Not Even Wrong

Not Even Wrong PDF Author: Peter Woit
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 046500363X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong , he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.

Not Even Wrong

Not Even Wrong PDF Author: Peter Woit
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 046500363X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong , he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.

Tim and Eric's Zone Theory

Tim and Eric's Zone Theory PDF Author: Tim Heidecker
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 1455545449
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
From Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, two of the 21st century's most vital and creative minds, comes a brand new, inspirational, and game-changing life system that promises to instantly provide wellness, happiness, and total, absolute fulfillment.

Homotopy Type Theory: Univalent Foundations of Mathematics

Homotopy Type Theory: Univalent Foundations of Mathematics PDF Author:
Publisher: Univalent Foundations
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description


Theory of Games and Statistical Decisions

Theory of Games and Statistical Decisions PDF Author: David A. Blackwell
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486150895
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Evaluating statistical procedures through decision and game theory, as first proposed by Neyman and Pearson and extended by Wald, is the goal of this problem-oriented text in mathematical statistics. First-year graduate students in statistics and other students with a background in statistical theory and advanced calculus will find a rigorous, thorough presentation of statistical decision theory treated as a special case of game theory. The work of Borel, von Neumann, and Morgenstern in game theory, of prime importance to decision theory, is covered in its relevant aspects: reduction of games to normal forms, the minimax theorem, and the utility theorem. With this introduction, Blackwell and Professor Girshick look at: Values and Optimal Strategies in Games; General Structure of Statistical Games; Utility and Principles of Choice; Classes of Optimal Strategies; Fixed Sample-Size Games with Finite Ω and with Finite A; Sufficient Statistics and the Invariance Principle; Sequential Games; Bayes and Minimax Sequential Procedures; Estimation; and Comparison of Experiments. A few topics not directly applicable to statistics, such as perfect information theory, are also discussed. Prerequisites for full understanding of the procedures in this book include knowledge of elementary analysis, and some familiarity with matrices, determinants, and linear dependence. For purposes of formal development, only discrete distributions are used, though continuous distributions are employed as illustrations. The number and variety of problems presented will be welcomed by all students, computer experts, and others using statistics and game theory. This comprehensive and sophisticated introduction remains one of the strongest and most useful approaches to a field which today touches areas as diverse as gambling and particle physics.

Theory and Reality

Theory and Reality PDF Author: Peter Godfrey-Smith
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022677113X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is “really” like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of more than a hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. Examples and asides engage the beginning student, a glossary of terms explains key concepts, and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. The second edition is thoroughly updated and expanded by the author with a new chapter on truth, simplicity, and models in science.

Theory of the Gimmick

Theory of the Gimmick PDF Author: Sianne Ngai
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674984544
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
A provocative theory of the gimmick as an aesthetic category steeped in the anxieties of capitalism. Repulsive and yet strangely attractive, the gimmick is a form that can be found virtually everywhere in capitalism. It comes in many guises: a musical hook, a financial strategy, a striptease, a novel of ideas. Above all, acclaimed theorist Sianne Ngai argues, the gimmick strikes us both as working too little (a labor-saving trick) and as working too hard (a strained effort to get our attention). Focusing on this connection to work, Ngai draws a line from gimmicks to political economy. When we call something a gimmick, we are registering uncertainties about value bound to labor and time—misgivings that indicate broader anxieties about the measurement of wealth in capitalism. With wit and critical precision, Ngai explores the extravagantly impoverished gimmick across a range of examples: the fiction of Thomas Mann, Helen DeWitt, and Henry James; photographs by Torbjørn Rødland; the video art of Stan Douglas; the theoretical writings of Stanley Cavell and Theodor Adorno. Despite its status as cheap and compromised, the gimmick emerges as a surprisingly powerful tool in this formidable contribution to aesthetic theory.

Relativistic Quantum Theory of Atoms and Molecules

Relativistic Quantum Theory of Atoms and Molecules PDF Author: Ian P Grant
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387350691
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 813

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Book Description
This book is intended for physicists and chemists who need to understand the theory of atomic and molecular structure and processes, and who wish to apply the theory to practical problems. As far as practicable, the book provides a self-contained account of the theory of relativistic atomic and molecular structure, based on the accepted formalism of bound-state Quantum Electrodynamics. The author was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1992.

An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research

An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research PDF Author: Don W. Stacks
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351358707
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 783

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Book Description
This new edition provides a comprehensive overview of current theory and research written by the top theorists and researchers in each area. It has been updated to address the growing influence of technology, changing relationships, and several growing integrated approaches to communication and includes seven new chapters on: ■ Digital Media ■ Media Effects ■ Privacy ■ Dark Side ■ Applied Communication ■ Relational Communication ■ Instructional Communication ■ Communication and the Law The book continues to be essential reading for students and faculty who want a thorough overview of contemporary communication theory and research.

Augustine's Theory of Signs, Signification, and Lying

Augustine's Theory of Signs, Signification, and Lying PDF Author: Remo Gramigna
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110596628
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
The aim of this study is to present, as far as possible, a general description of the theory of the sign and signification in Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), with a view to its evaluation and implications for the study of semiotics. Accurate studies for subject, discipline, and significance have not yet given an organic and systematic vision of Augustine’s theory of the sign. The underlying aspiration is that such an endeavour will prove to be beneficial to the scholars of Augustine’s thought as well as to those with a keen interest in the history of semiotics. The study uses Augustine’s own accounts to investigate and interpret the philosophical problem of the sign. The focus lies on the first decade of Augustine’s literary production. The De dialectica, is taken as the terminus ad quo of the study, and the De doctrina christiana is the terminus ad quem. The selected texts show an explicit engagement with poignant discussion on the nature and structure of the sign, the variety of signs and their uses. Although Augustine’s intention never was to establish a theory of meaning as an independent field of study, he largely employed a theory of signs. Thus, Augustine’s approach to signs is intrinsically meaningful.

Advanced Concepts in Particle and Field Theory

Advanced Concepts in Particle and Field Theory PDF Author: Tristan Hübsch
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316368769
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 581

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Book Description
Uniting the usually distinct areas of particle physics and quantum field theory, gravity and general relativity, this expansive and comprehensive textbook of fundamental and theoretical physics describes the quest to consolidate the basic building blocks of nature, by journeying through contemporary discoveries in the field, and analysing elementary particles and their interactions. Designed for advanced undergraduates and graduate students and abounding in worked examples and detailed derivations, as well as including historical anecdotes and philosophical and methodological perspectives, this textbook provides students with a unified understanding of all matter at the fundamental level. Topics range from gauge principles, particle decay and scattering cross-sections, the Higgs mechanism and mass generation, to spacetime geometries and supersymmetry. By combining historically separate areas of study and presenting them in a logically consistent manner, students will appreciate the underlying similarities and conceptual connections to be made in these fields.