Chance and Chaos (Princeton Science Library) - Hardcover

Ruelle, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691085749 ISBN 13: 9780691085746

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1991

Synopsis

How do scientists look at chance, or randomness, and chaos in physical systems? In answering this question for a general audience, Ruelle writes in the best French tradition: he has produced an authoritative and elegant book--a model of clarity, succinctness, and a humor bordering at times on the sardonic.

About this title

About the Author

David Ruelle is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, Bures-sur-Yvette.

Reviews

Ruelle, French professor of theoretical physics and author of several graduate-level mathematics and physics texts, here demonstrates the advanced ability to teach the general reader with conversational grace. The pace of his "walk among the scientific results of the twentieth century" does not rely on "great men" nor yet on historicity but on good structure. Ruelle guides the reader through Godel's theorem, quantum mechanics, strange attractors and a half-dozen of the most exotic modern theories. All the while his twin themes, mathematical chance and chaos theory, bound alongside like two dachshunds on a leash. If these themes wander into less fruitful speculations about the mathematical function of sex, for example, nonetheless Ruelle's "walk" has clarity and delight. To his credit, he does not spare the reader all of the number theory and notation.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691085749
• ISBN 13: 9780691085746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 195