Modeling reality [electronic resource] : how computers mirror life / Iwo Białynicki-Birula, Iwona Białynicka-Birula.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Białynicki-Birula, Iwo.

Contributor:

Białynicka-Birula, Iwona.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Reality.

Life.

Physics--Philosophy.

Physics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (191 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is for everyone (college and high-school students, school teachers and the general public) who wants to learn about many fascinating ideas that have come to the fore with recent advances in the application of computers to real life situations. Twenty five computer programs greatly enhance the pleasure of learning the spellbinding topics covered in the book. - ;The book Modeling Reality covers a wide range of fascinating subjects, accessible to anyone who wants to learn about the use of computer modeling to solve a diverse range of problems, but who does not possess a specialized trai

Contents:

Contents; 1 From building blocks to computers: Models and modeling; 2 The game of life: A legendary cellular automaton; 3 Heads or tails: Probability of an event; 4 Galton's board: Probability and statistics; 5 Twenty questions: Probability and information; 6 Snowflakes: The evolution of dynamical systems; 7 The Lorenz butterfly: Deterministic chaos; 8 From Cantor to Mandelbrot: Self-similarity and fractals; 9 Typing monkeys: Statistical linguistics; 10 The bridges of Königsberg: Graph theory; 11 Prisoner's dilemma: Game theory; 12 Let the best man win: Genetic algorithms

13 Computers can learn: Neural networks14 Unpredictable individuals: Modeling society; 15 Universal computer: The Turing machine; 16 Hal, R2D2, and Number 5: Artificial intelligence; Epilog; Programs; Further reading; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Z

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [173]-175) and index.

ISBN:

1-4356-0969-7

0-19-152399-2

1-280-90304-X

OCLC:

437108524