Reviews (3)

Not really worth it
Perhaps I bought this book with expecting too much. The books does talk about general system thinking, but:
- I find the book itself rather unsystematic and jumpy
- The style really annoying
- Most of the material is primitive
On the positive side, if you do want to get a feel of system thinking, this might be one of the books. I would also recommend to check out popular books on Complexity (such as Complexity by Mitchell Walldrop).

Great Book -- Makes You Think
One of the wonderful things about the Weinbergs' early series of books -- and this one in particular -- is that the ideas and the examples really make you think. With examples chosen from many fields, the book illustrates its central ideas with a cross-fertilization that helps one think outside ones box.

It starts with a very simple idea -- stability. Things change so little most of the time we hardly notice. And yet stability usually requires active forces to sustain it. As an information systems designer, Weinberg helped me see why this simple idea, and a few simple ideas that follow, turn out to explain a great deal about why projects information technology projects fail, and how they can be made more successful.

One of the most infuential books I have ever read
An outstanding follow up to the first book Weinberg wrote(An Introduction to General Systems Thinking, 1975). Anyone who considers themseleves a systems thinker must read this book! Whereas the first book attempts to answer the first question in the systems triumvirate, "Why do we see what we see?", this books tackles the next question, namely "Why do things stay the same?" As a marriage and family therapist, understanding systems is crucial to my work. This book is clearly written, and provides real world examples of sometimes difficult topics. I have read this book cover to cover 3 times in the last 2 years, and continue to get something new from it every time. One of the best books around to think about the organization of systems, regardless of the context. ... Read more

Book Description

Contains an edited collection of papers by experts from all disciplines of chaos which are the result of the International Workshop on Applications of Chaos, sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute. Focusing on the actual and potential methodologies of the latest investigations in chaos dynamics, topics presented here run the gamut from the dynamics of electrocardiograph information and the instability of conveyor belts to the time series modeling and control of chaos. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a clear, understandable, and motivated account on the subject that spans both conventional and modern materials about discrete event systems, material that, up to now, has been presented in the literature in different fields, such as the graph theory, the probability theory, the automata's theory, and the queueing theory. The book gives a complete introduction to the discrete-event system theory and simultaneously applies the theory to practical problems. The book gives students of computer sciences, system sciences, and of electrical engineering, a clear, unambiguous, and relevant account of discrete-event systems. Numerous illustrations are included for better understanding. Problems as well as their solutions are included in each chapter. It can be used as a basic introduction for undergraduates and graduate students. Although it is logically self-contained, it presupposes the mathematical maturity acquired by students with two years of calculus. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Exhaustive and clear
Tornambe' treats all the basics of discrete-event systems theory, from queuing theory and Markov chains fundamentals to more advanced topics like BCMP queues. I recommend it to whoever wants to learn the subject following a clear, exhaustive style and a very structured approach. ... Read more

Book Description

Designing Autonomous Agents provides a summary and overview of the radically different architectures that have been developed over the past few years for organizing robots. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Designing Automonous Agents: a Review
This book contains a well-chosen sample of what I would like to call some of the "classic" papers in the AI/Robotics research field over the last decade. Maes includes some of the most well-known studies of subsumption architecture, planning, knowledge and goal representation, and behavioral studies. This is a great book for a student of AI/Robotics or just anyone who wants a good basis of understanding in these fields. If you have a robot of your own, this book is an excellent source of detailed descriptions of different architectures developed for organizing robots. While the papers in this book are not on the cutting edge, they provide a good foundation for exploring those that are. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Most powerful math tool
This book is a nice introduction to non-linear dynamics study (Chaos, roughly speeking, the very complex behavior from a simple set of equations). The author wrote it in a way that you understand how the Chaos was developed historically and he sometimes stops the narrative to introduce an easy aspect of chaos that anyone can understand. Thus you'll indeed develop Chaos behavior even if you're not Ph.D. in mathematics, because he will show you, for example, a very simple equation that produces chaos. However, what really catches me in this book was the power of this new approach of chaos. This is exactly what Santa Fe Institute needs. See, why is that when we apply a classical physics equation in a system it does not behaves exactly as it was expected? Because we certainly did not considered details (e.g. friction). The non-linear dynamics show us that we can, from a exceptionally simple equation, create a very complex behavior that can simulate the true behavior. Thus I think in a near future non-linear dynamics will be able to break that famous wall in Science: can't explain that in details because that would generate an almost impossible-to-solve math equation. Now we can do that!

An intelligent non-technical introduction to chaos.
Being a physicist I frequently get bored with "science for the layman" books (for instance, Hawking's "Brief History of Time"). This was not the case with Stewart's "Dice" book. It is very well researched and written, in a style that wisely combines historical information with new discoveries, which are, therefore put into perspective. You can even try your hands in simple calculations with your PC. On the whole, a very balanced exposition, without, thank God!, the usual exageration on the place of chaos in the future of science. A very good place to start.

A thorough explanation of chaos theory
The best mathematical models for many physical events rely on chaotic formulas and the number continues to grow rapidly. It now appears that some exposure to chaos and fractals will be a necessary component of the education of all future applied mathematicians. Given the simplicity of many of the equations, it can be strongly argued that chaos should be an early component of all mathematics education. Also, programming a computer to generate the images is very simple and a lot of fun.
To study chaos, you need a place to start, and this book will point you in the right direction and give you a brisk tail wind. The author, best known for his mathematics columns in Scientific American, writes with exceptional clarity. There are very few equations, as Stewart relies extensively on the verbal explanation. While computer generation is mentioned, only one very short BASIC program is given.
The material is pretty standard for introductory chaos and could serve as a textbook for a non-mathematical course in the subject. It would also be valuable reading for a course in the philosophy of science. Fairly extensive historical backgrounds are given for many of the initial discoveries.
If you have heard about chaos and want to know what all the excitement is about or are looking for reading material for a class you are teaching, this book is an excellent place to explore.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Fighting religion with religion
This book is almost religious in its championing of Darwinian evolution. It is a shame that what are actually sound scientific points are presented with a religious fever that distracts or is even counter-productive in coverting open minded believers in creation.

Mind-Blowing Maths for kids!
Not being particularly mathematically minded, I found some sections of this book a bit of a struggle. Nonetheless, Stewart's somewhat disarming, slightly off-the-wall style of writing is very engaging, and on the whole the book is very readable. The implications of chaos will become clearer in the next decade or so I should imagine, so this book is timely and topical. A definite "must read". ... Read more

Book Description

Until recently, such phenomena as the volatility of weather systems, the fluctuation of the shock market, or the random firing of neurons in the brain were considered too "noisy" and complex to be probed by science. But now, with the aid of high-speed computers, scientists have been able to penetrate a reality that is changing the way we perceive the universe. Their findings -- the basis for chaos theory -- represent one of the most exciting scientific pursuits of our time.

No better introduction to this find could be found than John Briggs and F. David Peat's Turbulent Mirror. Together, they explore the many faces of chaos and reveal how its law direct most of the processes of everyday life and how it appears that everything in the universe is interconnected -- discovering an "emerging science of wholeness."

Turbulent Mirror introduces us to the scientists involved in study this endlessly strange field; to the theories that are turning our perception of the world on its head; and to the discoveries in mathematics, biology, and physics that are heralding a revolution more profound than the one responsible for producing the atomic bomb. With practical applications ranging from the control of traffic flow and the development of artifical intelligence to the treatment of heart attacks and schizophrenia, chaos promises to be an increasingly rewarding area of inquiry -- of interest to everyone.

Reviews (5)

A step deeper guild of Chaos Theory to layman
I've finished this book's Chinese version today. In the last year, I'm trying my best effort to absorb knowledge of Chaos Theory, Complexity, and Catastrophe Theory. It's quite hard to get a in-depth guild of the above knowledge to common people in Hong Kong.

My purpose to get the above knowledge is just in order to find the hidden order of financial market, and, of course, to make profit from the market. That's why I find this book is good to serve my purpose. It explained clearly on fractals, the relationship between chaos and order, and non-linearness.

I knew E. Peters has using fratals / Elloit Wave Theory to analyze financial market. Of course, it needs more intra-day data to try to find such fratals in a small scale period, e.g. in a 5-minute charts. But I guess that, such fractal are existing in the market, if you watching index movement everyday.

On another aspest, the technique of plotting data in a phase space is a tool to get the picture of financial market to me. This tools can be compared with weighted moving average, MACD, or other technical indicators. Though, phase space analysis is quite uneasy to a man without advanced mathematics. I'm quite sure such mathematical technique may apply to financial trading.

Besides, the idea of "quasi-periodic" is likely describing financial market. Though I got less knowledge from the book on this topic. It sounds like some ideas from William Gann, and other cyclist writings.

Hince, I'm benefitted from the book to enlighten new view point to see the world, and the market. I recommend any financial market practitioner to read this Chaos Theory guild and then reread some technical analysis classics, and reviewing their trading strategies. I believe that shall be worthy in one's trading life.

N.B. The picture 2.7 is missing (P.76), and there is some printing errors in its Chinese version which printed in 20.6.1997

Science or Science Fiction
While this book does make some interesting points about chaos, I found that the book's blatant disregard for accepted science very hard to stomach. I currently attend Harvey Mudd College, a small, but highly regarded science and engineering school, so I like to think that I know something about the subject.

For example, at one point the authors are describing solitons (a term I had never heard before), states a theory that by generating an extra bit of energy we could put the universe out of the unstable equilibrium it currently exists in and cause it to "begin to boil." While this is all well and good, it makes vast assumptions that the authors neglect to mention. Most importantly it assumes that the universe is in an unstable equilibrium, a fact which although highly unlikely is not impossible. Secondly it assumes that the universe is completely clean of these bits of extra energy currently. They draw this parallel to an example of superheating water because without external particles to build upon no bubbles can form to release the steam. This is also true, but it is still impossible because it is impossible to have a perfect system like this. There are always going to be minute cracks in the pot, or imperfections in the water (fractal theory, covered earlier in the book, even states this!), and so while this might be theoretically possible it will not happen in any real world environment. The book has many other places like this where the authors conveniently leave out details that might weaken their arguments. I find this to make the book as a whole very frustrating to read, even if some of their points are valid.

Another reason that I find the book to be very frustrating is that everything is very sensationalized. At the beginning of the description of fractals the authors say that the first person to think of a fractal curve created "a panic among mathematicians that took some fifty years to resolve." I find it truly hard to believe that the entire mathematical community was pulling their collective hair for fifty years trying to explain this curve, but by phrasing it this way the authors make it seem like science as a whole does not want to accept new ideas because it would make them look bad. In reality though I think the scientific community is ready to accept anything that can be strongly proven theoretically, or experimentally (just look at relativity, or quantum).

Because of all of these failings I would not recommend this book. I am sure that there are many other better books about chaos theory that do an excellent job of describing it without disregarding the rest of science, or trying to place it in places where it does not necessarily belong.

IGNORE CHAOS AT YOUR PERIL
Very well thought out survey of chaos theory presents a metaphorical mirror as a means to magnify and project into view the hidden world of turbulence. The advent of the computer has brought chaos and fractals out of the closet. Here the authors teach the reader how to navigate in the turbulent world from the submicroscopic realms to the distant galaxies. The authors dish up a huge concept list: fractal dimensions, strange attractors, holograms, soliton bubbles, bifurcation, quantum phase locking, coevolution of species and the earth as Gaia -- all in an attempt to teach the reader the folly of allowing the part/whole dichotomy to rule your perception of the universe.

The book is a stark attack on those the authors term reductionists -- those who seek answers in breaking the whole into ever smaller parts. The authors' pet writers are David Bohm, Lynn Margulis, and Llya Prigogine but they toss in another hundred ideas for irregular stepping stones to get where they are going. Where is that? They composed an evangelical message -- that man now has the tools and knowledge to step through Alice's Looking Glass into an entirely new and mystical perception of the whole. They see chaos as a source of future evolution and life.

I give the authors a high mark for original thought. Although using a hundred other science writers to frame their ideas, they direct the reader to go beyond existing theories and strike a path for the center of the turbulent mirror. The diagrams and illustrations also were very helpful. They pictured the brain as a strange attractor, with thought arbitrating between the two realms of order and chaos. My favorite metaphor was the slime mold which, when food gets scarce, merges from being a collection of individual cells to a collective entity moving across the forest floor. This was to show an example of quantum phase locking which "could provide a bridge joining classical, nonlinear reality with linear, quantum reality" (P. 188). Great Two Thousand year Philosophy.

Stunning Revelation about the World We Live in
What I read is a Chinese translation of the book. Although I do not fully understand the researches and examples involved in explaining the development from 'Order to Chaos' (the first few chapters), and I have not yet experienced some of the interesting events that described, I am amazed by the final few chapters about the possible role of chaos theory in the development of cells, organisms, RNA, DNA, and about creativity and 'nuance.' What I find most debatable is the responsibility of reductionism in creating the problems for nature and humanity, or detouring the course of science. I certainly believe that the scientists and thinkers before us forged the foundation for us, and from their experience, we discover the verity of past knowledge. I don't think Darwin would appreciate we calling him a reductionist because at that time, reductionism was the way of science, not to mention that 'reductionism' is a modern classification. The book also details a lot of examples to explain that most phenomenons are the results of nonlinear chaos complexity. I can't help but notice the strong implication of creationism, with chaos theory as the creator instead of God.

Terrific Book
This book provides a great introduction to chaos theory and strikes a devastating blow to reductionism. Using a historical approach, the book walks the reader through the discoveries and mathematics that underlie fractals, chaos and complexity. It also provides a short, fascinating interview with Ilya Prigogine and a great layperson's introduction to his ideas. Turbulent Mirror makes the point that because of "sensitive dependence on initial conditions" one can not really separate the whole from the parts - in essence there really are no "initial conditions." The only weakness of this book, IMHO, is the use of occasional Alice and Wonderland illustrations and a few too many quotes from eastern philosophy. These are not overpowering, however, so if you don't like them them can ignore them and enjoy the rest of the material which is truly great. ... Read more

Book Description

This new edition provides a comprehensive introduction to fuzzy logic, and leads the reader through the complete process of designing, constructing, implementing, verifying and maintaining a platform-independent fuzzy system model. The book has been extensively revised to bring the subject up-to-date, and features two new chapters: "Building and Using Fuzzy Cognitive Map Models" and "Building ME-OWA Models."

The multiplatform CD-ROM contains all the C++ source code from the book's examples – but its real value is the robust package of fuzzy system related tools and utilities, featuring two notable components. First: Metus Systems' basic fuzzy modeling software, which includes complete C/C++ source code for creating and executing fuzzy models, a Visual Basic shell that can be used to create fuzzy sets and generate the C/C++ include files, and code for models for pricing, project management, risk assessment, and more. Second: The ME-OWA (Minimum-Entropy, Ordered Weighted Aggregation) decision modeling software from Fuzzy Logic, Inc. This software is used to focus on a single objective function from a set of alternatives given a fuzzy ranking among various alternatives. It is not only an important technique as a stand-alone tool, but is an important methodology in parameter selection (and parameterization ordering) for genetic algorithms and various data mining techniques. It is also an important technique used to establish rule and policy level peer weights in fuzzy models.

Key Features
* Tutorial style, requiring no background in fuzzy logic
* Case studies illustrate real-world fuzzy applications
* Mathematically straightforward exposition, with emphasis on practical use
* CD-ROM features all the C++ source code from the book and a robust package of fuzzy system related tools and utilities ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Good hands on fuzzy logic book
This is the best hands on fuzzy logic book that I have used thus far. I succesfully used the first edition of the book as reference to develop real world fuzzy applications. I see that some reviewers are somewhat upset about the source code shipping with the book. It is a pity that the C++ code, is so difficult to get going with, because this detracts from some very valuable chapters in the book itself. However, Mr Cox was very helpful in providing me with updated code. I highly recommend the book.

good general introduction - code useless
I am about halfway through the book and in general it's a decent guide to fuzzy logic. Earl explains the concepts well and provides decent real work examples. The code, as everyone else here has already said, is basically worthless. The book would be far more valuable if he just removed the code entirely from it and focused more on fuzzy logic. Another complaint: reading the first 50 pages made me feel as if I were reading a religious text, not a fuzzy systems book. Earl spends a great deal of time convincing the reader that Fuzzy Logic easily beats out other competing expert systems such as Bayes logic and neural networks. He dismisses those who do not agree with him as "uneducated" and spends time hurling personal insults at them rather than focusing on the benefits of fuzzy logic. I almost put the book down and returned it when reading the first 2 chapters. Altogether this is a decent introduction to fuzzy logic if you disregard the useless code and pedantics of the author.

Ok book - sourcecode is completely useless
If you want a book that gives basic explanation of fuzzy logic - this one is not that bad. If you want this book because it comes with 'free' code - look elsewhere. I'm a programmer with 10 years of C++ experience but I have not seen worse code than is supplied with this book. And believe me, I've seen a lot of bad code - I even wrote some of it :).

Good Entry level Fuzzy Systems text, messy code
I'm pretty comfortable with C++, so I found fixing the couple of bugs in the shipped code to be not a problem. (Quit your whining its nearly free code.) I can't vouch for the Hisss VB interface, but then I'd drive a cab before I coded with VB. There is one serious bug but its from a typo. Email me and I'll send you the patch.

On to the good part. This is the first good Fuzzy Logic book I found. I've read several others before I got to this one and each one left me more confused than the rest. Earl finnally explained what its all about and what sort of problems this technique solves. There is a bit of "Fuzzy Logic is better than Neural Nets" but no real concrete examples to prove it. I ignored that and used his examples to learn how to do this and his code in some game AI. It worked well.

Also in case you don't know the thing that Fuzzy logic does well is smooth out transistions, ie it keeps things from oscillating between two single states. It's also good for when you have multiple inputs all of which contribute to deciding whether a threshold has been reached. You set weights to the inputs contribution and analyize the result, meets the threshold or not. You can also adjust the threshold depending on the state of the object. Coupled with a Finite State machine and you've got a basic game AI.

I have also taken some time (about a week) and cleaned the code up. It wasn't too difficult and I now have an OOP interface to it which made things a lot easier to understand. Earl obviously has a for sale system using the original code. He must have cut a chunk out and put it on the disk. I also have about a dozen emails from him, and I've sent him the updates. He's a busy guy, bug him to put the fixed code on his site. Maybe he'll get around to it.

Fuzzy Systems Handbook by Earl Cox
I'm glad I read your other reviews. It solidified my opinion. I'm still trying, but after two days of attempting to use the software on the CD I'm convinced the review I read is right; "The software is useless". I will give the benifit of doubt, however, since I'm still green at C++, but I never did get the DLL's to even compile due to missing .HPP's and other serious errors. Also, in the book it says you can go to WWW.METUS.COM for software updates and corrections (e-mail to them still pending) but I only found a "Comming Soon" at the only link to any software. The software which was put on this CD was obviously not tested as shipped. The same problems existed with the first edition of this book, only worse. It's too bad because this is one of the only books I've found which showed any promise of helping me really understand fuzzy logic by USING it. The book also contains numerous printing errors. Looks like a case of poor QC all around. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Sanity confronts chaos theory
The author investigates the question: with all the research (and hype) in chaos theory, what has been the actual impact on our understanding of the world? I give the book 5 stars for completing it's stated mission, being readable and enjoyable, and for not pandering to a lcd.

Kellert approaches this question from a philosophical, but down-to-earth, view. From the start, this is certainly not a "gee-whiz" hop-on-the-bandwagon book. In fact, the prologue begins: "Chaos theory is not as interesting as it sounds. How could it be?"

Yet, Kellert is not out to dismiss chaos theory, but rather to make sense of what the implications of chaos theory are. Unpredictability and determinism are two such topics potentially affected by chaos theory. Quantum mechanics is another topic influenced by chaos theory. And later in the book he ponders the historical question: why did it take so long for nonlinear dynamics (chaotic systems) to come under study?

There is very little math. The intended audience seems to be those who have some notion of chaos theory already, and although an introductory chapter is included, it would be helpful to understand conceptually what a Lyapunov exponent is and what bifurcation means.

The book is footnoted sufficiently but not overdone. It is heavily (but not annoyingly) referenced with everyone from Poincare to Prigogine. Despite the years that have passed since initial publication, I do not think this book has become obsolete. Another way to say this is: chaos theory (and it's results) is still not the mind-shattering revolution that some have made it out to be.

If you have some science and math background and have been asking yourself "So, just what the heck does all this talk about chaos theory really mean??", then this book is for you. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides clear presentations of more than sixty important unsolved problems in mathematical systems and control theory. Each of the problems included here is proposed by a leading expert and set forth in an accessible manner. Covering a wide range of areas, the book will be an ideal reference for anyone interested in the latest developments in the field, including specialists in applied mathematics, engineering, and computer science.

The book consists of ten parts representing various problem areas, and each chapter sets forth a different problem presented by a researcher in the particular area and in the same way: description of the problem, motivation and history, available results, and bibliography. It aims not only to encourage work on the included problems but also to suggest new ones and generate fresh research. The reader will be able to submit solutions for possible inclusion on an online version of the book to be updated quarterly on the Princeton University Press website, and thus also be able to access solutions, updated information, and partial solutions as they are developed.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Complete Introduction to Systems Science
I find this book interesting and easily comprehensible by individuals who are interested in Systems Science.

It looks into all aspects of Systems Science, such as Law of Requisite Variety, Systems Concept, Variety Management & etc.

I would highly reccommend this book for beginners and soon these individuals would love Systems Science. ... Read more

Book Description

The problem of stochastic control of partially observable systems plays an important role in many applications. All real problems are in fact of this type, and deterministic control as well as stochastic control with full observation can only be approximations to the real world. This justifies the importance of having a theory as complete as possible, which can be used for numerical implementation. This book first presents those problems under the linear theory that may be dealt with algebraically. Later chapters discuss the nonlinear filtering theory, in which the statistics are infinite dimensional and thus, approximations and perturbation methods are developed. ... Read more

Book Description

In the new edition of this classic textbook Ed Ott has added much new material and has significantly increased the number of homework problems. The most important change is the addition of a completely new chapter on control and synchronization of chaos. Other changes include new material on riddled basins of attraction, phase locking of globally coupled oscillators, fractal aspects of fluid advection by Lagrangian chaotic flows, magnetic dynamos, and strange nonchaotic attractors. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Very good for Physicists
The best book on chaos in Dynamical Systems for physicists: clear, well written, contains the right things and does not waste time treating less necessary sections on the subject. Particularly valuable is the part on Entropy, Information and strange attractors. A good choice is to use it together with V.I. Arnold's CM. Contains also a final part on connections between QM and chaos.

Good for physicists
A good introduction to chaos in dynamical systems for physicists. The emphasis is not on time-series analysis or nonlinear systems, but chaos in "physical" systems (in the sense of applications in physics). A good reading for undergrads in physics and maths. One of the best starters for getting deeper into chaos theory...

Destined to become the standard text of the field
An excellent text that is written in a very understandable and careful style. It gives the readers a good grasp of the fundamentals by emphasizing main ideas instead of harping on technical definitions. The bibliography at the end of the book is also a good source for readers who want to delve further into the technical literature. ... Read more

Book Description

This book presents the concepts needed to deal with self-organizing complex systems from a unifying point of view that uses macroscopic data. The various meanings of the concept "information" are discussed and a general formulation of the maximum information (entropy) principle is used. With the aid of results from synergetics, adequate objective constraints for a large class of self-organizing systems are formulated and examples are given from physics, biology, and computer science (pattern recognition by parallel computers). The extensions contained in the second edition show how, based on possibly scarce and noisy data, unbiased guesses about processes of complex systems can be made and the underlying deterministic and random forces determined. This procedure allows probabilistic predictions of processes, with applications to numerous fields ranging from technology through biology and medicine to economy. The relationship to chaos theory is also addressed. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

physics approach
Self-Organization is not the function given to a neural net (although they have taken it) used for pattern recognition, nor is it a cult somewhere in Germany. After following Haken's work for 6-8 years it is good to see a summary of sorts. Haken was working with self-organizing similarities in the 80's when unification ideas were rampant. Haken uses this same analogy by equating the basic form to stochastic differential equations. It is somewhat easier to approach the differential equation as a dynamical system driven by random vector fields of which the Ito form (stuff Kalman filters are made of) is a special case. Without going into martingales Brownian motion ergodic theorems of Markovian processes Haken does give a convincing argument for what he terms MIP (max. information principle) and information gain in the system. Linguistically converted this means that the process may be likened to a diffusion process with thermodynamic stuff. This paves the way for the transfer of information from one organization structure diffusion (in the wave) front to another. It seems to me, however, that a much simpler proof would be; show the parallel between Haken's basic form and the Lax form of an evolution equation. Establish relationship to Hirota's derivatives. Usually represented and manifested as the Korteweg-deVrie equations the polynomials groups describing the equation easily convert to Hiroto derivatives. Show fundamental relationship to n-solitons and vertex operators, establish relationship to Heisenberg and Clifford algebras, show Fock representation of Bosons using Maya diagrams, show Boson-Fermion correspondence. Complex variables, infinite dimensional algebras, Fermions, and Bosons; The principle of superposition does not apply to non-linear waves, despite that there exists exact solutions containing an arbitrary number of parameters suggesting an infinite dimensional transformation group acting on spaces of solutions of integrable systems (Reaction-diffusion as one type shock waves as another). Because of this self-symmetry in scales of complex polynomials, transformational methods work well. If waves are information densities and an increase in entropy is an increase of information Hiroto's derivatives would give the mathematical link showing the degrees of information transfer between types of diffusion front (waves) and another. The similarity of scales, the repeating nature, then transfer of one wave front (diffusion) through another without annihilation. ... Read more

Book Description

Critical acclaim for How Simulation Is Changing the Frontiers of Science

"John Casti is one of the great science writers of the 1990s." —San Francisco Examiner.

"A popular account of the enormous change computers have brought to the everyday practice of science . . . an easy and enjoyable read." —Nature.

"As we approach a new century, modelling through new mathematical insights and powerful computers grows apace . . . .John Casti has written a truly important book." —The Sunday Times. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A book with a good question!
This is one of those books that address important questions. But unfortunately it is not always possible to answer these important questions. This book is about "would-be-worlds", on computer simulations of real life phenomena. The question is how can one explain real world facts with such simulations that look extremely distant from the real world. Good question, but it is very hard to answer. Casti does not answer this question, he has attempts, for example the section "Models for All Occasions" is a good step, but he can not deliver the good. Why? Maybe because he spends a lot of space introducing and discussing various examples of simulations. Maybe because he did not want to play the "philosopher of science" in this book. I do not know, but most probably he thinks that these computational models, and simulations are useful anyway. So he does not tell us how we can trust these models, but he tries to amaze us with these models. But is that bad? No!

Although practical and philosophical questions about computer simulations are very important there are still few people thinking about these issues. Casti's book directs attention to these issues and questions. Moreover, this is a book for the layman! Thus, it is good to introduce different sorts of would-be-worlds. Casti is excellent in introducing things!

Briefly, although Casti does not tell how it is possible to make inferences about the real world from such artificial worlds, this is a good book to start thinking about the philosophy and methodology of explaining with computer simulations.

Remarkably mediocre book
As someone who enjoys popular science books, dabbles in complexity theory, and works in modeling and simulation, I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, it is not well structured and the author seems to be unable to decide whether he's writing about complexity or M&S. Yes, they are intertwined, but there are several books that treat the subject of complexity very well. What I was looking forward to here was a behind the scenes look at the experimental aparatus of complexity theory: Modeling and Simulation. Whether its due to lack of understanding of the art of M&S or an excessive love affair with complexity, the book comes off half-heartedly discussing both. If you want to learn about complexity, read something by John Holland. If you want to learn about M&S, read anything but this.

Useful non-technical treatment of modelling & simulation
Casti is a lucid and entertaining writer and has sufficient depth in his own subject and breadth in other disciplines as to be well placed to write a book on modelling and simulation. This is an excellent introduction to some of the mathematical, logical, and philosophical problems of and raised by the increasing use of simulation to investigate 'real-world' problems. It assumes no background beyond a general interest in science.
If this book has weaknesses they tend to be of the variety that afflicts much modern writing in popular science. Editors rather than authors, perhaps? A sizeable portion of the plates and diagrams add nothing to the book ("gee, John, this is a popular science book - we gotta have some pictures") plus a preference for rushing to mine the next source of the 'gee-whiz' factor rather than grappling with consequences.
The strapline on the cover is 'how simulation is changing the frontiers of science' and I'm not at all sure that this question is answered. The last chapter makes an unconvincing attempt to be a summary, but is in fact the least interesting of the five trailing off rather weakly into a 'what we really need is a theory of complex systems' position.
But, the acid test - did I learn anything from this book? Most definitely, yes. - Ashley Oliver ... Read more

Book Description

The definitive guide toadvanced control system design

Advanced Modern Control System Theory and Design offers the most comprehensive treatment of advanced control systems available today. Superbly organized and easy to use, this book is designed for an advanced course and is a companion volume to the introductory text, Modern Control System Theory and Design, Second Edition (or any other introductory book on control systems). In addition, it can serve as an excellent text for practicing control system engineers who need to learn more advanced control systems techniques in order to perform their tasks.

Advanced Modern Control Systems Theory and Design briefly reviews introductory control system analysis concepts and then presents the methods for designing linear control sys-tems using single-degree and two-degrees-of-freedom compensation techniques. The very important subjects of modern control system design using state-space, pole placement, Ackermann's formula, estimation, robust control, and H8 techniques are then presented. The following crucial subjects are then covered in the presentation:
* Digital Control System Analysis and Design-extends the continuous concepts presented to discrete systems
* Nonlinear Control System Design-extends the linear concepts presented tononlinear systems
* Introduction to Optimal Control Theory and Its Applications-presents such key topics as dynamic programming and the maximum principle, as well as applications to the space attitude control problem and the lunar soft-landing problem
* Control System Design Examples: Complete Case Studies-presents the complete case studies of five control system design examples that illustrate practical design projects

Other notable features of this volume are:
* Free MATLAB software containing problem solutions which can be retrieved from the Mathworks, Inc. anonymous FTP server at ftp://ftp.mathworks.com/pub/books/advshinners
* MATLAB programs and a tutorial on the use of MATLAB incorporated directly into the text
* An extensive set of worked-out, illustrative solutions added in dedicated sections at the end of chapters
* End-of-chapter problems-one-third with answers to facilitate self-study
* A solutions manual containing solutions to the remaining two-thirds of the problems ... Read more

Reviews (1)

force control
I want to know more about force control and impedance control for manipulator robots. ... Read more