The Smart Swarm: How Understanding Flocks, Schools, and Colonies Can Make Us Better at Communicating, Decision Making, and Getting Things Done
Avery Trade (Penguin), August 2010
In a world where speed and flexibility are valued more than ever,
leaders from the corporate boardroom to the military are looking for
answers from seemingly unlikely experts -- the ones in the grass, in
the air, in the lakes, and in the woods. In this innovative book,
veteran National Geographic editor Peter Miller explains the
basic principles of smart swarms -- self-organization, diversity of
knowledge, indirect collaboration, and adaptive mimicking -- to show
how swarm species such as ants, bees, and fish can teach us to tackle
some of the most complex conundrums in business, politics, and
technology.
By studying ant colonies' simple governing rules, computer scientists
have written programs to streamline factory processes, telephone
networks, and truck routes. Termites have inspired climate control
solutions, and the U.S. military is developing a team of robots that
behaves like a school of fish. Groups in nature are the real
specialists because they've evolved strategies over millions of years
to cope with uncertainty, complexity, and change -- the same challenges
that make our lives and businesses difficult today.
Leading scientists in fields from biology to physics, social
psychology, and business management are all studying smart swarms to
unlock their secrets, and Peter Miller takes us on a lively tour to
show us how we can, too.
A fascinating journey from the critter to the corporation, The Smart Swarm is an eye-opening look at small-scale phenomena with big implications for us all.
hardcover | ISBN: 9781583333907 | Publication Date: August 2010
Reviews:
"I loved The Smart Swarm. It's been a while since I was this
stimulated by a book, or saw so many practical applications. And what a
great read."
--Don Tapscott
"With an eye for detail and an easy style, Peter Miller explains why
swarm intelligence has scientists buzzing."
--Steven Strogatz, author of Sync, and Professor of Applied
Mathematics, Cornell University
"Miller informs, engages, entertains, and even surprises in this
thought-provoking study of problem making and problem solving, and
through the comparison of human and insect scenarios, shows how social
cues and signals can either bring about social cooperation or
destruction."
--Publishers Weekly
"Most people can't fathom that ants, bees, and other social insects
have found solutions to some of modern society's most vexing problems.
In The Smart Swarm, Peter Miller offers a fascinating and
articulate tour of what these creatures can do, how the do it, and the
lessons for humans. This book is a gem, with a message that is as
extraordinarily counterintuitive as it is valuable."
--Michael J. Mauboussin, Chief Investment Strategist at Legg Mason
Capital Management and author of Think Twice: Harnessing the Power
of Counterintuition
"[Peter Miller] has proven that there is intelligent life on earth,
but it is not necessarily us. What a delightful, eye-opening book."
--Martin Cruz Smith, author of Gorky Park and Stalin's Ghost
