Author: Bernhard Wessling
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658406712
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
How does chance enter our world? And why is so much not predictable? In an understandable, exciting and amusing narrative, the author takes us into the world of chemistry, quantum physics and biology. Touching on astronomy and philosophy, we witness a rewarding journey of discovery. In the process, he develops a completely new view of chance based on the laws of nature. Here, the omnipresent non-equilibrium plays an extremely decisive role, because it generates the complex structures in our world. Finally, on this basis, he presents an equally simple and captivating hypothesis on the nature of time. This non-fiction book provides a deep insight into the fascination of research, the agonizing search for fundamental understanding, and the struggle for scientific knowledge.
What a Coincidence!
Author: Bernhard Wessling
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658406712
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
How does chance enter our world? And why is so much not predictable? In an understandable, exciting and amusing narrative, the author takes us into the world of chemistry, quantum physics and biology. Touching on astronomy and philosophy, we witness a rewarding journey of discovery. In the process, he develops a completely new view of chance based on the laws of nature. Here, the omnipresent non-equilibrium plays an extremely decisive role, because it generates the complex structures in our world. Finally, on this basis, he presents an equally simple and captivating hypothesis on the nature of time. This non-fiction book provides a deep insight into the fascination of research, the agonizing search for fundamental understanding, and the struggle for scientific knowledge.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658406712
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
How does chance enter our world? And why is so much not predictable? In an understandable, exciting and amusing narrative, the author takes us into the world of chemistry, quantum physics and biology. Touching on astronomy and philosophy, we witness a rewarding journey of discovery. In the process, he develops a completely new view of chance based on the laws of nature. Here, the omnipresent non-equilibrium plays an extremely decisive role, because it generates the complex structures in our world. Finally, on this basis, he presents an equally simple and captivating hypothesis on the nature of time. This non-fiction book provides a deep insight into the fascination of research, the agonizing search for fundamental understanding, and the struggle for scientific knowledge.
Physics and Chance
Author: Lawrence Sklar
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521558815
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 458
Book Description
Lawrence Sklar offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to statistical mechanics and attempts to understand its foundational elements.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521558815
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 458
Book Description
Lawrence Sklar offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to statistical mechanics and attempts to understand its foundational elements.
Chance in the World
Author: Carl Hoefer
Publisher:
ISBN: 019090741X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Whether something happens randomly, by chance; or from a series of events.
Publisher:
ISBN: 019090741X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Whether something happens randomly, by chance; or from a series of events.
Ten Great Ideas about Chance
Author: Persi Diaconis
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691196397
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, gamblers and mathematicians transformed the idea of chance from a mystery into the discipline of probability, setting the stage for a series of breakthroughs that enabled or transformed innumerable fields, from gambling, mathematics, statistics, economics, and finance to physics and computer science. This book tells the story of ten great ideas about chance and the thinkers who developed them, tracing the philosophical implications of these ideas as well as their mathematical impact.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691196397
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, gamblers and mathematicians transformed the idea of chance from a mystery into the discipline of probability, setting the stage for a series of breakthroughs that enabled or transformed innumerable fields, from gambling, mathematics, statistics, economics, and finance to physics and computer science. This book tells the story of ten great ideas about chance and the thinkers who developed them, tracing the philosophical implications of these ideas as well as their mathematical impact.
Chance in Physics, Computer Science and Philosophy
Author: Walter Hehl
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658351128
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Chance is uncanny to us. We thought it didn't exist, that God or a reasonable explanation was behind everything. But we know today: It exists. We know that much of what surrounds us and which we do not see through, nevertheless runs causally. Unlike what was thought in the days of the Enlightenment, chance is the rule around us rather than lawful order. The clouds are stochastic fractals, the waves on the sea are pure random machinery. The philosopher Charles Peirce recognized the fundamental importance of chance in precisely this sense, even before quantum and chaos theory, and gave the doctrine its name: Tychism. Without chance there would be nothing new, no life, no creativity, no history. This book looks at chance from the perspective of physics, computer science, and philosophy. It spans from antiquity to quantum physics and shows that chance is firmly built into the world and that it would not exist without chance. This book is a translation of the original German 1st edition Der Zufall in Physik, Informatik und Philosophie by Walter Hehl, published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature in 2021. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658351128
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Chance is uncanny to us. We thought it didn't exist, that God or a reasonable explanation was behind everything. But we know today: It exists. We know that much of what surrounds us and which we do not see through, nevertheless runs causally. Unlike what was thought in the days of the Enlightenment, chance is the rule around us rather than lawful order. The clouds are stochastic fractals, the waves on the sea are pure random machinery. The philosopher Charles Peirce recognized the fundamental importance of chance in precisely this sense, even before quantum and chaos theory, and gave the doctrine its name: Tychism. Without chance there would be nothing new, no life, no creativity, no history. This book looks at chance from the perspective of physics, computer science, and philosophy. It spans from antiquity to quantum physics and shows that chance is firmly built into the world and that it would not exist without chance. This book is a translation of the original German 1st edition Der Zufall in Physik, Informatik und Philosophie by Walter Hehl, published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature in 2021. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.
What Is Random?
Author: Edward Beltrami
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 1071607995
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
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.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 1071607995
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
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.
The Philosophy of Physics
Author: Roberto Torretti
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521565714
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 532
Book Description
Pursues the development of physics from Galileo and Newton to Einstein and the founders of quantum mechanics.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521565714
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 532
Book Description
Pursues the development of physics from Galileo and Newton to Einstein and the founders of quantum mechanics.
The Precipice
Author: Toby Ord
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 031648489X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 480
Book Description
This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back. Since then, these dangers have only multiplied, from climate change to engineered pathogens and artificial intelligence. If we do not act fast to reach a place of safety, it will soon be too late. Drawing on over a decade of research, The Precipice explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity. An Oxford philosopher committed to putting ideas into action, Toby Ord has advised the US National Intelligence Council, the UK Prime Minister's Office, and the World Bank on the biggest questions facing humanity. In The Precipice, he offers a startling reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last. "A book that seems made for the present moment." —New Yorker
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 031648489X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 480
Book Description
This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back. Since then, these dangers have only multiplied, from climate change to engineered pathogens and artificial intelligence. If we do not act fast to reach a place of safety, it will soon be too late. Drawing on over a decade of research, The Precipice explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity. An Oxford philosopher committed to putting ideas into action, Toby Ord has advised the US National Intelligence Council, the UK Prime Minister's Office, and the World Bank on the biggest questions facing humanity. In The Precipice, he offers a startling reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last. "A book that seems made for the present moment." —New Yorker
Computational Artifacts
Author: Raymond Turner
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662555654
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
The philosophy of computer science is concerned with issues that arise from reflection upon the nature and practice of the discipline of computer science. This book presents an approach to the subject that is centered upon the notion of computational artefact. It provides an analysis of the things of computer science as technical artefacts. Seeing them in this way enables the application of the analytical tools and concepts from the philosophy of technology to the technical artefacts of computer science. With this conceptual framework the author examines some of the central philosophical concerns of computer science including the foundations of semantics, the logical role of specification, the nature of correctness, computational ontology and abstraction, formal methods, computational epistemology and explanation, the methodology of computer science, and the nature of computation. The book will be of value to philosophers and computer scientists.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662555654
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
The philosophy of computer science is concerned with issues that arise from reflection upon the nature and practice of the discipline of computer science. This book presents an approach to the subject that is centered upon the notion of computational artefact. It provides an analysis of the things of computer science as technical artefacts. Seeing them in this way enables the application of the analytical tools and concepts from the philosophy of technology to the technical artefacts of computer science. With this conceptual framework the author examines some of the central philosophical concerns of computer science including the foundations of semantics, the logical role of specification, the nature of correctness, computational ontology and abstraction, formal methods, computational epistemology and explanation, the methodology of computer science, and the nature of computation. The book will be of value to philosophers and computer scientists.
Computational Philosophy of Science
Author: Paul Thagard
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262700481
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
By applying research in artificial intelligence to problems in the philosophy of science, Paul Thagard develops an exciting new approach to the study of scientific reasoning. This approach uses computational ideas to shed light on how scientific theories are discovered, evaluated, and used in explanations. Thagard describes a detailed computational model of problem solving and discovery that provides a conceptually rich yet rigorous alternative to accounts of scientific knowledge based on formal logic, and he uses it to illuminate such topics as the nature of concepts, hypothesis formation, analogy, and theory justification.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262700481
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
By applying research in artificial intelligence to problems in the philosophy of science, Paul Thagard develops an exciting new approach to the study of scientific reasoning. This approach uses computational ideas to shed light on how scientific theories are discovered, evaluated, and used in explanations. Thagard describes a detailed computational model of problem solving and discovery that provides a conceptually rich yet rigorous alternative to accounts of scientific knowledge based on formal logic, and he uses it to illuminate such topics as the nature of concepts, hypothesis formation, analogy, and theory justification.