Bandwidth: How Mathematics, Physics, And Chemistry Constrain Society

The physical sciences and mathematics are extraordinarily useful in explaining the material world. People and society are constrained by physical reality, but we are often unclear on what constraints are absolute, which may be relative, and those that are simply a matter of taste. Bandwidth explains how limitations in the movement and perception of information constrain human behavior, cognition, interaction, and perspective. How fast can we learn? How much? Why are habits and biases unavoidable? Why is the common statement "any nation that can land people on the moon surely can ..." frequently wrong? Using equations and physical models, Bandwidth describes constraints which, in part, explain political, economic, religious, and personal frictions. Aspects considered include: how much information can one human absorb in a lifetime? How far does a process of perturbation propagate? How do specialization or generalization, critical thinking or belief, influence what people accomplish? Throughout, equations are used to compactly express ideas, illustrating why mathematical economy of expression accelerates communication and deeper understanding. The critical impacts of uncertainty, fluctuations, or noise, and their implications for law and society, are emphasized.

Dr Alexander Scheeline is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is an elected Fellow and Honorary Member of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, as well as Founder and President of SpectroClick Inc., a firm developing hand-held spectrometers, and Founder and Vice-President of Anchor Science LLC, a materials development partnership. He has published over 130 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, and is known for his work in optical spectrometry, instrument design, sensors, ultrasonically levitated drops, oxidative stress, chemical kinetics, oscillatory chemical reactions, and the dynamics of nonlinear systems. His numerous awards include the Distinguished Service Award, Special Publications Award and (twice) W F Meggers Award (Society for Applied Spectroscopy), Distinguished Service Award and Innovation Award (Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies), AE50 Award (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers), and the ACS Newsmaker Award (American Chemical Society). He holds a BS in Chemistry from Michigan State University and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.