Reality Rules, The Frontier

"Casti Tours offers the most spectacular vistas of modern appliedmathematics."-- Nature

Mathematical modeling is about rules--the rules of reality. RealityRules explores the syntax and semantics of the language in whichthese rules are written, the language of mathematics. Characterizedby the clarity and vision typical of the author's previous books,Reality Rules is a window onto the competing dialects of thislanguage--in the form of mathematical models of real-worldphenomena--that researchers use today to frame their views ofreality.

Moving from the irreducible basics of modeling to the upper reachesof scientific and philosophical speculation, Volumes 1 and 2, TheFundamentals and The Frontier, are ideal complements, equallymatched in difficulty, yet unique in their coverage of issuescentral to the contemporary modeling of complex systems.

Engagingly written and handsomely illustrated, Reality Rules is afascinating journey into the conceptual underpinnings of realityitself, one that examines the major themes in dynamical systemtheory and modeling and the issues related to mathematical modelsin the broader contexts of science and philosophy. Far-reaching andfar-sighted, Reality Rules is destined to shape the insight andwork of students, researchers, and scholars in mathematics,science, and the social sciences for generations to come.

Of related interest . . .

ALTERNATE REALITIES

Mathematical Models of Nature and Man

John L. Casti

A thoroughly modern account of the theory and practice ofmathematical modeling with a treatment focusing on system-theoreticconcepts such as complexity, self-organization, adaptation,bifurcation, resilience, surprise and uncertainty, and themathematical structures needed to employ these in a formalsystem.

1989 0-471-61842-X 493pp. Strategies for Survival: Competition, Games and the Theory ofEvolution.

The Analytical Engine: A System-Theoretic View of Brains, Minds andMechanisms.

Taming Nature and Man: Control, Anticipation and Adaptation inSocial and Biological Processes.

The Geometry of Human Affairs: Connective Structure in Art,Literature and Games of Chance.

The Mystique of Mechanism: Computation, Complexity and the Limitsto Reason.

How Do We Know?: Myths, Models and Paradigms in the Creation ofBeliefs.

Index. Aus dem Inhalt:
VOLUME 1: THE WAYS OF MODELMAKING: Natural Systems and Formal Mathematical Representations;
CATASTROPHES, DYNAMICS AND LIFE: The Singularities of Ecological and Natural Resource Systems;
PATTERN AND THE EMERGENCE OF LIVING FORMS: Cellular Automata and Discrete Dynamics;
ORDER IN CHAOS: Variety and Pattern in the Flow of Fluids, Populations and Money.
VOLUME 2: STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL: Competition, games and the Theory of Evolution;
THE ANALYTICAL ENGINE: A System-Theoretic View of Brains, Minds and Mechanisms;
TAMING NATURE AND MAN: Control Anticipation and Adaptation in Social and Biological Processes;
THE GEOMETRY OF HUMAN AFFAIRS: Connective Structure in Art, Literature and Games of Chance;
THE MYSTIQUE OF MECHANISMS: Computation, Complexity and the Limits to Reason;
HOW DO WE KNOW?: Myths, Models and Paradigms in the Creation of Beliefs.
John L. Casti is a member of the faculty of the Santa Fe Institute and a professor at the Technical University of Vienna. He is the author of Alternate Realities, Paradigms Lost, Searching for Certainty, Complexification, and Five Golden Rules. Dr. Casti is the executive editor of Complexity, a journal published by John Wiley. "Casti Tours offers the most spectacular vistas of modern applied mathematics."— Nature

Mathematical modeling is about rules—the rules of reality. Reality Rules explores the syntax and semantics of the language in which these rules are written, the language of mathematics. Characterized by the clarity and vision typical of the author's previous books, Reality Rules is a window onto the competing dialects of this language—in the form of mathematical models of real-world phenomena—that researchers use today to frame their views of reality.

Moving from the irreducible basics of modeling to the upper reaches of scientific and philosophical speculation, Volumes 1 and 2, The Fundamentals and The Frontier, are ideal complements, equally matched in difficulty, yet unique in their coverage of issues central to the contemporary modeling of complex systems.

Engagingly written and handsomely illustrated, Reality Rules is a fascinating journey into the conceptual underpinnings of reality itself, one that examines the major themes in dynamical system theory and modeling and the issues related to mathematical models in the broader contexts of science and philosophy. Far-reaching and far-sighted, Reality Rules is destined to shape the insight and work of students, researchers, and scholars in mathematics, science, and the social sciences for generations to come.

Of related interest . . .

ALTERNATE REALITIES

Mathematical Models of Nature and Man

John L. Casti

A thoroughly modern account of the theory and practice of mathematical modeling with a treatment focusing on system-theoretic concepts such as complexity, self-organization, adaptation, bifurcation, resilience, surprise and uncertainty, and the mathematical structures needed to employ these in a formal system.

1989 0-471-61842-X 493pp.