Edward Beltrami
Springer New York
0e druk, 2012
9781461271567
What Is Random?
Chance and Order in Mathematics and Life
Specificaties
Paperback, 201 blz.
|
Engels
Springer New York |
0e druk, 2012
ISBN13: 9781461271567
Rubricering
Verwachte levertijd ongeveer 8 werkdagen
Samenvatting
In this fascinating book, mathematician Ed Beltrami takes a close enough look at randomness to make it mysteriously disappear. The results of coin tosses, it turns out, are determined from the start, and only our incomplete knowledge makes them look random. "Random" sequences of numbers are more elusive, but Godels undecidability theorem informs us that we will never know. Those familiar with quantum indeterminacy assert that order is an illusion, and that the world is fundamentally random. Yet randomness is also an illusion. Perhaps order and randomness, like waves and particles, are only two sides of the same (tossed) coin.
Specificaties
ISBN13:9781461271567
Taal:Engels
Bindwijze:paperback
Aantal pagina's:201
Uitgever:Springer New York
Druk:0
Inhoudsopgave
[1] The Taming of Chance.- From Unpredictable to Lawful.- Probability.- Order in the Large.- The Normal Law.- Is It Random?.- More About the Law of Large Numbers.- Where We Stand Now.- [2] Uncertainty and Information.- Messages and Information.- Entropy.- Messages, Codes, and Entropy.- Approximate Entropy.- Again, Is It Random?.- The Perception of Randomness.- [3] Janus-Faced Randomness.- Is Determinism an Illusion?.- Generating Randomness.- Janus and the Demons.- [4] Algorithms, Information, and Chance.- Algorithmic Randomness.- Algorithmic Complexity and Undecidability.- Algorithmic Probability.- [5] The Edge of Randomness.- Between Order and Disorder.- Self-Similarity and Complexity.- What Good is Randomness?.- Sources and Further Readings.- Technical Notes.- Appendix A: Geometric Sums.- Appendix B: Binary Numbers.- Appendix C: Logarithims.- References.