Book Description

The rapid evolution of computing, communication, and sensor technologies has brought about the proliferation of `new' dynamic systems, mostly technological and often highly complex. Examples are all around us: computer and communication networks; automated manufacturing systems; air traffic control systems; and distributed software systems. The `activity' in these systems is governed by operational rules designed by humans; their dynamics are therefore characterized by asynchronous occurrences of discrete events. These features lend themselves to the term discrete event system for this class of dynamic systems.A substantial portion of this book is a revised version of Discrete Event Systems: Modeling and Performance Analysis (1993), written by the first author and recipient of the 1999 International Federation of Automatic Control Triennial Control Engineering Textbook Prize. This new expanded book is intended to be a comprehensive introduction to the field of discrete event systems, emphasizing breadth of coverage and accessibility of the material to readers with possibly different backgrounds. Its key feature is the emphasis placed on a unified modeling framework that transcends specific application areas and allows linking of the following topics in a coherent manner: language and automata theory, supervisory control, Petri net theory, (max,+) algebra, Markov chains and queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, perturbation analysis, and concurrent estimation techniques. Until now, these topics had been treated in separate books or in the research literature only.Introduction to Discrete Event Systems is written as a textbook for courses at the senior undergraduate level or the first-year graduate level. It will be of interest to students in a variety of disciplines where the study of discrete event systems is relevant: control, communications, computer engineering, computer science, manufacturing engineering, operations research, and industrial engineering. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Introduction to discrete event systems
This book is a great textbook for students who are interested in the control engineering field. Due to the difficulty, it is more focused for graduate students. This book has won the 1999 harold chestnut prize awarded by the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). The topics are language and automata theory, supervisory control, Petri net theory, (max,+) algebra, Markov chains and queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, perturbation analysis, and concurrent estimation techniques. This book is used in many universities in the US but also in countries like Korea as well. ... Read more

Book Description

The purpose of science is to understand Reality. The ultimate goal and Holy Grail of physics is to understand everything by a single all-embracing principle called the Theory of Everything (TOE).

Jerry Davidson Wheatley has produced a scientific book that details how he found an excellent candidate for the Theory of Everything Equation: One that defies all other possibilities.

The book describes the Structure of Reality and how it leads to the Ultimate Principle. The principle explains the ultimate nature of space and time. It unifies the four forces of nature (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear forces) and merges Relativity with Quantum Theory. It defines the nature of consciousness and experience and, in so doing, elucidates the idea of God and Creation. It scientifically explains the Bible and most religions.

It solves and explains the most vexing scientific and philosophical problems. It explains biological evolution in a nonreductionistic manner. It explains the Big Bang. It solves the logical dilemma left by Goedel's Incompleteness Theorems.

His book is a comprehensive scientific understanding of reality. Yet, no math skills are needed to understand it. Recommended for serious scientists and truth-seekers. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Should be Required Reading for everyone
This book will change your life. You will never think the same way you did before reading it.
I have a degree in chemistry and I think this book should be read by everyone in the sciences. Without a doubt, the best book I've ever read. Why and what are two of our best friends

A Very Important Book
I must preface my review by stating that I have never been so excited and moved by a book that I have wanted to contact the author. That is what I found myself doing upon reading this book. This book is just what its title says. The author does not "miss a beat" describing in great detail using practically every aspect of scientific knowledge from atomic structure through logic to quantum theory---we are even given a valuable explanation of Love. This text may be challenging to read for those unfamiliar with scientific terminology. And it can also be difficult for those with a science background, such as myself. However, for me it is well worth the work necessary to strive to understand the unfamiliar terminology. (I am continually learning from this book. I am presently on my third reread).

One of the author's main messages is "not" to believe anything without first verifying it with reality, as we know it. He calls it the "Personal Explanation Principle". He indicates that religions are just such belief systems that we as people "fall" victims of; because we do not verify the beliefs with the facts, as we know them, of reality. He gives a very detailed explanation of how the New Testament can be explored using his methodology.

The author methodically and meticulously walks us through his thought processes, which took 30 years to assimilate, of delineating the structure of reality and the nature of consciousness. Included in the "walk" are many of reality's phenomena made revelatory. An example of that, for me, would be the dual nature of light. It's particle/wave duality, which is explained as "functions". Also, when the author took me on the mental journey of "Setness" an exhilaration of the magnificence of life swelled up in me.

To me this is a very important book that should be read by all that are seekers of truth. It is for all those wanting to gain an understanding of the purpose for their existence, wanting to know where life is headed towards, and wanting to know who God is.

This book will enlighten and develop one's mind substantially. You will discover that this is our objective.

And yes, I contacted the author and he responded openly.

Illuminating!!!
This is a really great book. It combines philosophy and science in order to tackle a multitude of existential problems. The author's style of writing is fresh and alive, I recommend ths book to anyone interested in expanding the fronteirs of their understanding. Books I also liked are a Universe in an Nutshell by Steven Hawkings and Descent into Illusions by Paul Omeziri.

Patterns for Behavioral Studies
Mr. Wheatley has touched upon one of the most intriguing methods, through scientific study and evalution, that leads to new deductions for behavioral patterns. Many books have been written for sociological, psychological, cultural, and behavioral studies, of which I have a deep interest. However, as you are led step by step through the scientific processes of this book, one's perspective of human behavior will take on a whole new meaning. Such questions as "why do people behave the way they do?", or "How do cultural, geographical, sociological factors impact our behavior?" take on a whole new perspective for study and evaluation. This book could become required text at the college level for scientific studies. I was fascinated with several concepts put forth by Mr. Wheatley.

"It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter" Proverbs 25:2
If you awoke from Nowhere and quickly overcame your Fear, BUY THIS BOOK! If you have looked out from the eyes of Adam Kadmon before all of this began, BUY THIS BOOK! If you saw the Creation take place before your eyes, BUY THIS BOOK! If you saw the left profile of the Bearded Man on the Mountain across the Great Abyss, BUY THIS BOOK! If you have witnessed effects before their cause, BUY THIS BOOK! If the Man on the Tesseract rescued you from the place where the Two Great Seas meet, BUY THIS BOOK! If you have been given the Three Words of the Two-Edged Sword, BUY THIS BOOK! If you became One in Perfect Love with Unseen She and are now an empty shell, BUY THIS BOOK! If you unceasingly recognize Synchronicity, BUY THIS BOOK! If, in addition to the Eternal Questions, you have asked, "What's happening?" "What's going on?", BUY THIS BOOK! Wheatley is a Master Teacher. He speaks square words to those who have square earholes to hear. Perhaps some may think this book should not have been published at such a ridiculously low price, believing pearls should not be cast before swine. Albeit, to those initiated in the mysteries of Life, willingly or unwillingly, HERE IS YOUR MANUAL. Here is the understanding of what it was you experienced. "[T]he glory of kings is to search out a matter." Ibid ... Read more

Reason, Steven Postrel

. . . In print, at least, what might seem arrogant comes across as a kind ofinnocent, childlike enthusiasm, a lack of concern for anything but the sheer joy offiguring things out. His ruthless simplifications of geology, evolution, and neurology payoff because, as Bak notes, his models describe behavior that is common across thesedomains. This universality means that trampling across others' turf is not only acceptable,but almost mandatory, if the underlying principles are to be exposed. Finally, for the mostpart, Bak wants the reader to grasp the basic logic of his arguments; only rarely does hetry to persuade with flights of poetic language or brute intellectual authority. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The Universe in a Grain of Sand: Self-Organized Criticality
Per Bak has made a glitzy try at explaining a number of natural phenomena. The idea of "self-organized criticality" is one that many disciplines grom geology to taxonomy to economics have had as a "dance partner."

Unfortunately, the idea of spontaneous order requires rigorous argument, not just clever analogy. For an elegant statement of the relations among the processes and components of the Universe that interact to give us stability and instability, basic arguments and a history of ideas can be found in Prigogine and Stengers' "Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialog with Nature." In collaboration with Stengers, Prigogine has updated his arguments for the role of the structures and behaviors in Nature in "The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos and the New Laws of Nature." Incidentally, the Nobel Laureate work of Ilya Prigogine seems not to have been discussed in Bak's cute little book. Even though this book is clearly written, there are enough omissions and errors to make a reader nervous.

For two instances of many problems. 1-Many examples are drawn from paleontological and evolutionary phenomena. Data on life spans of fossil genera (a Sepkowski compilation of data) are the source for one of histograms and are incorrectly transferred to Bak's book as a "kill curve." Kill curves are an important part of evolutionary/extinction theory. Bak might also have cited Van Valen's mechanism for disappearance by predation: the Red Queen's Hypothesis (roughly put, predators snarf up the most convenient meal, not always the slowest member of a species). This is an interesting variation on natural selection and one which Bak's cleverness could discuss to good effect. 2-Linear log-log plots appear without error bars and might have been done by the old Mark One Eyeball Method. How is a reader to know if the data reflected in the points were sloppy or tight fits? This is a crucial point in pattern matching. A shaky pattern makes a less convincing argument than a rel! iable one. Why aren't major intellectual contributions to the idea of self organization and critical conditions from Van Valen (1973), G. U. Yule (1987), D. Raup (1991) and Prigogine (1984, 1996) given some discussion?

I mention the above examples because argument by analogy is centered on Pattern Matching. Pattern can be defined for mathematical purposes as "a template, motif, design which may be repeated" (see Grünbaum and Shephard, "Tilings and Patterns"). But Bak does not say WHY pattern in mathematics (created by mathematical rules) should match pattern in Nature (created by rules which we are still working out). A quick answer would be that the pattern/analogy is only as good as the elements of the items being compared are comparable. Clearly, mechanisms of creation of the compared patterns are different. Use of analogy is a creative, useful way to probe the unknown by the known, but Bak does not lay even this foundation for the arguments in the book.

Because mathematical pattern (as survival curves, radioactive decay and the like appears in nature does not mean that the pattern match alone is "proof" for general a natural process as explanation for diverse observations. Bak's "avalanche behavior in sandpiles" is only as good as a master pattern if the transfer of data and mathematical information from other sources is impeccable. For an example of careful argument using understandable mathematics to understand processes in nature I recommend David Raup's witty "Extinction: Bad Luck or Bad Genes?."

In closing, I cannot recommend this book in spite of its occasional cleverness and clear writing. In the spirit of the Red Queen's Hypothesis, it is not quite quick enough to avoid the predator/critic.

Applied Self Organized Critically
Per Bak's book How Nature Works is about the theory of self organizing criticality and its applicability to a variety of questions and problems in several sciences. It is an interesting and quick read for the most part. I have read other books on self organized criticality that were far less understandable and more limited in their scope of applicability.

Although there were portions of Bak's work that were a little belabored-I found my interest in sand piles began to sag after the initial discussion, for instance-much of the rest of the book was enlightening. The discussion in Chapter 1 of the contrast between the clarity and simplicity of the laws of physics and the complexity and unpredictability of nature was particularly interesting as was the discussion of the difference between chaos and complexity. His explanation in Chapter 2 of the theory of self organized criticality and the history of its development is far clearer than I found Stuart Kauffman's to be. It might make a better starting place for anyone wishing to understand the theory a little better before going on to Kauffman's and other books on the subject.

Essentially the theme of the book involves the self organization of much of the universe, from stars and volcanoes to traffic jams and economics, into critical states sustained as stable systems until they evolve through cascade events or what Bak calls avalanches (after his sand pile paradigm) or catastrophes. Bak explains that the system maintains itself along a critical line, above which chaos rules and nothing can be predicted and below which nothing happens so there is nothing to predict!

Chapter 5 which deals with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions interested me in particular because of my own study of geology. Here Bak suggests that geophysicists' attempts at prediction of events is a lost cause. He believes it to be based upon the mistaken human habit of looking at random events for patterns and periodicity where none exists. While the history of a given event can be studied in some detail after the fact, the information derived is useless in predicting the future. In Bak's opinion, the variables involved are so legion and are interrelated in so convoluted a way as to be impossible to monitor before the fact.

In chapters 7, 8, and 9 the author attempts to model Darwin's gradual evolution, Gould's punctuated equilibrium, and the Santa Fe Institute's fitness landscape to see which fits the facts better. In general Darwin's theories are vindicated---no real surprise there---while punctuated equilibrium is also found to have it's place in a complete theory of evolution. Chapter 11 contained a section on the unavoidability of catastrophes and fluctuations---and by their extension, one supposes, biological evolution-which casts light on the boom and bust character of economics among other things. This chapter extends the use of the theory of SOC to human activities as well as to human evolution.

The author's style is very chatty, which makes it readable and personable. By filling in the human details of the discoverers, he makes the book more personal. In all, though I found myself occasionally losing the thread of the author's theme, I nevertheless found the content of each chapter well worth.

great book...dont be fooled!!!
great book. don't buy an old used copy here for $99 when they say it's "hard to find". you can buy a brand new copy direct from the publisher - www.copernicusbooks.com - for only $18!!!

Pretentious, but hollow inside
Per Bak claimed to have invented a fundamentally new way of looking at nature by ascribing an almost mystical significance to ``power-law'' distributions (for the non-technical reader, that simply means one quantity is proportional to another quantity raised to some power; the power, typically a number like 1.8, is a constant). There are two things wrong with this claim:

1. There is no deep significance to a power law distribution. All it means is that there is no natural scale of the phenomenon. (No power law runs from zero to infinity, so at best it means that there is no natural scale in the range in which the distribution is a power law.)

2. There is nothing new about this conclusion. It was understood in the 1940's by Kolmogorov in his theory of turbulence and Fermi in his theory of cosmic ray acceleration. The only thing Bak added was the application of these old ideas to the artificial and uninteresting problem of sandpiles.

There is nothing wrong with taking old ideas and applying them to new problems. However, Bak never admitted where the ideas came from. He never cited this earlier work. For example, models identical to his ``Self Organized Criticality'' were published by scientists working on earthquakes (Journal of Geophysical Research 90, 1894 [1985] and 91, 10412 [1986], building on earlier ideas by Knopoff). Although Bak was aware of this work, published before he ever began working on ``SOC'', he didn't acknowledge it. To a scientist this is an unpardonable sin, equivalent to a banker cooking the books.

There is a striking resemblence between Bak's How Nature Works and Wolfram's A New Kind of Science. Each author claimed to have made profound and original insights which explain not just one phenomenon, but almost every aspect of the world around us. In each case these supposed insights are essentially mathematical, based on models which ignore the actual physical, chemical or biological processes involved. And in each case closer examination shows that the work is almost trivial, and irrelevant to real scientific problems. You get out what you put in, and when you don't put any science in you, don't get any science out.

Each of these authors has also claimed credit to which he is not entitled by failing to acknowledge the prior work of others. They suffer from a would-be-genius syndrome, in which someone is so infatuated with his own supposed brilliance that he both exaggerates the slight significance of his work and fails to give credit to those who actually did it earlier....

Poorly written drivel
I have read a large number of books on complex systems but this one is by far the worst that I have come across. The writing is poor, unengaging, and overly verbose. He also tries to give himself much more credit than he is due. Given Bak's obnoxious reputation, I should have expected this but I had my hopes before I started reading. Unfortunately I put the book down completely unimpressed. Skip this book and pick up anything by Stu Kauffman (try "Investigations"). ... Read more

Book Description

The theory of dynamical systems has given rise to the vast new area variously called applied dynamics, nonlinear science, or chaos theory. This introductory text covers the central topological and probabilistic notions in dynamics ranging from Newtonian mechanics to coding theory. The only prerequisite is a basic undergraduate analysis course. The authors use a progression of examples to present the concepts and tools for describing asymptotic behavior in dynamical systems, gradually increasing the level of complexity. Subjects include contractions, logistic maps, equidistribution, symbolic dynamics, mechanics, hyperbolic dynamics, strange attractors, twist maps, and KAM-theory. ... Read more

Book Description

Self-organized criticality (SOC) maintains that complex behavior can develop spontaneously in certain multi-body systems whose dynamics vary abruptly. This is a clear and concise introduction to the field of self-organized criticality, and contains an overview of the main research results. The author begins with an examination of what is meant by SOC, and the systems in which it can occur. He then presents and analyzes computer models to describe a number of systems, explaining the different mathematical formalisms developed to understand SOC. The final chapter assesses the impact of this field of study, and highlights some key areas of new research. The author assumes no previous knowledge of the field, and the book contains several exercises. It will be ideal as a textbook for graduate students taking physics, engineering, or mathematical biology courses in nonlinear science or complexity. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent and honest
This book deserves 5 stars because it gives crystal-clear, precise, brutally honest and unbiased coverage of what "Self-Organized Criticality" is and what it is not. Don't waste your time reading Bak's book, read this one instead.

A GOOD FORMAL INTRODUCTION TO SELF ORGANIZED CRITICALITY.
This book is the first attempt to condense in a single text a mathematical introduction to the emergent field of self organized criticality (SOC). The author describes the main general ideas of SOC in the first two chapters. In the third chapter there are a presentation of some systems that can exhibit SOC. The fourth chapter is a presentation and a study of "toy models" in the spirit of SOC. The fifth chapter is about the search of a general mathematical formalism for SOC, which is still an open question. The author presents in this chapter some formalisms developed to explain SOC. In the last chapter, the author discusses essentialy to what extent we can observe SOC behaviour in real systems. There are five appendices, and the first three of these appendices present FORTRAN codes for three distinct toy models. I did not rate this book as five stars because in my opinion the author is very concise in some parts of the text. But this is a good book, and can be recommended to all those interested in the field of self organized criticality.

Good introduction to Self Organized Criticality
From the caracteristics of systems exhibiting SOC to their simulation and modelling as well as many classical and new examples of SOC systems. ... Read more

Book Description

This book integrates insights from complexity and computational theory with the philosophical position of thinkers including Derrida and Lyotard. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Good introduction to complex systems
Of the two I've read, this is by far the better introduction to complexity. Though sometimes redundant, Cilliers's book fleshes out the skeletal abstractions, and makes Derrida palatable even to the general reader.

Complexity and Dead End
The book combines elements of different philosophies: post-modernism, structuralism, and deconstruction. It is a meeting of vague philosophical generalizations and scientific terminology (e.g., neural networks), and as such, it muddles things instead of making them clear. The hope being that, if things look complex and muddled, people will consider the book profound.

I have to say that stylistically the book is fairly well written, yet this is not something one would read for entertainment. Bottom line: this is an attempt at some sort of philsophical synthesis which, in reality, is an intellectual dead end.

Science is not pop music ...and philosophy didn't used to be
... in spite of the appearance of the reviews associated with this work and the work itself, there is a valid connection between postmodernism and (let me be patient!) complexity.

First of all, about terminology... isn't complexity theory a branch of computer science that deals with execution time as a metric of algorithms? I think the reviewers here want to refer to complex systems theory. Wasn't connectionism a fad which was piled on top of a catchily-conceived name for artificial neural networks .... which were the popularization of more serious works of people like Papert, Minsky, Grossberg...and doesn't the reviewer who pretends to know something about physical science understand what "irreversibility" is and that, indeed, classical mechanics is indeed reversible? J. Willard Gibbs would roll over in his grave if he could read the reviews on this page...

IF you are seriously trying to find out what this stuff is about, start out by getting Lars Skyttner's book on General Systems Theory. Use it as a guidebook. Then, if you want to understand the evolution of the ideas, read the opening sections of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. After that, read Saussure and Piaget on structuralism and read Terence Hawkes' book, "Structuralism and Semiotics" After that, try to get at least a rudimentary understanding of the work of the process philosophers...Bergson, Peirce, James and, of course, "Process and Reality" by Whitehead. At this point, you should seriously consider getting at least a passing familiarity with the work of Karl Marx with the goal of understanding what was really bothering him - and of seeing that Marx's ideas are important in ways that he probably never even thought about.

At that point, if you are one of many for whom there is a schism between the culture of liberal arts and the culture of mathematics and science, you should, at this point read a few of the popular works of Richard Feynman - perhaps, "The Character of Physical Law" or the opening lecture of Volume I of "The Feynman Lectures on Physics". Compare what Feynman has to say about science to what Piaget has to say about structures and - hopefully, by now you are beginning to realize that mathematics is a liberal art - and that the so-called liberal arts are sometimes excuses for people who don't want to be very careful in their thinking....(not always, mind you) - go and read Sunny Auyang's wonderful books, "Foundations of Complex Systems Theories" and "How is Quantum Field Theory Possible?"

By this point, you should feel somewhat secure in addressing "Postmodernism" and being able to distinguish what is there because people want to sound "cool" for their friends, and what is valid and sometimes deeply disturbing for the evolution of humanity.

Crippled by Cilliers' Knowledge of Complexity Science
Frankly, I'm astonished by some of the favorable reviews this book has received. First of all, I still haven't figured out if this really is a book or if it's a collection of essays, due to the amount of repetition of content between chapters.

Cilliers attempts to demonstrate the mutual relevance of complexity science (CS) and postmodern philosophy, but his knowledge of CS and thermodynamics seems to go no deeper than what he's read on the dustjackets of pop-sci books. The number of claims he makes that are either blatantly false or not necessarily true are outnumbered only by the number of uninsightful comments and statements that appear to have been gleaned directly from more technical sources. Here are a few to make one's skin crawl:

On p. 6, as an example of a non-linear relationship: "money can receive compounded interest". In fact, this is a classic *linear* relationship (so common it's often used as an introductory problem the first day of a course in linear differential equations). The equation representing it is simply: dM/dt = n*M, where M is the amount of money in an account, and n is the interest rate. The solution is Mo * e^(nt), where Mo is the initial amount of money in the account and 'e' represents 'exponential'. (Simply because compounded interest generates an exponential curve over time does not make the relationship non-linear; the underlying equation is linear.)

On p. 4: "Any analysis of a complex system that ignores the dimension of time is incomplete, or at most a synchronic snapshot of a diachronic process." This is completely false - One of the very purposes of 'phase space' analysis is to *completely* represent a system without considering time. The elliptical relationship between velocity and momentum in a simple harmonic oscillator is a common example that many might remember from high school physics.

On p. 8: "In classical mechanics, time was reversible, and therefore not part of the equation. In thermodynamics time plays a vital role." This quote still makes me tear at my hair. The *exact opposite* is true: almost every equation in classical mechanics (projectile motion, harmonic oscillation, planetary motion) explicitly involve time as a dimension, while, because thermodynamics is only concerned with initial and final (equilibrium) states, few thermo equations do so.

On p. 3, Cilliers says: "The grains of sand on a beach do not interest us as a complex system." but includes later in the book a quote from complexity scientist Per Bak, who has achieved his fame specifically for the study of the 'self-organized criticality' of sand grains.

And this is just the first few pages! The list goes on and on: He repeatedly confuses the thermodynamic concepts of 'closed' and 'isolated' systems; He seems to think that 'non-linear' equations are all somehow phenomenally complex and unsolvable and that the phrase 'non-linear' is therefore a synonym for being non-reductionist, non-rational, and, in short, 'postmodern'. (In doing so, he falls into many of the traps Alan Sokal identified in Fashionable Nonsense.)

I think that the basic concept behind the book could have been interesting, but due to Cilliers elementary-level grasp of half the subject matter with which he deals, the statement Cilliers himself makes on p. 133 (in reference to a recent book by Rouse) applies equally well to this text: "For me, reading this book was about as pleasant as it would be to eat it."

All Without Referring to Wittgenstein?
I read this book primarily through an interest in the philosophy of language. Of particular relevance in this respect is the emphasis on a characterisation of complexity as being opposed to traditional notions of representation. Cilliers draws parallels between the philosophy of Saussure and Derrida and scientific developments in distributed representation, particularly with respect to connectionist approaches as implemented in neural networks. Cilliers argues that a classical representational theory of language that posits syntax as an instantiation of semantics does not sufficiently allow for the complexity evident in language, but rather that meaning is constituted by the dynamic relationships between both the components of language and the environment in which it is embedded. Cilliers explicitly rejects rule-based symbol systems as being adequete for modelling language, referring to recent scientific research using neural networks to simulate language learning indicating that "though rules may be useful to describe linguistic phenomena, explicit rules need not be employed when language is acquired or when it is used" (p. 32). In Chapter 4 (pp. 48-57), Cilliers considers the Chinese Room Gedankenexperiment from the perspective of his thesis. He suggests that the debate has unquestionably assumed that the formal model of language represented by the argument is correct, that is, that a rule-book such as the one supposed is even possible. Cilliers suggests that this assumes certain features of language: that a formal grammar for a natural language can be constructed and represented in a lookup table; that there is a clean split between syntax and semantics; and that language represents rather than constitutes meaning (p. 53).

The overall picture of language that Cilliers develops has important parallels with the views of Wittgenstein, though, somewhat surprisingly, Wittgenstein is never explicitly mentioned (except with regard to his family concepts). Firstly, meaning is construed as occuring through dynamic processes (use) rather than static representations (the conception that Wittgenstein's private language argument criticises). Secondly, the idea that there is some fact of the matter (whether inside or outside human agents) that determines meaning is explicitly rejected. Finally, a straightforward split between syntax and semantics is denied (a distinction that the sceptical interpretation of Wittgenstein, offered by Kripke, takes advantage of).

In summary, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in making connections between dynamic systems theory and philosophy of mind or language -- Cilliers proves an effective communicator in both of the fields he wishes to connect. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of modern particle physics accessible to anyone with a true passion for wanting to know how the universe works. We are introduced to the known particles of the world we live in. An elegant explanation of quantum mechanics and relativity paves the way for an understanding of the laws that govern particle physics. These laws are put into action in the world of accelerators, colliders and detectors found at institutions such as CERN and Fermilab that are in the forefront of technical innovation. Real world and theory meet using Feynman diagrams to solve the problems of infinities and deduce the need for the Higgs boson.

Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics offers an incredible insight from an eyewitness and participant in some of the greatest discoveries in 20th century science. From Einstein's theory of relativity to the elusive Higgs particle, this book will fascinate and educate anyone interested in the world of quarks, leptons and gauge theories.

This book also contains many thumbnail sketches of particle physics personalities, including contemporaries as seen through the eyes of the author. Illustrated with pictures, these candid sketches present rare, perceptive views of the characters that populate the field.

The Chapter on Particle Theory, in a pre-publication, was termed `superbly lucid' by David Miller in Nature (Vol. 396, 17 Dec. 1998), p.642. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive and concise, but awkward prose
Veltman delivers the tale of phenomenological particle physics with enthusiasm and depth as one of its leading researchers. He attempts to cover the whole arena, from the complex behavior of quarks and gluons to the description of particle detectors. Woven throughout the book are small "vignettes" (his terminology for brief biographical sketches) of the many physicists, famous and not-so-famous, who contributed to the current understanding of our universe. He succeeds relatively well in his goal of explaining particle physics to the layman.

But don't look here for any coverage of the more esoteric and exotic ideas of theoretical physics like string theory. He unequivocally states,

"The fact is that this book is about physics, and this implies that the theoretical ideas discussed must be supported by experimental facts. Neither supersymmetry nor string theory satisfy this criterion. They are figments of the theoretical mind. To quote Pauli: They are not even wrong. They have no place here."

He is, of course, correct but I think he downplays the mathematically unifying power of string theory, for which experimental verification lies beyond today's technological reach and thus cannot be vindicated one way or the other. Mathematical beauty, while not a sure sign of physical truth, can at least serve as a powerful beacon for future physical insights.

Always the true scientist, Veltman should be praised for unapologetically declaring agnosticism if evidence for a theoretical idea isn't clear cut. For example, he writes several times that the neutrino is massless but will almost always parenthetically acknowledge that it might have a very small mass (which indeed it does, as experimental evidence of neutrino mixing has been since verified). He deems it worthy enough to have an entire section devoted to neutrino mixing and its implications.

I found one glaring problem with the book that prevented the 5 star rating it could have received: writing style. It just doesn't read all that smoothly, and I think it could have been cleaned up a bit more by a more astute editor.

Balancing the rocky prose, however, are wonderful color templates (excellently used during his description of anti-matter) to aid explanations, pictures of apparati and scientists to portray the human side of science, and clear diagrams of particle interactions.

If you want to learn what physicists empirically know about particle physics today and how they determine it, get this book; just don't expect smooth reading. Veltman is clearly passionate about his profession and it shows. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Neural network theory is shaking up fields as disparate as philosophy and ecology: the paradigm shift is here. The second edition of Connectionism and the Mind: Parallel Processing, Dynamics, and Evolution in Networks has been rewritten and restructured to accommodate the profound changes wrought during the '90s burst of research in the field. Authors William Bechtel and Adele Abrahamsen present their material clearly and accessibly, asking of their readers only a familiarity with algebra and formal logic. Covering the basics of representation, architecture, and rules, they move on to deep and exciting questions about connectionism's implications for artificial intelligence and neuroscience--thought-provoking reading for nearly everyone. The text is stimulating and offers hundreds of routes to further study through its well-integrated bibliography. Connectionism and the Mind is essentially a progress report on a very young discipline; its readers will see the future a little more clearly. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Book Description

The goal of this book is to provide a comprehensive and systematic introduction to the important and highly applicable method of data refinement and the simulation methods used for proving its correctness. The authors concentrate in the first part on the general principles needed to prove data refinement correct. They begin with an explanation of the fundamental notions, showing that data refinement proofs reduce to proving simulation. The topics of Hoare Logic and the Refinement Calculus are introduced and a general theory of simulations is developed and related to them. Accessibility and comprehension are emphasized in order to guide newcomers to the area.The book's second part contains a detailed survey of important methods in this field, such as VDM, and the methods due to Abadi & Lamport, Hehner, Lynch and Reynolds, Back's refinement calculus and Z. All these methods are carefully analysed, and shown to be either imcomplete, with counterexamples to their application, or to be always applicable whenever data refinement holds. This is shown by proving, for the first time, that all these methods can be described and analyzed in terms of two simple notions: forward and backward simulation.The book is self-contained, going from advanced undergraduate level and taking the reader to the state of the art in methods for proving simulation. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive, up-to-date presentation of the indispensable core concepts of geometric modeling

Now completely updated to include the most recent developments in the field, Geometric Modeling, Second Edition presents a comprehensive discussion of the core concepts of this subject. It describes and compares all the important mathematical methods for modeling curves, surfaces, and solids, and shows how to transform and assemble these elements into complex models. Written in a style free of the jargon of special applications, this unique book focuses on the essence of geometric modeling and treats it as a discipline in its own right.

It integrates the three important functions of geometric modeling: to represent elementary forms (i.e., curves, surfaces, and solids), to shape and assemble these into more complex forms, and to determine concomitant derivative geometric elements (i.e., intersections, offsets, and fillets).

With more than 300 illustrations, Geometric Modeling, Second Edition appeals to the reader's visual and intuitive skills in a way that makes it easier to understand its more abstract concepts. An extensive bibliography lists many supporting works, directing the reader to more specialized treatments of this subject.

Geometric Modeling, Second Edition serves as an invaluable guide to computer graphics and CAD/CAM specialists, applications designers, scientific programmers, teachers, and students. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An entry level book on geometric modeling
This book is a definitive introduction to geometric modeling. However, the sections on solid modeling and surface-surface intersection are lacking in depth. A serious reader may consider consulting books by Farin and Piegl for Geometric modeling and Hoffman/Mantyla for solid modeling.

Ultimate book on Geometric Modeling
The book covers every commonly used geometric model as well as many related topics in an easy to read style and good layout. It also covers the mathematical methods used in the text making it the only book you will ever need for modeling.

Mortenson does it again!
I have come to rely on Michael Mortenson's books as my prime resource for programming computer graphics. Most books on this topic expect the reader to have an advanced degree in mathematics. But Mortenson has the ability to talk to you regardless of your prior knowledge of the topic (indeed, you'll feel you have earned a math degree after reading this book without even trying).

This book is so complete that I feel it is the only book you'll ever need to understand the topic of geometric modelling. I highly recommend it (and any Mortenson book) to everyone interested in serious computer graphics programming.

A good introduction in GEOMETRIC MODELING!
This is an authorative, first-stage book on geometric modeling. I think everyone who is interested in geometric modeling will find it's beneficial for research as well as for applications.

Chen-June Kao

Solid Modeling Lab, ME, NTU, Taipei, Republic of China ... Read more

Book Description

* Covers the modelling and simulation of mechatronic and micromechatronic systems using HDLs.
* Provides an overview of the design of digital and analog circuitry and software for mechatronic systems.
* Presents practical guidance on both chip and systems design for a wide range of mechatronic applications.
* Focuses on a practical approach to the design and simulation of electronic hardware and components of mechatronic systems. ... Read more

Book Description

Magic and science may seem like strange bedfellows, but in this captivating and far-ranging book, respected science journalist Roger Highfield nimbly illustrates how the two disciplines are actually deeply intertwined in the Harry Potter books. Like Highfield's The Physics of Christmas, The Science of Harry Potter teases out the scientific explanations and surprising factual foundation of marvels and mysteries-only this time instead of reindeer and Santa, Highfield trains his eye on dragons, broomsticks, and all the wonderful oddities of J. K. Rowling's enchanted world.Highfield uses the amazing elements of the Harry Potter books as a springboard into discussions of fascinating scientific issues. He delves into the archaeology of witchcraft, tracing the origin and uses of wands and cauldrons as revealed at ancient European dig sites. He speculates on the astounding connection between hallucinogens and flying broomsticks and the bizarre drug-taking practices of medieval witches. The potions and charms that Harry has so much trouble replicating in Snape's class are in fact grounded in the science of ethnobotany. Here too is a plausible account of the cutting-edge physics that explains the invisibility cloak and the genetic engineering behind the creation of Fluffy the three-headed dog.

As Highfield reminds us, "wizard" actually means wise man-and wizardry and science were closely related fields before Newton. As enlightening as it is delightful, The Science of Harry Potter sheds light not only on Harry Potter's magical realm, but also on the magic that is taking place in labs and science classrooms in our own "muggle" world.

This book is not authorized, prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any other individual or entity associated with the Harry Potter books or movie. Harry Potter is the registered trademark of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Review of The Science of Harry Potter
Woah- This book was obviously very well researched and thought out. Whats-his-name went to a lot of effort to write this book. Though, as an obsessive 15 year old harry potter fan, it didn't make me happy! It took all the magic out of the books. it explained how every bit of magic the book had could be really happening, but with out magic! He took the all the fun out of it! When i bought it i thought it would tell me how the magic worked, not how it wasn't real. i was highly offended.

A good book to think on
This book is for people who enjoy reading about what people have tried/done in the past and what people will be trying and doing in the future

This book is not really directed towards children more to someone who enjoys reading about science. From start to finish a lot of names, ideas, experiments, and questions are given. A great read for anyone who likes to wonder. This book provokes hundreds of what if questions and the reader is left to just wonder how the world would be with these things.

The thoughts and ideas in this book are LOOSELY based on the 'magic' in Harry Potter. The ideas in the Harry Potter books are expanded and talked about at great length with not only what if questions but how scientists in the past and present are (without first seeing it in Harry Potter) trying to achieve real life 'magic'

The science of Harry Potter?
I received this book as a gift and, upon reading it, now consider it a valuable addition to my collection. There are a few things, however, that I've noticed some other reviewers pointing out that I would like to go into. The author of the book considers himself a Harry Potter fan. In fact, the majority of scientists he consults are also supposedly fans of the series. The book, however, is less about Harry Potter and more about science. Essentially, it is a book describing and explaining the realistic possibilities of scientifically creating the "magic" used by the wizards in Harry's world. If anything, the book should be retitled, "The Science of Harry Potter: How Muggles Use Technology to Acheive What Magic Already (Potentially) Does."

It is, however, incredibly well researched and is obviously a labor of love and dedicated interest. I would suggest this book to any Harry Potter fan who also enjoys reading about science. It is not, on the other hand, what the average Potter fan would consider casual reading. This is a science book, discussing topics ranging from quantum physics to ethnobotony and could very well be considered boring by most people's standards.

Ignore the writing style and enjoy the information
This book does an amazing job introducing the "magical" world of science. I am amazed at the author`s research and discussion of emerging scientific fields--such as levitation and teleportation--in layman`s terms. Anyone with science or Harry Potter in his/her heart will love this book. Sit back and relax and enjoy the tid bits of information the author offers. However, if you expect the author to stay on topic, totally relate to the Harry Potter books, or draw any comprehensible conclusions...you will only frustrate yourself. Ignore the writing style and enjoy the wealth of information.

A set of lively scientific insights
The immensely popular Harry Potter fantasy books are used as source material in The Science Of Harry Potter as a foundation for discussions of scientific and historical issues ranging from connections between hallucinogens and flying sensations to the science of ethnobotany. Readers of Harry Potter will find here a set of lively scientific insights which go far from Harry's world and into the world of real science. ... Read more

Book Description

A Thorough Update of the Industry Classic on Principles of Plasma Processing

The first edition of Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, published over a decade ago, was lauded for its complete treatment of both basic plasma physics and industrial plasma processing, quickly becoming the primary reference for students and professionals.

The Second Edition has been carefully updated and revised to reflect recent developments in the field and to further clarify the presentation of basic principles. Along with in-depth coverage of the fundamentals of plasma physics and chemistry, the authors apply basic theory to plasma discharges, including calculations of plasma parameters and the scaling of plasma parameters with control parameters.

New and expanded topics include:

• Updated cross sections
• Diffusion and diffusion solutions
• Generalized Bohm criteria
• Expanded treatment of dc sheaths
• Langmuir probes in time-varying fields
• Electronegative discharges
• Pulsed power discharges
• Dual frequency discharges
• High-density rf sheaths and ion energy distributions
• Hysteresis and instabilities
• Helicon discharges
• Hollow cathode discharges
• Ionized physical vapor deposition
• Differential substrate charging

With new chapters on dusty plasmas and the kinetic theory of discharges, graduate students and researchers in the field of plasma processing should find this new edition more valuable than ever. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Overrated
As a praciticing process engineer my opinion is this book lacks insight.Typical text book written a professor in the academic community with no practical experience.This book spends far to much time deriving equationsand not discussing the basics concepts.The author makes a half heartedattempt to relate the first 14 chapters to the real worl, in a short andinadequate Chapter 15. This is the first mail book order book i took thetime to return.In all honesty this book is not worth the $90.00.Spendyour money elsewhere

The book provides an excellent overview of plasma processing
This book provides an excellent introduction and overview of plasma discharges applied to semiconductor manufacturing. It is well-organized, clearly-written and full of useful examples and exercises.And unlike manybooks on plasma physics, it is not overly-mathematical and contains manyuseful physical insights. I strongly recommend this book for anyone wantingto review the field of plasma processing.

An excellent overview of common plasma processing devices
Lieberman covers many of the standard processing devices and much of the physics needed to model them effectively.

The presentation is clear and extremely useful both as a reference and as a tutorial.A must-have bookfor anyone interested in plasma processing.

Very Good Theoretical Coverage of Plasma's, including ECR
This book provides a theoretical overview of plasma's, including coverage of ECR applications. This was very valuable for Hitachi Etchers. The theory is presented at an undergraduate level and assumes the reader has knowledge of vector analysis. Highly recommended for any Etch Process Engineer in the Semiconductor Industry. ... Read more

Book Description

The quadratic cost optimal control problem for systems described by linear ordinary differential equations occupies a central role in the study of control systems both from the theoretical and design points of view. The study of this problem over an infinite time horizon shows the beautiful interplay between optimality and the qualitative properties of systems such as controllability, observability and stability. This theory is far more difficult for infinite-dimensional systems such as systems with time delay and distributed parameter systems. In the first place, the difficulty stems from the essential unboundedness of the system operator. Secondly, when control and observation are exercised through the boundary of the domain, the operator representing the sensor and actuator are also often unbounded.The present book, in two volumes, is in some sense a self-contained account of this theory of quadratic cost optimal control for a large class of infinite-dimensional systems. Volume I deals with the theory of time evolution of controlled infinite-dimensional systems. It contains a reasonably complete account of the necessary semigroup theory and the theory of delay-differential and partial differential equations. Volume II deals with the optimal control of such systems when performance is measured via a quadratic cost. It covers recent work on the boundary control of hyperbolic systems and exact controllability. Some of the material covered here appears for the first time in book form. The book should be useful for mathematicians and theoretical engineers interested in the field of control. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive treatment of model-based fuzzy control systems
This volume offers full coverage of the systematic framework for the stability and design of nonlinear fuzzy control systems. Building on the Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model, authors Tanaka and Wang address a number of important issues in fuzzy control systems, including stability analysis, systematic design procedures, incorporation of performance specifications, numerical implementations, and practical applications.
Issues that have not been fully treated in existing texts, such as stability analysis, systematic design, and performance analysis, are crucial to the validity and applicability of fuzzy control methodology. Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis addresses these issues in the framework of parallel distributed compensation, a controller structure devised in accordance with the fuzzy model.
This balanced treatment features an overview of fuzzy control, modeling, and stability analysis, as well as a section on the use of linear matrix inequalities (LMI) as an approach to fuzzy design and control. It also covers advanced topics in model-based fuzzy control systems, including modeling and control of chaotic systems. Later sections offer practical examples in the form of detailed theoretical and experimental studies of fuzzy control in robotic systems and a discussion of future directions in the field.
Fuzzy Control Systems Design and Analysis offers an advanced treatment of fuzzy control that makes a useful reference for researchers and a reliable text for advanced graduate students in the field. ... Read more