Boston Globe
"Fisher makes intriguing connections" and
"demonstrates that statistics don't always lie, and sometimes even
tell important truths."
Psychology Today
"Fisher jumps with proficiency from locusts to pedestrians to
computer algorithms to stock markets."
BBC Focus
Magazine
"This would be my nominee for book of the year, if it wasn't still
only January. Who knows what may turn up in the next 12 months?
Whatever it is, though, will find Fisher a hard act to
follow."
Scott M. Cooper, MIT research affiliate; co-author of
Coolhunting
"It's a rare pleasure to read a book that builds on great ideas
that have come before, pushes concepts forward, and challenges the
intellect-while at the same time being eminently accessible. This
is just such a book."
David Sumpter, professor of mathematics, Uppsala
University
"Len Fisher reveals how the study of animal swarms allows us to
better understand our own society. By blending personal stories
with a clear presentation of new theoretical ideas he shows why
rumors, ideas and information spread so rapidly through
groups."
Gregory Sword, associate professor of biology, University
of Sydney
"That complexity can be simple to explain might seem
counterintuitive, but in The Perfect Swarm: The Science of
Complexity in Everyday Life, Len Fisher demonstrates just
that. This book provides a thoughtful, entertaining, and-most
important-easy to understand treatment of how patterns emerge and
problems can be solved when many individuals interact in very
simple ways. Clear and fluent, The Perfect Swarm is an enjoyable
source of insight for those who would like to better understand how
many seemingly complex things in the world really aren't so complex
after all."
Peter A. Gloor, author of Swarm Creativity
and Coolhunting
"The Perfect Swarm does a marvelous job of explaining the
network effects that determine our daily life. I highly recommend
it to anybody seeking practical solutions to the puzzling
complexities of everyday life, and especially to anyone interested
in the mathematical and physical underpinnings of swarm
intelligence, swarm business, and swarm creativity."
Ian Stewart, Author of Professor
Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
"From locusts watching Star Wars to Murphy's Law of
Management, The Perfect Swarm hits all the buttons. This
is a wonderful tour through the new mathematics of swarms, flocks,
and crowds, and it makes the emerging science of complex systems
seem simple. Easy to read and highly informative."
Lord Robert M. May, Zoology Department, Oxford
University
"I am not sure there is a 'science of complexity,' but there
undoubtedly are a lot of interesting ideas emerging about
underlying simplicities, and their implications, within many
seemingly complicated systems. Len Fisher's book is a truly
excellent and clearly-written guide to this exciting area."
Nature
"By focussing wholly on the science of complexity without using
narrative ploys to disguise it, Fisher covers a vast subject
quickly in a compact book. The Perfect Swarm is a valuable
contribution."