A veritable rock star in the book world some five centuriesafter his birth, Leonardo Da Vinci is a man for the ages. Millionsof readers hungrily ponder the mysteries behind his sketch-fillednotebooks, radical inventions, and enigmatic paintings. Thisstunning book, like no other on the market, explores the master’sinsights and synthesizes his relationship with art and science in amagnificently illustrated and informative style. Every pageresonates with Leonardo’s genius, demonstrated by his own art andwritings as well as modern diagrams and workable re-creations ofhis inventions. Physicist and artist Bulent Atalay, author of Math and the MonaLisa, deftly explains Leonardo’s interest in topics ranging fromarchitecture to botany to philosophy. Engaging prose and splendidimages point up the science and mathematics underlying Leonardo’sgenius, showing how attention to proportions, patterns, shapes, andsymmetries informed his art. The story flows chronologically, withquotations revealing the near-magical
In his bestselling The Moral Animal, Robert Wright applied theprinciples of evolutionary biology to the study of the human mind.Now Wright attempts something even more ambitious: explaining thedirection of evolution and human history–and discerning wherehistory will lead us next. In Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Wright asserts that, eversince the primordial ooze, life has followed a basic pattern.Organisms and human societies alike have grown more complex bymastering the challenges of internal cooperation. Wright'snarrative ranges from fossilized bacteria to vampire bats, fromstone-age villages to the World Trade Organization, uncovering suchsurprises as the benefits of barbarian hordes and the usefulstability of feudalism. Here is history endowed with moralsignificance–a way of looking at our biological and culturalevolution that suggests, refreshingly, that human morality hasimproved over time, and that our instinct to discover meaning mayitself serve a higher purpose. Insightful, wi
The ecological literature on marsupials is dominated byde*ive natural history, and there has hitherto been littleattempt at either synthesis or evolutionary interpretation. Thisbook attempts to provide such a synthesis, by drawing on both thede*ive data base and predictions from the burgeoningliterature on behavioural and evolutionary ecology. It documentsthe excellent potential the study of marsupials provides forresolution of theoretical questions of general importance inbiology. It does this in three ways. First, by describing theimpressive diversity of marsupial life history strategies andtrophic roles. Second, by careful comparison with the eutherians,the scope of the marsupial radiation is used to analyse the role ofdevelopmental constraints and adaptive radiation in determining thediversification of higher taxa. Lastly, it is suggested that theaccessibility of marsupial young during their obligatory pouch lifefacilitates measurement, manipulation and assessment of kinship notpossible in other mammalia
There has been an explosive growth in the field ofcombinatorial algorithms. These algorithms depend not only onresults in combinatorics and especially in graph theory, but alsoon the development of new data structures and new techniques foranalyzing algorithms. Four classical problems in networkoptimization are covered in detail, including a development of thedata structures they use and an analysis of their running time.Data Structures and Network Algorithms attempts to provide thereader with both a practical understanding of the algorithms,described to facilitate their easy implementation, and anappreciation of the depth and beauty of the field of graphalgorithms.
How do plant and animal populations change genetically toevolve and adapt to their local environments? How do populationsgrow and interact with one another through competition andpredation? How does behaviour influence ecology and evolution?Introduction to Population Biology covers all these areas and more.Taking a quantitative and Darwinian perspective, the basic theoryof population processes is developed using mathematical models. Toallow students of biology, ecology and evolution to gain a realunderstanding of the subject, key features include: ? step-by-stepinstructions for spreadsheet simulations of many basic equations toexplore the outcomes or predictions of models ? worked examplesshowing how the equations are applied to biological questions ?problem sets together with detailed solutions to help the readertest their understanding ? real-life examples to help the readerrelate the theory to the natural world
Water is everywhere. It covers almost 70 percent of Earth's surface. It forms the oceans and flows as rushing rivers. The atmosphere not to mention clouds is a vast storehouse of water in the form of the gas called water vapor. Billions of tons of water are locked up as the enormous ice caps that sit on the top and bottom of the world. If all of that icy water were to melt, it would cause a rise in sea level of about 260 feet (80 meters). Coastal cities the world over would be flooded beyond repair.
In this book, a new approach is pioneered in providing a unifiedtheory in continuum mechanics. General Continuum Mechanics isintended for the beginner, but it develops advanced materialcovering interdisciplinary subjects. With applications ofconvective, Lagrangian, and Eulerian coordinates and the first andsecond laws of thermodynamics, the first-year graduate student willlearn solid mechanics and fluid mechanics as an integrated subject.Electromagnetic continuum and relativistic continuum are included.The conservational properties of mass, momentum, and energy onearth and in the universe constitute the ingredients of this book.They are the monumental contributions of Newton, Maxwell, andEinstein, a panorama of beauty of universal laws that evolved overthe last four centuries. No boundaries are needed to separate them,but rather we integrate them in harmony and place them inperspective. This is the book for interdisciplinary studies tocarry out the modern scientific projects in which engineering,physics, and
"The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place." A bookto be read for pleasure as well as a practical identificationguide, The Edge of the Sea introduces a world of teeming life wherethe sea meets the land. A new generation of readers is discoveringwhy Rachel Carson's books have become cornerstones of theenvironmental and conservation movements. New introduction by SueHubbell. (A Mariner Reissue)
Editor Max Brockman introduces the work of some of today’sbrightest and most innovative young scientists in this fascinatingand exciting collection of writings that describe the veryboundaries of our knowledge. Future Science features nineteen young scientists, most of whomare presenting their innovative work and ideas to a generalaudience for the first time. Featured in this collection areWilliam McEwan (son of the novelist), a virologist, discussing hisresearch into the biology of antiviral immunity; Naomi Eisenberger,a neuroscientist, wondering how social rejection affects usphysically; Jon Kleinberg, a computer scientist, showing whatmassive datasets can teach us about society and ourselves; andAnthony Aguirre, a physicist, who gives readers a tantalizingglimpse of infinity.
From Publishers Weekly In this lively volume, Cambridge physicist Barrow (The Book ofNothing) considers the natural constants-the handful of seeminglyeternal numerical values, such as the speed of light, the weight ofthe proton, Planck's constant or the four dimensions of space andtime-that constitute the "bedrock" of physical reality. Theseconstants quantify some of the simplest statements that sciencemakes about the world, but as this fascinating work of popularscience demonstrates, they have profound implications for the fateof the universe and our place within it. And, Barrow hints, theymight not be truly constant. He traces scientists' evolvingunderstanding of the natural constants as they grew to assume acentral role in modern relativity theory and quantum mechanics, andoutlines ongoing attempts to determine whether they are justinexplicable facts of nature or the logical consequence of somefundamental Theory of Everything. He also raises importantphilosophical and even religious questions. The n
Error-correcting codes constitute one of the key ingredients inachieving the high degree of reliability required in modern datatransmission and storage systems. This book introduces the readerto the theoretical foundations of error-correcting codes, with anemphasis on Reed-Solomon codes and their derivative codes. Afterreviewing linear codes and finite fields, the author describesReed-Solomon codes and various decoding algorithms. Cyclic codesare presented, as are MDS codes, graph codes, and codes in the Leemetric. Concatenated, trellis, and convolutional codes are alsodiscussed in detail. Homework exercises introduce additionalconcepts such as Reed-Muller codes, and burst error correction. Theend-of-chapter notes often deal with algorithmic issues, such asthe time complexity of computational problems. While mathematicalrigor is maintained, the text is designed to be accessible to abroad readership, including students of computer science,electrical engineering, and mathematics, from senior-undergraduateto gr
This rigourous and self-contained book describes mathematicaland, in particular, stochastic methods to assess the performance ofnetworked systems. It consists of three parts. The first part is areview on probability theory. Part two covers the classical theoryof stochastic processes (Poisson, renewal, Markov and queuingtheory), which are considered to be the basic building blocks forperformance evaluation studies. Part three focuses on therelatively new field of the physics of networks. This part dealswith the recently obtained insights that many very different largecomplex networks - such as the Internet, World Wide Web, proteins,utility infrastructures, social networks - evolve and behaveaccording to more general common scaling laws. This understandingis useful when assessing the end-to-end quality of communicationsservices, for example, in Internet telephony, real-time video andinteracting games. Containing problems and solutions, this book isideal for graduate students taking courses in performanceanalys
Structural proof theory is a branch of logic that studies thegeneral structure and properties of logical and mathematicalproofs. This book is both a concise introduction to the centralresults and methods of structural proof theory, and a work ofresearch that will be of interest to specialists. The book isdesigned to be used by students of philosophy, mathematics andcomputer science. The book contains a wealth of results onproof-theoretical systems, including extensions of such systemsfrom logic to mathematics, and on the connection between the twomain forms of structural proof theory - natural deduction andsequent calculus. The authors emphasize the computational contentof logical results. A special feature of the volume is acomputerized system for developing proofs interactively,downloadable from the web and regularly updated.
The best-selling science book ever published in the Englishlanguage, COSMOS is a magnificent overview of the past, present,and future of science. Brilliant and provocative, it traces today'sknowledge and scientific methods to their historical roots,blending science and philosophy in a wholly energetic andirresistible way.
From one of the most significant neuroscientists at worktoday, a pathbreaking investigation of a question that hasconfounded philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists forcenturies: how is consciousness created? Antonio Damasio has spent the past thirty years studying andwriting about how the brain operates, and his work has garneredacclaim for its singular melding of the scientific and thehumanistic. In Self Comes to Mind, he goes against thelong-standing idea that consciousness is somehow separate from thebody, presenting compelling new scientific evidence thatconsciousness—what we think of as a mind with a self—is to beginwith a biological process created by a living organism. Besides thethree traditional perspectives used to study the mind (theintrospective, the behavioral, and the neurological), Damasiointroduces an evolutionary perspective that entails a radicalchange in the way the history of conscious minds is viewed andtold. He also advances a radical hypothesis regarding the o
Rental housing subsidy programmes have been an important partof the American welfare system since the 1930s. The Benefits ofSubsidized Housing Programs: An Intertemporal Approach is anempirical study of the distributive effects of the entire system ofrental housing subsidies for lower-income households based on anational sample. Using the 1977 Annual Housing Survey, ProfessorHammond has evaluated the benefits of all federal, state and localgovernment rental housing subsidy programmes taken as a wholeacross the nation. Additionally, she has estimated the changes inconsumption patterns resulting from these programmes and therelationship between household benefit and household income;household size; age, education, sex, and race of the head of thehousehold; and the geographic location of the household.
For everyone who has looked up at the stars on a clear nightand longed to know more about them, here is the perfectintroduction and guide to discovering the stars. Discover the Stars leads you on a tour of all the stars andconstellations visible with the naked eye and introduces you todeep-sky objects that can be seen with binoculars or a simpletelescope. The tour is conducted by the editor of Astronomymagazine, Richard Berry, whose two-color, computer-plotted sky mapsand clear instructions make stargazing fun and productive from yourfirst night out. The heart of Discover the Stars is two sections of big, beautifulsky maps and charts. The first section features twelve maps thatshow the entire sky overhead as it appears during each month of theyear. These outline all the constellations visible anywhere in theNorthern Hemisphere, and the accompanying text reveals the richancient mythology that surrounds the star groups. The second section is made up of twenty-three star ch
The sustainable exploitation of the marine environment dependsupon our capacity to develop systems of management with predictableoutcomes. Unfortunately, marine ecosystems are highly dynamic andthis property could conflict with the objective of sustainableexploitation. This book investigates the theory that the populationand behavioural dynamics of predators at the upper end of marinefood chains can be used to assist with management. Since thesespecies integrate the dynamics of marine ecosystems across a widerange of spatial and temporal scales, they offer new sources ofinformation that can be formally used in setting managementobjectives. This book examines the current advances in theunderstanding of the ecology of marine predators and willinvestigate how information from these species could be used inmanagement.
At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes'sstill-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not beginfar back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process thatcame about only three thousand years ago and is still developing.The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extendinto virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history andculture, our religion -- and indeed our future.