How small social systems work : from soccer teams to jazz trios and families / Yair Neuman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Neuman, Yair, 1968-

Series:

Frontiers collection 2197-6619

The Frontiers Collection, 2197-6619

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social systems.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2021.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Most of us are intuitively familiar with small social systems, such as families and soccer teams. Surprisingly, though, most of us are unaware of how complex these systems are or of the fact that they have a unique character distinguishing them from both populations and individuals. The current manuscript, which emerged from high-level scientific publications on the subject, aims to bridge this gap in our understanding of small social systems. The book aims to explain, illustrate, and model the unique and fascinating nature of small (social) systems by relying on deep scientific foundations and by using examples from sport, movies, music, and the martial arts. To support its friendly exposition of challenging scientific ideas, the book also discusses entertaining questions such as (1) why inviting your mother-in-law to dinner might be a challenging event, for reasons you have never considered; (2) why soccer teams should be messy in order to win; (3) why Nazis are deeply wrong in their understanding of the importance of entropy; and (4) why anda fighters failed in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).

Contents:

Part I

Introduction: On unhappy families, unsuccessful football teams, and grandmothers' intuition

On the foxes of Leicester, underdogs, and Lady Fortuna

There is no motherfucker who can stop (the flow of) time

Part II

The enemy of art is the enemy of soccer: On constraints, Thai boxing, and love triangles

How messy should you be to win a match? On the yin and yang of entropy

Unique interactions: On chemistry in love and soccer

How to identify the weakest link in the chain: From Sir Shackleton to Anna Karenina and the German national football team

Discussion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed August 31, 2021).

ISBN:

9783030822385

3030822389

OCLC:

1265344630

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.