Author: S. M. Ulam Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 9780520910553 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 400
Book Description
The true story that inspired the 2020 film. The autobiography of mathematician Stanislaw Ulam, one of the great scientific minds of the twentieth century, tells a story rich with amazingly prophetic speculations and peppered with lively anecdotes. As a member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1944 on, Ulam helped to precipitate some of the most dramatic changes of the postwar world. He was among the first to use and advocate computers for scientific research, originated ideas for the nuclear propulsion of space vehicles, and made fundamental contributions to many of today's most challenging mathematical projects. With his wide-ranging interests, Ulam never emphasized the importance of his contributions to the research that resulted in the hydrogen bomb. Now Daniel Hirsch and William Mathews reveal the true story of Ulam's pivotal role in the making of the "Super," in their historical introduction to this behind-the-scenes look at the minds and ideas that ushered in the nuclear age. An epilogue by Françoise Ulam and Jan Mycielski sheds new light on Ulam's character and mathematical originality.
Author: S. M. Ulam Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520322924 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 588
Book Description
During his forty-year association with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, mathematician Stanislaw Ulam wrote many Laboratory Reports, usually in collaboration with colleagues. Some of them remain classified to this day. The rest are gathered in this volume and for the first time are easily accesible to mathematicians, physical scientists, and historians. The timeliness of these papers is remarkable. They contain seminal ideas in such fields as nonlinear stochastic processes, parallel computation, cellular automata, and mathematical biology. The collection is of historical interest as well, During and after World War II, the complexity of problems at the frontiers of science surpassed any technology that had ever existed. Electronic computing machines had to be developed and new computing methods had to be invented based on the most abstract ideas from the foundations of mathematics and theoretical physics. To these problems and others in physics, astronomy, and biology, Ulam was able to bring both general insights and specific conceptual contributions. His fertile ideas were far ahead of their time, and ranged over many branches of science. In fact, his mathematical versatility fulfilled the statement of his friend and mentor, the great Polish mathematician Stefan Banach, who claimed that the very best mathematicians see "analogies between analogies." Introduced by A. R. Bednarek and Francoise Ulam, these Los Alamos reports represent a unique view of one of the twentieth century's intellectual masters and scientific pioneers. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.
Author: N. G. Cooper Publisher: CUP Archive ISBN: 9780521367349 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 324
Book Description
First published 1987 as Los Alamos science, special issue. A compendium of biographical (and autobiographical) notes, essays, and scientific articles reflecting on Ulam's legacy of interdisciplinary approaches to problems in math, physics, and biology; and previously unpublished miscellanea--conversations, a satirical play. The whole serves to celebrate the personality and contributions of the dynamic mathematician. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Author: Andrew Vazsonyi Publisher: iUniverse ISBN: 0595260624 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 330
Book Description
In Which Door Has the Cadillac?, Andrew Vazsonyi reveals the personal side of a mathematician who passionately believes that the more people know about real-life math, the better their lives will be. Laced with offbeat humor and plenty of anecdotes, his memoir will be appreciated by readers interested in a lively, personal account of the world by someone who lives and breathes math. As Carol J. Latta, executive director of the Decision Sciences Institute, says, "For over three decades, Andy Vazsonyi has shared his passion and genius for real-world math with his colleagues in the decision sciences community. His memoir reflects the combination of his extraordinary intellect and prevailing sense of humor." Martin K. Starr, Distinguished Professor of Management Science and Operations Management at Rollins College's Crummer Graduate School of Business, says, "Andy's memoirs are an unconventional trip to places you can never find again with people who remain great even though they are no more, in ways that only Andy's mind can fashion." Master stories by the master storyteller! Andy Vazsonyi has been my mentor and inspiration for my entire career. Nancy Weida, Chair, Management Department, Bucknell University I am delighted to see that others will share the life story of my father whose love, creativity and self-reliance has been a constant source of inspiration to me. Bobbi Chaney, M.A. psychotherapist, author, and musician
Author: R. Daniel Mauldin Publisher: Birkhäuser ISBN: 3319228978 Category : Mathematics Languages : en Pages : 333
Book Description
The second edition of this book updates and expands upon a historically important collection of mathematical problems first published in the United States by Birkhäuser in 1981. These problems serve as a record of the informal discussions held by a group of mathematicians at the Scottish Café in Lwów, Poland, between the two world wars. Many of them were leaders in the development of such areas as functional and real analysis, group theory, measure and set theory, probability, and topology. Finding solutions to the problems they proposed has been ongoing since World War II, with prizes offered in many cases to those who are successful. In the 35 years since the first edition published, several more problems have been fully or partially solved, but even today many still remain unsolved and several prizes remain unclaimed. In view of this, the editor has gathered new and updated commentaries on the original 193 problems. Some problems are solved for the first time in this edition. Included again in full are transcripts of lectures given by Stanislaw Ulam, Mark Kac, Antoni Zygmund, Paul Erdös, and Andrzej Granas that provide amazing insights into the mathematical environment of Lwów before World War II and the development of The Scottish Book. Also new in this edition are a brief history of the University of Wrocław’s New Scottish Book, created to revive the tradition of the original, and some selected problems from it. The Scottish Book offers a unique opportunity to communicate with the people and ideas of a time and place that had an enormous influence on the development of mathematics and try their hand on the unsolved problems. Anyone in the general mathematical community with an interest in the history of modern mathematics will find this to be an insightful and fascinating read.
Author: John Kruschke Publisher: Academic Press ISBN: 0123814863 Category : Mathematics Languages : en Pages : 673
Book Description
There is an explosion of interest in Bayesian statistics, primarily because recently created computational methods have finally made Bayesian analysis tractable and accessible to a wide audience. Doing Bayesian Data Analysis, A Tutorial Introduction with R and BUGS, is for first year graduate students or advanced undergraduates and provides an accessible approach, as all mathematics is explained intuitively and with concrete examples. It assumes only algebra and 'rusty' calculus. Unlike other textbooks, this book begins with the basics, including essential concepts of probability and random sampling. The book gradually climbs all the way to advanced hierarchical modeling methods for realistic data. The text provides complete examples with the R programming language and BUGS software (both freeware), and begins with basic programming examples, working up gradually to complete programs for complex analyses and presentation graphics. These templates can be easily adapted for a large variety of students and their own research needs.The textbook bridges the students from their undergraduate training into modern Bayesian methods. - Accessible, including the basics of essential concepts of probability and random sampling - Examples with R programming language and BUGS software - Comprehensive coverage of all scenarios addressed by non-bayesian textbooks- t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and comparisons in ANOVA, multiple regression, and chi-square (contingency table analysis). - Coverage of experiment planning - R and BUGS computer programming code on website - Exercises have explicit purposes and guidelines for accomplishment
Author: George Dyson Publisher: Pantheon ISBN: 0307907066 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 466
Book Description
“It is possible to invent a single machine which can be used to compute any computable sequence,” twenty-four-year-old Alan Turing announced in 1936. In Turing’s Cathedral, George Dyson focuses on a small group of men and women, led by John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, who built one of the first computers to realize Alan Turing’s vision of a Universal Machine. Their work would break the distinction between numbers that mean things and numbers that do things—and our universe would never be the same. Using five kilobytes of memory (the amount allocated to displaying the cursor on a computer desktop of today), they achieved unprecedented success in both weather prediction and nuclear weapons design, while tackling, in their spare time, problems ranging from the evolution of viruses to the evolution of stars. Dyson’s account, both historic and prophetic, sheds important new light on how the digital universe exploded in the aftermath of World War II. The proliferation of both codes and machines was paralleled by two historic developments: the decoding of self-replicating sequences in biology and the invention of the hydrogen bomb. It’s no coincidence that the most destructive and the most constructive of human inventions appeared at exactly the same time. How did code take over the world? In retracing how Alan Turing’s one-dimensional model became John von Neumann’s two-dimensional implementation, Turing’s Cathedral offers a series of provocative suggestions as to where the digital universe, now fully three-dimensional, may be heading next.
Author: Clifford A. Pickover Publisher: Union Square + ORM ISBN: 1402797494 Category : Mathematics Languages : en Pages : 937
Book Description
The Neumann Prize–winning, illustrated exploration of mathematics—from its timeless mysteries to its history of mind-boggling discoveries. Beginning millions of years ago with ancient “ant odometers” and moving through time to our modern-day quest for new dimensions, The Math Book covers 250 milestones in mathematical history. Among the numerous delights readers will learn about as they dip into this inviting anthology: cicada-generated prime numbers, magic squares from centuries ago, the discovery of pi and calculus, and the butterfly effect. Each topic is lavishly illustrated with colorful art, along with formulas and concepts, fascinating facts about scientists’ lives, and real-world applications of the theorems.
Author: Abby Smith Rumsey Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262376164 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 275
Book Description
An exploration of historical memory and networks of meaning in the context of today’s crises of extremism and polarization. As authoritarianism continues to rise around the world, the stories we tell ourselves about what has happened and what is happening become ever more relevant. In Memory, Edited, Abby Smith Rumsey examines collective memory, how it binds us, and how it can be used by bad actors to manipulate us. Bringing forward the voices of a rich cast of Eastern European artists from the past two hundred years—from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Gerhard Richter—Rumsey shows how their work and lives illustrate the devastation wrought by regimes dependent on entrenched lies to survive. This hijacking of the narrative polarizes communities even as it commandeers our future. Through an interdisciplinary lens that includes the best thinking from history, the arts, cognitive science, psychology, and political philosophy, Rumsey lays bare our narratives, showing how they are constructed and how they have changed over time. Ever-aware of resisting the false promise of utopia, Rumsey argues that only by confronting the past and reckoning with the crimes that were committed can we ever hope to heal and gain self-knowledge. Memory, Edited is an indispensable text for anyone who cares about democracy, equality, and freedom in our current age of crisis.
Author: S. M. Ulam
Author: 
Author: S. M. Ulam
Author: N. G. Cooper
Author: Andrew Vazsonyi
Author: R. Daniel Mauldin
Author: John Kruschke
Author: George Dyson
Author: Clifford A. Pickover
Author: Abby Smith Rumsey