Similar to Linked, but compliments it well (if you want to better link up your brain on the basic concepts). Some of this book duplicates stories in Linked, but others are new examples.

from a review: Starting with the weird behavior of the semi-colonial organisms we call slime molds, Johnson details the development of increasingly complex and familiar behavior among simple components: cells, insects, and software developers all find their place in greater schemes.

from a review: Mobile Internet access is allowing people who don't know each other to act in concert. Rheingold conveys how cell phones, pagers and PDAs are shaping modern culture.

from a review: New Yorker business columnist Surowiecki argues that "under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them."

There is some more complicated stuff in here, but Williams explains it all really well. Understanding a bit about Chaos Theory has helped make many other areas more intuitive.

Optional: I found reading a whole book on this more narrow topic made this stuff all sing a little better. This is by Wilson and Holldobler.

If you have made it this far, you will love this one...tough prose at times, but so rich it is must reading.

The physics of society. reviewer: Ball enthusiastically demonstrates how the application of the laws of modern physics to the social sciences can greatly enrich our understanding of the laws of human behavior: we can, he says, make predictions about society without negating the individual's free will.

Worth the short read. This parallels a lot of Benkler, but much lighter. He makes some good points.

An important mental model: some of the implications of technology-enabled collaboration in science, business, software and innovation generally. Beyond open-source.

Fantastic. Must Read. The power law vs the commonly assumed, but very flawed bell curve.

Like Ariely's 'Predictably Irrational,' 'How We Decide' has lots of interesting egs and cites various studies that seem to indicate humans aren't very rational. What I particularly liked about 'How We Decide': makes the case that our subconscious minds can be a better decision maker than our conscious minds, part. in domains where we have achieved some expertise. See also 'The Art of Learning.'