Phase Change: The Computer Revolution in Science and Mathematics (Computer Sciences) [Hardcover]

Douglas S. Robertson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195157486 | ISBN-13: 978-0195157482 | Publication Date: March 27, 2003 | Edition: First Edition

Robertson's earlier work, The New Renaissance projected the likely future impact of computers in changing our culture. Phase Change builds on and deepens his assessment of the role of the computer as a tool driving profound change by examining the role of computers in changing the face of the sciences and mathematics. He shows that paradigm shifts in understanding in science have generally been triggered by the availability of new tools, allowing the investigator a new way of seeing into questions that had not earlier been amenable to scientific probing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Douglas S. Robertson, Adjunct Professor in Department of Geological Sciences, a Fellow of the Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and a Member of the Colorado Center for Chaos and Complexity, University of Colorado.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (March 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195157486
• ISBN-13: 978-0195157482
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,448,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book, May 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Phase Change: The Computer Revolution in Science and Mathematics (Computer Sciences) (Hardcover)

The author generalizes the meaning of "phase
change" to describe any event for which it is nearly
impossible to forecast the behavior of a system after
the event from a knowledge of the behavior of a system
before the event. He points out that such events in
science and mathematics frequently involve the
invention of a technology that allows us to observe
something that could not be observed before. He
further argues that "phase changes" cause paradigm
shifts. Examples of inventions that have caused phase
changes are the telescope in astronomy, the microscope
in biology, and the computer in every field. His
arguments are very good, and although I was skeptical,
I was convinced.

Even if you are not convinced by his
arguments, the book is enormously interesting for the
history and overview it gives of mathematics,
astronomy, physics, biology, and other sciences. I
was very impressed that one person could grasp the
essential features of so many different fields. In
addition, he expresses the ideas and history so well
that I found it enormously interesting, even in the
fields I am already familiar with.

Chapter 8 is more controversial, and although
I did not agree with everything he says, I was
fascinated to read his views. I found my mind being
stretched in enjoyable ways.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has
even the slightest interest in science, and also to
anyone who is interested in learning more about the
computer revolution.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Popularity can be inversely correlated with quality, April 9, 2008

By 

Jonathan S. Watson (Belmont, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Phase Change: The Computer Revolution in Science and Mathematics (Computer Sciences) (Hardcover)

Don't let the low sales rank fool you. This is one of the most important books in recent years.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New ideas on the history of science, June 16, 2004

By 

David Beltran-del-Rio "DekeBdR" (Washington, DC, Our Nation's Capital) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Phase Change: The Computer Revolution in Science and Mathematics (Computer Sciences) (Hardcover)

Robertson presents an important new perspective on the history of science in this book. We all know that computers have vastly increased our ability to study the universe around us, as well as the universe of mathematics, but Robertson puts this revolution into a wider context, as part of an ongoing process that occurs whenever our ability to observe the universe increases significantly. The invention of the telescope, for example, brought about a large quantitative change in our ability to see. However, the result in astronomy is more than just quantitative, more than just the ability to see more things in the sky, but a fundamental change in the insights that are available to us in that field.

Robertson's great insight in this book is that the telescope is only one example of this phenomenon in the history of science.