This book introduces principles of Chaos theory (and Complex Adaptive
Systems) to social science, in a lively and elegant way. It applies it
to the twin disciplines of mass psychology (under social psychology,
mostly in Europe) and collective behavior sociology (mostly in North
America) that deal with emergent psychosocial phenomena that lie outside
conventional approaches. Each of the eleven chapters begins with a
topical 'case study' section, on an issue related to climate change and
collective behaviour, such as the 'school strike' by Swedish schoolgirl
Greta Thunberg, the Hollywood movie The Day After Tomorrow, and more.
This book aims to show that there are fundamental reasons why many
phenomena cannot be easily 'measured, predicted and controlled', and
thus we need to familiarize ourselves with alternative ways of thinking
about them.