Every reader will find something of interest in this book — from superdiffusion of the ocean surface to fetal heartbeats, from solar wind to the wearing-out of tools, from radioactive contamination to texture analysis, from image rendering to neural developments. The all-pervading link connecting these disparate disciplines is the realization that a linear approach to the majority of natural processes is at best only an approximation that can frequently be downright misleading. Consequently, the rise of what is broadly called the theory of complexity has gained tremendous momentum in...

The dynamics of complex systems can clarify the creation of structures in Nature. This creation is driven by the collective interaction of constitutive elements of the system. Such interactions are frequently nonlinear and are directly responsible for the lack of prediction in the evolution process. The self-organization accompanying these processes occurs all around us and is constantly being rediscovered, under the guise of a new jargon, in apparently unrelated disciplines. This volume offers unique perspectives on aspects of fractals and complexity and, through the examination of...