Engels, Friedrich, 18, 22, 36–38, 52, 67, 239n–40n
ENIAC, 53, 139
Enigma device, 42, 255n–56n
Enlightenment, 66
entomology, 80
entropy, 52
environment:
adaptation to, 19–20
change in, 16, 73
genetics vs., 31, 56, 83–84, 172–73, 202
Epinions, 157, 205, 216
equilibrium, 138, 140–41, 143, 146–47, 148, 149, 151, 154, 159
Ermen and Engels, 36
estrogen treatment, 44
Everything2, 125, 205
evolution:
of ants, 31, 73–74, 82–83
brain, 73–74, 116, 126–27, 200, 202–3, 204, 262n
of cities, 104–7, 111–16, 263n
of computer programs, 57–59, 60, 205–6
computer simulation of, 56–63, 182–89, 193, 209–10
environmental influences in, 172–73, 202
feedback in, 62
of intelligence, 73, 115–17
Lamarckian, 184
natural selection in, see natural selection
social, 252n–54n
survival and, 62, 73–74, 98, 119, 170–74
web of, 22–23
see also genetics
Evolva, 182–86
“executive branch,” 18
eyes, 75, 195, 201
faces, 18, 102–3, 195
fatigue, neural, 143–44
FEED, 150
feedback, 130–62
bio-, 141–42, 143, 258n
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