What Is Random?: Chance and Order in Mathematics and Life by Edward Beltrami (En

Description: What Is Random? by Edward Beltrami In this fascinating book, mathematician Ed Beltrami takes a close enough look at randomness to make it mysteriously disappear. Those familiar with quantum indeterminacy assert that order is an illusion, and that the world is fundamentally random. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description This book is intended to provoke, entertain, and inform by challenging the readers ideas about randomness, providing first one and then another interpretation of what this elusive concept means. As the book progresses, the author teases out the various threads and shows how mathematics, communication engineering, computer science, philosophy, physics, and psychology all contribute to the discourse by illuminating different facets of the same idea.The material in this book should be readily accessible to anyone with experience in undergraduate mathematics, no calculus needed. Three appendices provide some of the background information regarding binary representations and logarithms that are needed. Although an effort is made to justify most statements of a mathematical nature, a few are presented without corroboration, since they entail close-knit arguments that would detract from the main ideas. Readers can safely bypass the details without any loss, andin any case, the fine points are available in the technical notes assembled at the end. Author Biography Beltrami is Professor of Applied Mathematics and Physics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His professional interests are in the application of dynamical systems, including algae dynamics and blood clotting. Table of Contents [1] The Taming of Chance.- From Unpredictable to Lawful.- Probability.- Order in the Large.- The Normal Law.- Is It Random?.- More About the Law of Large Numbers.- Where We Stand Now.- [2] Uncertainty and Information.- Messages and Information.- Entropy.- Messages, Codes, and Entropy.- Approximate Entropy.- Again, Is It Random?.- The Perception of Randomness.- [3] Janus-Faced Randomness.- Is Determinism an Illusion?.- Generating Randomness.- Janus and the Demons.- [4] Algorithms, Information, and Chance.- Algorithmic Randomness.- Algorithmic Complexity and Undecidability.- Algorithmic Probability.- [5] The Edge of Randomness.- Between Order and Disorder.- Self-Similarity and Complexity.- What Good is Randomness?.- Sources and Further Readings.- Technical Notes.- Appendix A: Geometric Sums.- Appendix B: Binary Numbers.- Appendix C: Logarithims.- References. Review From the reviews:THE AMERICAN STATISTICIAN"In summary, I think that many readers with a strong interest in mathematics, statistics, physics, or other areas of science will find this book interesting and challenging. I strongly recommend it to all who are interested in science and would like to see how the ideas of both theoretical mathematics and statistics have been observed and used in real life throughout history."MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS"The book is nicely written and should entertain many readers…" Promotional Springer Book Archives Long Description (Not for distribution) We all know what randomness is. We sometimes choose between options "at random", and if we toss a coin we know it will land heads or tails at random. But are events like these truly random? Randomness turns out to be one of those concepts, like "solid matter" in physics, that works just fine on an everyday level but mysteriously disappears once we move in to examine its fine structure. In this fascinating book, mathematician Ed Beltrami takes a close enough look at randomness to make it mysteriously disappear. The results of coin tosses, it turns out, are determined from the start, and only our incomplete knowledge makes them look random. "Random" sequences of numbers are more elusive--they may be truly random, but Godels undecidability theorem informs us that well never know. Their apparent randomness may be only a shortcoming of our minds. Mathematicians have even discovered a string of numbers that appears random--but when you reverse the string, its completely deterministic! People familiar with quantum indeterminacy tell us that order is an illusion, and that the world is fundamentally random. Yet randomness is also an illusion. Then which is real? Perhaps order and randomness, like waves and particles, are only two sides of the same coin. Review Quote From the reviews:THE AMERICAN STATISTICIAN"In summary, I think that many readers with a strong interest in mathematics, statistics, physics, or other areas of science will find this book interesting and challenging. I strongly recommend it to all who are interested in science and would like to see how the ideas of both theoretical mathematics and statistics have been observed and used in real life throughout history."MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS"The book is nicely written and should entertain many readers…" Description for Sales People Order is an illusion, the quantum theorists tell us; at bottom the world is ruled by quantum indeterminacy. Yet randomness is also an illusion: the appearance of randomness is only a sign of ignorance, of our inability to detect the pattern. Does randomness really exist? In this wonderfully thought-provoking little book, mathematician Ed Beltrami shows how order and randomness are really two sides of the same mysterious coin. Details ISBN1461271568 Author Edward Beltrami Language English Edition 99199th Subtitle Chance and Order in Mathematics and Life ISBN-10 1461271568 ISBN-13 9781461271567 Short Title WHAT IS RANDOM SOFTCOVER REPRI Media Book DEWEY 519.2 Residence NY, US Year 2012 Publication Date 2012-10-28 Place of Publication New York, NY Country of Publication United States Imprint Copernicus Books Illustrations XX, 201 p. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4612-1472-4 AU Release Date 2012-10-28 NZ Release Date 2012-10-28 US Release Date 2012-10-28 UK Release Date 2012-10-28 Pages 201 Publisher Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Edition Description Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1999 Format Paperback Alternative 9780387987378 Audience Professional & Vocational Replaced by 9781071607985 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! 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