Since the dramatic discovery of the mathematical concept of chaos in 1989, the controversy of its contents has settled down. This revised edition of "Does God Play Dice?" takes a fresh look at its achievements and potential. With a new preface and three completely new chapters, it includes the latest practical applications of chaos theory, such as developing intelligent heart pacemakers. All this provides a fascinating new answer to Einstien's question which provided the title of this book.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for students on millions of items. Learn more |
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
We'd better get used to chaos because it certainly isn't going anywhere. Mathematician Ian Stewart--who is also a very talented writer--shares his insights into the history and nature of the highly complex in Does God Play Dice: The New Mathematics of Chaos. While his delightful phrasings will draw in nearly every reader, those with a strong aversion to figures and formulae should understand that it will be slow going. Chaos math suffuses everything from dreaming to the motion of the planets, and Stewart's words can never match the precision of his numbers. Persistence pays off, though; there are so many "aha" moments of insight herein that it almost qualifies as a religious text. The second edition has been partially revised in the wake of 1990s research, and three exciting new chapters report on prediction and other applications of chaos mathematics. --Rob Lightner
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Review
"A book well worth reading and a valuable contribution to the literature on chaos" (New Scientist)
"For those who have even rudimentary mathematical knowledge, for teachers and for lively-minded school and university students, Stewart give a valuable insight into the innards of chaos" (The Times Higher Education Supplement)
"A fine introduction to a complex subject" (Daily Telegraph) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An intelligent non-technical introduction to chaos.,
This review is from: Does God Play Dice (US Edition): The Mathematics of Chaos (Paperback)
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.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great intro to non-linear dynamics,
By
This review is from: Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of Chaos (Paperback)
I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first edition and purchased the second for the three new chapters. This book is a fun romp through the subject matter, just mathematical enough to get the gist wthout getting bogged down. I read this book for the overview of the subject and am now going through the Strogatz textbook for the details.One thing to be aware of is that the original books published by Blackwell are preferable to the Penguin reprints. The Penguin books have *much* smaller text and figures.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best chaos for layman,
This review is from: Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of Chaos (Paperback)
This mesmerizing historical overview of nonlinear science, full of seedy ideas and fascinating expositions (from heartbeat to weather forecast) is well worth reading. One of those "aha !" books that will broaden your understanding of the universe (and the rest), it is very "visual" and..well, a friend of mine said she considered it a "mental thriller" since it touches on the great old questions of determinism and predictability. As for "mathematics" in the title- don't be put off. The book is virtually mathless.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The eternal battle between order and disorder, harmony and chaos, must represent a deeply felt human perception of the universe, for it is common to so many creation myths and so many cultures. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
logistic mapping, chaotic control, coiling machine, unstable periodic points, measles data, fractal rules, chaotic zone, iterate the mapping, clockwork world, scaling ratio, inertial axis, phase space reconstruction, reconstructed attractor, quasiperiodic motion, deterministic dynamical system, spin angle, stippled region, test spring, dynamical chaos Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Theory of Everything, Ant Country, King Oscar, Vast Intellect, Digital Orrery, New York, Big Bang, Benoit Mandelbrot, Considerable Intellect, Henri Poincaré, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Mother Nature, Royal Society, Andrei Kolmogorov, Francis Galton, James Clerk Maxwell, Ohm's Law, Robert May, Tycho Brahe, Vladimir Arnold New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The eternal battle between order and disorder, harmony and chaos, must represent a deeply felt human perception of the universe, for it is common to so many creation myths and so many cultures. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
logistic mapping, chaotic control, coiling machine, unstable periodic points, measles data, fractal rules, chaotic zone, iterate the mapping, clockwork world, scaling ratio, inertial axis, phase space reconstruction, reconstructed attractor, quasiperiodic motion, deterministic dynamical system, spin angle, stippled region, test spring, dynamical chaos Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Theory of Everything, Ant Country, King Oscar, Vast Intellect, Digital Orrery, New York, Big Bang, Benoit Mandelbrot, Considerable Intellect, Henri Poincaré, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Mother Nature, Royal Society, Andrei Kolmogorov, Francis Galton, James Clerk Maxwell, Ohm's Law, Robert May, Tycho Brahe, Vladimir Arnold New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
5
books
cite this book:
- Earth at a Crossroads: Paths to a Sustainable Future by Hartmut Bossel in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Universal Book of Mathematics: From Abracadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes by David Darling on page 304
- Beyond the Brand: Why Engaging the Right Customers is Essential to Winning in Business by John Winsor in Back Matter
- Textual Practice: Volume 8, Issue 2 by Terence Hawkes on page 61
- Conservation Equations And Modeling Of Chemical And Biochemical Processes (Chemical Industries) by Said S.E.H. Elnashaie on page 40
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
