Book Description

Modularity -- the attempt to understand systems as integrations of partially independent and interacting units -- is today a dominant theme in the life sciences, cognitive science, and computer science. The concept goes back at least implicitly to the Scientific (or Copernican) Revolution, and can be found behind later theories of phrenology, physiology, and genetics; moreover, art, engineering, and mathematics rely on modular design principles. This collection broadens the scientific discussion of modularity by bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines, including artificial life, cognitive science, economics, evolutionary computation, developmental and evolutionary biology, linguistics, mathematics, morphology, paleontology, physics, theoretical chemistry, philosophy, and the arts.

The contributors debate and compare the uses of modularity, discussing the different disciplinary contexts of "modular thinking" in general (including hierarchical organization, near-decomposability, quasi-independence, and recursion) or of more specialized concepts (including character complex, gene family, encapsulation, and mosaic evolution); what modules are, why and how they develop and evolve, and the implication for the research agenda in the disciplines involved; and how to bring about useful cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer on the topic. The book includes a foreword by the late Herbert A. Simon addressing the role of near-decomposability in understanding complex systems. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Amazing Concepts - Amazing Book!
Michael Reynolds definately walks the walk. I first heard of Earthships several years ago, but didn't give it much thought until, driving just beyond the Rio Grande Gorge outside of Taos, I saw a collection of them. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. What Michael has done, first publicized to my knowledge in this book, has been astonishing.

The book talks about his concept of the Earthship, how to build them, how they work, and how you, too can live virtually independant of the large grid of services available to you, and that in many ways makes you work for the system itself!

This book of ideas has evolved and been thoroughly vetted in real life in 3 developments around Taos and countless other places in the world (mostly in the Western US) -- so it is a lot less experimental than you might think. The novelty mostly resides with our unfamiliarity with the Earthship.

The structures are partially buried, with load bearing walls made of earth rammed old tyres, non load bearing walls built of cans, with greywater systems supported by rain catchwater. PV and wind powered, with food and other plants grown in the house, the premise is as close to total self sufficiency as one might be able to get. Philosophically, nearly a perfect experssion of that desire. Practically, it seems to deliver, which sets itself apart from many other building methods and philosophies.

In this age of unreliable utilities, uncertain prices of fuels, corrupt business leaders, bankrupt corporations and politics bought and paid for by institutions whose motives are quentionable, such a book and underlying philosphy seems relevant like no other time similar except the early 1970's.

To some, this book of building a low cost shelter might help someone get into a nice house where they might not have otherwise, to others this might be a manifasto, still others might have the engineering appeal strike the most resonant cord.

Either way, this is a MUST HAVE for at leats my bookshelf. I went ahead and got #2 and #3 as well!

You'll want all the books in this series
I went to Taos and toured some of the "Earth Ship" houses, and they were wonderful. I bought the books there and read them cover to cover (on the way home). These books are full of good, practical, information. If you have access to old tires, empty cans, clay mud, you could build your own house. I haven't done a house yet, but I've done some other interesting projects using these principles. This particular book deal most with the parts of an Earth Ship house and how they all work together. It has more how to information than the others, I thought. ... Read more

Book Description

Newton's 1702 lunar theory has puzzled scholars for centuries. Was it based on gravitational theory, as the anonymous prefatory matter suggests? If so, why does it make use of epicycles---the last serious astronomical work to do so? How did its various parameters fit together? How accurate was it? How was it related to Newton's lunar theory in the 1713 edition of the Principia? Did anyone actually use it?

In this engaging piece of detective work, Nicholas Kollerstrom has combined historical research with computer analysis to investigate these questions. The lunar theory turns out to have been the basis for numerous eighteenth century tables, and the theory was used in China well into the twentieth century. It was taken (heavily disguised) into the Principia of 1713, with one important correction. In this form, it was remarkably accurate, about as good as the observations on which it was based. It was used by Halley (in a procedure explained here for the first time) to compute lunar positions with an accuracy of under one arcminute-good enough to have won the Longitude Prize.

Newton's Forgotten Lunar Theory includes the complete text of the 1702 English edition, with annotations and a detailed commentary, and numerous tables and graphs showing the results of computer analysis. The book is supported by a freely downloadable computer model of the lunar theory. This program allows readers to test the theory for themselves. ... Read more

Book Description

Many complex systems--from immensely complicated ecosystems to minute assemblages of molecules--surprise us with their simple behavior. Consider, for instance, the snowflake, in which a great number of water molecules arrange themselves in patterns with six-way symmetry. How is it that molecules moving seemingly at random become organized according to the simple, six-fold rule? How do the comings, goings, meetings, and eatings of individual animals add up to the simple dynamics of ecosystem populations? More generally, how does complex and seemingly capricious microbehavior generate stable, predictable macrobehavior?

In this book, Michael Strevens aims to explain how simplicity can coexist with, indeed be caused by, the tangled interconnections between a complex system's many parts. At the center of Strevens's explanation is the notion of probability and, more particularly, probabilistic independence. By examining the foundations of statistical reasoning about complex systems such as gases, ecosystems, and certain social systems, Strevens provides an understanding of how simplicity emerges from complexity. Along the way, he draws lessons concerning the low-level explanation of high-level phenomena and the basis for introducing probabilistic concepts into physical theory. ... Read more

Book Description

We are surrounded by order that-until now-physics has been unable to explain.

The spread of veins in the back of our hands mirrors the spread of branches on a tree; fern fronds bear a resemblance to the outline of fjords; the best-loved classical music echoes the patterns of our heartbeats.

The theory of Universality is using fractal patterns to explain much of the world around us.Could it be that the same laws that govern systems in their critical states also govern some of the most unpredictable events such as earthquakes, avalanches, the growth of cities and stock market crashes-even the way businesses are run and the way fashions come and go?Is there a common principle, a universal affinity that binds us to the forces of nature?

A consensus is emerging on how complex structures grow and sustain themselves; phenomena that were once thought to be unique now appear to have a great deal in common.Mark Ward examines these theories, explores how they fit into an age-long quest to discover how the universe works, delves into their possible limitations and asks what we can do with this new knowledge.

While identifying patterns does not mean that we can always predict what will happen next, some of the trends scientists are noticing prove that life is not a series of random events.Universality deepens our understanding of natural phenomena and our place in the physical world.

We are surrounded by order that-until now-physics has been unable to explain.

The spread of veins in the back of our hands mirrors the spread of branches on a tree; fern fronds bear a resemblance to the outline of fjords; the best-loved classical music echoes the patterns of our heartbeats.

The theory of Universality is using fractal patterns to explain much of the world around us.Could it be that the same laws that govern systems in their critical states also govern some of the most unpredictable events such as earthquakes, avalanches, the growth of cities and stock market crashes-even the way businesses are run and the way fashions come and go?Is there a common principle, a universal affinity that binds us to the forces of nature?

A consensus is emerging on how complex structures grow and sustain themselves; phenomena that were once thought to be unique now appear to have a great deal in common.Mark Ward examines these theories, explores how they fit into an age-long quest to discover how the universe works, delves into their possible limitations and asks what we can do with this new knowledge.

While identifying patterns does not mean that we can always predict what will happen next, some of the trends scientists are noticing prove that life is not a series of random events.Universality deepens our understanding of natural phenomena and our place in the physical world.
... Read more

Reviews (7)

Irritating and pointless
After reading the first three pages of the introduction, I thought "this must get better". I skipped to chapter 1 and read two more pages of vague, disconnected repetition. So I turned to Amazon reviews to see if it was worth my while to persist. It isn't. On to the next book...

Lots of speculation, no substance
The book is disjointed and speculative so that it is hard to take any of the arguments seriously. It is strange to find this in a book about science, but then perhaps it is not a science book! Some remarks comparing scientific research today with demonology several hundred years ago make you wonder. It is almost as bad as 'The Web of Life' by Fritjof Capra (conversely if you liked that book, you will like this one too). Oddly enough, although the book claims not to be about Chaos but about 'Universality', it is Chaos that appears in the title. I am fairly familiar with the research into chaos theory, but having read this book I still cannot really tell you what 'Universality' is, other than that it seems to involve everything (!). In any case, the book presents even the better data on the subject poorly.

On a general note, in thinking of fractals (discussed extensively but loosely in the book) I wonder if we are not over-interpreting the data. After all, mathematicians have known all along that mathematical models can represent a variety of natural processes and yet have no causal relation to them. Similarly, when we see fractals in a wide variety of biological structures and processes, is it because fractals are fundamental to them, or because, as I suspect, a fractal can be used to model anything? Is it the chicken or the egg?

Know it's place
Understanding why you're reading this book makes all the difference. I used this book as a carefree nightly read around an interesting topic, and it worked! Using this book to solve problems would be a mistake. There's not enough detail and it won't work.
The author approached Universality from enough angles to brighten my world to possible unexplored connections. Unfortunately, the author's light dimmed a bit when he didn't stay "on-message" 15% of the time, wherein I skipped forward some pages. Hense, the 3 stars.
Overall, read this book as an intro, and lighten up!

Long, empty, boring, not worth the time
One would think that 300 pages discussing science theory would have some substance but this book could have been edited down to an eight page magazine article with little loss of content. And not a "heavy" magazine for scientists but a "popular" type magazine. I forced myself to stay with it hoping that the author would eventually get serious but the book stayed chatty and anecdotal to the end. According to the bio Mr. Ward is a science writer for the BBC and I did get the feeling of a TV narration purposely kept light in order not to scare off any viewers.

I found myself rereading series of pages because I had the feeling that I had missed something and then finding that I hadn't missed a thing, there was simply no content to retain. This happened repeatedly and made this book a real chore to finish and ultimately unrewarding. A shame too because the premises Mr. Ward teases the reader with are intriguing but the book fails miserably to live up to the promises made on the dust cover. Budding authors should seek out his agent however, that individual is well worth his fee!

Muddled, inaccurate, overblown, and poorly written
British journalist Mark Ward's exposition of the theory of Universality and self-organized criticality (SOC) is little more than breathless hype purporting to show that fractal patterns and SOC are present in virtually every aspect of the biological and physical world. While this may or may not be true, Ward's largely anecdotal presentation, with its at times almost-mystical (although nonreligious) tone, unfortunately arouses the suspicion that the theory rests on a shaky scientific foundation. It should also not be too much to expect that a book devoted to the theory of Universality actually give an explicit definition of Universality, which Ward consistently fails to do. The book is introductory and nontechnical, so it is perhaps unfair to expect him to give a solid theoretical foundation to the theory, but the reader is left with an uneasy feeling that the gentleman "doth protest too much." Those interested in chaos theory, emergent phenomona, and SOC would do much better to read the books of Stuart Kauffmann and John Holland or the older nontechnical classic "Chaos: Making a New Science" by James Gleick.

The book is also plagued with numerous factual errors. (His reference to Beethoven's Eroica Symphony as a late work, produced in the same general period as the Ninth Symphony and the Diabelli Variations, has been cited in another review.) Additionally, Mr. Ward's writing style and his many lapses in grammar, syntax, and punctuation make the book irritating to read and make one wish that a good editor had taken the manuscript firmly in hand. Awkward shifts in tense within a single sentence, lack of subject-verb agreement, and Mr. Ward's apparent disdain for commas make what is actually a simple book a chore to read. ... Read more

Book Description

This book, written by the creators of SIMAN, provides an introduction to simulation modeling using the SIMAN simulation language. Basic modeling concepts and various simulation methodologies are discussed to highlight practical applications of simulation and SIMAN. The second edition has been updated to include the latest version of this simulation program, including the Cinema platform and Arena. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

best to learn SIMAN
Even if SIMAN is not used generally in todays world as a simulation tool, companies prefer ARENA. If you think to be well in ARENA, you may want to learn its real phenomenia under this program, which is called as SIMAN, simulation programming languages. I especially recommend this book as an introductory level. (senior in BS or pre-graduate)

A nice user guide for SIMAN, a reasonable book for getting t
Systems Modeling produced this book to learn people more about simulation and SIMAN in particular. The general introduction to simulation seems to be included to hide the commercial goal of the book. The book is a nice form of a user guide for the out dated language SIMAN, but the first three chapters try to hard to add any generic value. A much better book is 'Simulation with Arena' by Kelton. The goal of that book is exactly the same (enlarge sales), but the generic part is of more value also for the not Arena user

Good for SIMAN, not so good for Simulation
Here is the book that we used in Simulation undergrad class. As the title said, using Siman. To me, it's ok for "using SIMAN", but not enough for simulation concept. If you want to use SIMAN, buy this book. If you want to know simulation in details, get "Simulation Modeling and Analysis"(ISBN 0070366985). SIMAN becomes Arena interface now. If you "just" want to use Simulation for your problem using Siman with Arena interface, grasp this book "0075612593". Kelton wrote it with lots of tutorial! ... Read more

Book Description

The "Dictionary of Power Engineering and Automation" is a standard work for all those requiring a comprehensive and reliable compilation of terms from the fields of power generation, transmission and distribution, drive engineering, switchgear and installation engineering, power electronics, measurement, analysis and test engineering as well as automation engineering. Together with the great number of basic electrotechnical terms, it comprehensively covers large fields of industrially applied electrical engineering.
Current technical literature, national and international regulations and standards (DIN VDE, IEC, EN, BS, ANSI, CEE, ISO) and the database of the Language Service of Siemens AG were used as an important source for generating the dictionary. Regulations and standards are indicated with the appropriate terms and specialized fields in those cases where a term or translation is closely connected with these.
... Read more

Book Description

The presentation of a coherent methodology for the estimation of the parameters of mathematical models from experimental data is examined in this volume. Many topics are covered including the choice of the structure of the mathematical model, the choice of a performance criterion to compare models, the optimization of this performance criterion, the evaluation of the uncertainty in the estimated parameters, the design of experiments so as to get the most relevant data and the critical analysis of results. There are also several features unique to the work such as an up-to-date presentation of the methodology for testing models for identifiability and distinguishability and a comprehensive treatment of parametric optimization which includes greater consider ation of numerical aspects and which examines recursive and non-recursive methods for linear and nonlinear models. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides an interdisciplinary presentation of the current knowledge of patternformation in complex system, with sufficiently many details, tools, and concrete examples tobe useful for the graduate student or scientist entering this area of research. ... Read more

Book Description

Incorporating recent developments in control and systems research, Linear Control Theory provides the fundamental theoretical background needed to fully exploit control system design software. This logically-structured text opens with a detailed treatment of the relevant aspects of the state space analysis of linear systems. End-of-chapter problems facilitate the learning process by encouraging the student to put his or her skills into practice. Features include:

• The use of an easy to understand matrix variational technique to develop the time-invariant quadratic and LQG controllers
• A step-by-step introduction to essential mathematical ideas as they are needed, motivating the reader to venture beyond basic concepts
• The examination of linear system theory as it relates to control theory
• The use of the PBH test to characterize eigenvalues in the state feedback and observer problems rather than its usual role as a test for controllability or observability
• The development of model reduction via balanced realization
• The employment of the L₂ gain as a basis for the development of the H_??? controller for the design of controllers in the presence of plant model uncertainty

Book Description

Computer simulation is increasingly used in physics and engineering to predict the probable outcome of experiments and to aid in their interpretation. This text for undergraduates illustrates the basic techniques with numerous simple programs and problems drawn from a wide range of disciplines. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Technical examples of interesting physical experiments
For every mathematician working with complex physic tests and a limited budget, this book can be useful. Unfortunately I am just a modeler of simple discrete event simulations, so for me this book was not very useful. Except for the first chapter that tells a little about different simulationmethods, the book mainly contains very technical examples of interestingphysical experiments.Through the whole of the book, lots of functions areincluded, which seem generic for any kind of proof with atoms or lightdifferentiation. But in my opinion, the book does not add any value topersons that want to know how they can improve their tests using computersimulation in general. ... Read more

Book Description

A revision of a professional text on the phenomena of chaotic vibrations in fluids and solids. Major changes reflect the latest developments in this fast-moving topic, the introduction of problems to every chapter, additional mathematics and applications, more coverage of fractals, numerous computer and physical experiments. Contains eight pages of 4-color pictures. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fractal, Chaos, IFS
I want some more information about the book ... Read more

Book Description

Information previously available only in journal articles and research papers has been brought together in this outstanding text. Uses the unifying theme of monotone structure to transcend the two-perspective approach to DES—one stressing logical/qualitative issues and the other temporal/quantitative analysis—to encompass elements from both. Features notes and references at the end of each chapter. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive treatment of "Linear Systems Analysis" applied to dynamic systems as an approach to interdisciplinary system design beyond the related area of Electrical Engineering. The text gives an interpretation of mechanical vibrations based on the Theory of Dynamic Systems. The central aim is to bridge the gap between existing theoretical methods in different engineering disciplines and to enable advanced students or professionals to model dynamic and vibrating systems with reference to communication and control processes. Emphasizing the theory it presents a balanced coverage of analytical principles and applications to vibrations with regard to mechatronic problems. ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine being able to "walk" into your computer and interact with any program you create. It sounds like science fiction, but it's science fact. Surgeons now rehearse operations on computer-generated "virtual" patients, and architects "walk through" virtual buildings while the actual structures are still in blueprints. In Virtual Reality, Howard Rheingold takes us to the front lines of this revolutionary new technology that creates computer-generated worlds complete with the sensations of touch and motion, and explores its impact on everything from entertainment to particle physics. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Sacred and Scary Reflections on Neo-Biologicial Civilization

First published in 1991, this is a gem that should be one of the first readings of anyone contemplated the sacred and the scary aspects of how humans, machines, and software are being changed by emerging information technologies. While there is a lot of focus on "cool tools" and all the paraphenalia of "virtual reality" qua artificial sensation and perception, the rock bottom foundation of this book can be found in Howard reflections on what it all means for the transformation of humans, business, and society in general. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive, one-stop reference for new system modeling and identification tools

The field of control-oriented identification has grown immensely over the past decade, spawning numerous results and modeling techniques and promising the potential to influence science and engineering for years to come. In this new work, Jie Chen and Guoxiang Gu, two leading authorities on worst-case identification, share their vision and walk readers through carefully selected topics from the vast literature, offering a much-needed, timely comprehensive introduction to the theory of Hƒ identification and model validation.

Chen and Gu clearly demonstrate the pros and cons of the worst-case approach in comparison to traditional techniques and provide researchers in systems and control theory with ready access to many new and complementary identification tools. Through a rigorous yet logical and easy-to-follow treatment, supported by many deep insights, intuitions, and philosophical thinking, they:

• Survey and assess the current state of control and system identification research
• Develop both two-stage and interpolatory algorithms for system identification
• Show readers how to analyze the properties of linear algorithms
• Offer a unique emphasis on model uncertainty estimation and complexity, two of the central issues
• Develop both time-domain and frequency-domain identification algorithms
• Explain in detail uncertainty model validation concepts and techniques
• Devote a chapter to a review of the requisite mathematics

Provide a concise yet self-contained appendix on several key relevant notions ... Read more