Customer Reviews

Mathematical Modelling Techniques (Dover Books on Computer Science)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One thousand word limit to this review, eh? Well, I could do it in one word: Fantastic.

This book approaches mathematical modelling from a conceptual level, with Rutherford explaining how to make numbers dance through equations any which way you want them. His depth of knowledge as a Chemical Engineer, combined with his fantastic mathematical skills means that he has knows what needs to be done in various situations and how best to do it.

The attribute that makes this, and all of Rutherfords work stand out from the rest of the pack, is his undeniable presence when writing. Rhetoric, personal insights and may the dry-and-dusty-academic world forgive him, humour (!) can be found throughout this book, making its reading quite pleasurable.

Finally, a number of thoughtful articles of his have been bound into the back of this edition, providing useful "food for thought" for those people for whom modelling is a way of life. If you are considering any of the finer points of mathematical modelling (I was doing a PhD on the subject), this book is a must-have (not just a must-read). You'll come back to it time and time again for the articles, long after you've digested the rest of the book.

This is an extremely rich book which deals with the basics and philosophy of mathematical modelling. Despite it's age, the book has a lot to give to those who already have experience in the field of mathematical modelling and who certainly will see through the oddities of the book and appreciate its many subtleties. The book is affordable and is well written, albeit in a form that seems "ancient". The author was not only an outstanding scientist but also a gifted writer and a highly educated person. His prose might therefore feel strange for people not used to read philosophical or more verbose "social science"-type texts. I enjoyed the book indeed, but I would not recommend it as your first approach to mathematical modelling. For that purpose you might choose Edward A. Bender's book instead.

I read the previous two reviews and purchased this book... and now I am quite disappointed. Frankly, I wonder if these reviews are made by real users, or...

First of all, this book is a mere reprint of a 1978 edition. The fonts are typewriter-style of three decades ago, so symbols are awkward and difficult to read. Many drawing and sketches are handwritten.

The first two chapters it talks in general about what is a model. These chapters are mainly philosophical, pretty boring in my opinion.

The third chapter "How to formulate a model" should contain what I was looking for. However, it describe in very general terms how you can put down a model. The description is in my opinion too general, discussing trivial well known principles. There is not a clear, well-stated method of approach. I expected a discussion based on examples of real life problems, firstly simple ones then going to more complex ones. Instead the author make a foggy presentation on how to deal with a problem, jumping to another one, without a clear line of thought.

The treatment is incredibly jumpy: the third equation of this chapter is already involving integrals, page 38 starts with "How to formulate a model", page 41 there is an example involving triple integrals on a volume...

If you are interested in a modern book that guides you or your students to the art of putting down a mathematical model of a system you want to describe, I do not think this book is for you and I do not suggest you to purchase it.

Honestly, I have no idea how this book can be useful at all these days.

MR

This book gives an amazing introduction to mathematical modelling techniques for engineers and scientists along with excellent useful tools for model development. Further, the appendices provide very illustrative example cases of the methods developed.

Interesting read for anyone with background in math or related modeling, in general. Great book.