if only ben bernanke had read this book.
for those that have read malcolm gladwell's "the tipping point", this book in a way covers the math behind the tipping point. alot of credit to the author for laying out the basic ideas behind complicated maths such as non-linear signal processing and chaos theory.
one general theme throughout the book is that orthodox economic theory assumes that individuals do not influence each other - that preferences are independent and fixed. the book covers the situation when this assumption is lifted.
orthodox economic theories behind long term trends in growth (solow), market granularity, rapid short-term fluctuations in output and long-term cyclical structure (business cycle) are dissected and their flaws are elucidated convincingly. using variations on an "ants" model, ormerod develops alternatives models that capture salient features that orthodox economic theory is unable (or unwilling) to explain. 

Review: Butterfly Economics A New General Theory Of Social And Economic Behavior

A bit hard to get through, but had some good ideas. Reading it in 2013, not 1998 has benefits and drawbacks. The chapters with tons of scatter-plot graphs weren't my thing, but if you're really hardcore into math, you will like it. Read full review

Review: Butterfly Economics A New General Theory Of Social And Economic Behavior

It seems I'm heading backwards through Ormerod's books so there was a little repetition for me but this proved another decent dismantling of some economic shibboleths, seemingly nudging the reader towards a more rational economic approach. Read full review

Review: Butterfly Economics A New General Theory Of Social And Economic Behavior

A little dry and tedious but a good introduction to behavioral economics and finance. Read full review

Review: Butterfly Economics A New General Theory Of Social And Economic Behavior

It would be tough for me to recommend this book, although it had some interesting observations. The basic premise is that contrary to the treatment of consumers in classical economics, consumersâ ... Read full review

Review: Butterfly Economics A New General Theory Of Social And Economic Behavior

This book started out interestingly enough with the little morsal of simile that the economy is like an ant colony and preceded to explain a study about ants going to seperate, but equal piles of food ... Read full review

Review: Butterfly Economics A New General Theory Of Social And Economic Behavior

I find myself thinking about the ant experiment very often, in particular while watching political and financial news. Read full review