2 comments about How to Model It: Problem Solving for the Computer Age.

1. This book will be useful to anyone who needs to solve problems in the engineering or scientific world. The authors believe that constructing models is an essential step in the problem solving process.
   
   This book contains a sequence of problems which the authors help you to solve by constructing models. The authors ask you a lot of questions to help you construct the models and even provide their own answers (after several pages) in case you are stuck. They then provide you some of the theory involved. You are approached as a student in their "classroom", and you are taking a class in building models.
   
   Although the book makes you think, it does not have a true "readability" that would let me give it 5 stars.



2. I completely agree with the above critic. The book is excellent at creating scenarios in which the student has to think about in order to solve the problems and meet all the criteria. This book would be helpful to an engineering or science student as it helps solve real-world problems using Matlab or Microsoft Excel. I also agree that the book fails to go outside their given scenarios and problems and doesn't offer much else.

No comments about Controlling with SIMATIC: Practice Book for SIMATIC S7 and SIMATIC PCS7 Control Systems.

3 comments about An Introduction to Information Theory.

1. Like most Dover mathematics books, this is a high-quality reprint of an older textbook (1961). I have read the first 100 pages, and am very impressed thus far. The writing is crisp and clear, and moves at a good pace. The book seems to me to be ideal for self-study and as a lead-in to more modern (and complex) treatments. In a way, the age of the book stands in its favor, as Information Theory was just being canonized at about the time of publication. Thus, this book attempts to organize and present about 20 years worth of research, rather than the 60 or so years that modern authors may feel compelled to include. Thank God for Dover books.



2. This book is the best, like introduction in the theory
   information. The examples are great, the analogies with
   the circuit are helpful. The review of mathematical backgrounds,
   in special the statistical, the theorems, permit a
   good comprehension.
   The new books in this topic are bad, because they separate
   the aplications and the theory, don't waste your money in them!



3. This Reza book is what the Ash book should have been (both are published by Dover). While the Ash book focuses on much more
   advanced topics in information theory and requires a much higher level knowledge of mathematics, it gives no real clue
   whatsoever as to what information theory really is... at least
   if your of the "engineer" mentality... the Ash book won't be
   much help because it's to rigorous and not practical enough
   (i.e. what's the relavance of information theory to communications). In comes the Reza book. This is truly one of the finest books for beginners in information theory. It covers very extensively the basics of "classic information theory," although it's shortcoming is that like the Ash book, the perspective of the book is more mathematical and it really doesnt emphasize enough the "practical" applications of information theory as it relates to electronic communications.

   Reza is an outstanding author in that he can explain things in words, and doesn't need to bedazzle you with mathematical equations.. Reza makes you understand what it's all about.
   If your seeking something even simpler... only one book fits the bill... I highly recommend Pierce's information theory book, subtitled "symbols, signals, and noise" (also by Dover) which is probably THE BEST/SIMPLEST INFORMATION THEORY BOOK EVER WRITTEN. Way too simplistic in my opinion... but it's great light reading, because Pierce is also a fabulous author, one of the best of his era, and for those not math/science/engineering oriented, it would be a great
   book to read.
   Summary, buy this book before you buy the Ash book.

No comments about Trend Tracking: The System to Profit from Today's Trends.

4 comments about Random Signals: Detection, Estimation and Data Analysis.

1. The authors have unleashed the subject of Stochastic Processes using a carefully paced and proven approach of introducing the material using a number of elegant examples where emphasis is to generalize specific results. This quality text will certainly not dissapoint readers who have come to expect high quality from K. Sam Shanmugam and Authur .M.Breipohl .It can be recommended for first course and also for gaduate level courses on the fascinating and challenging subject of Random Processes



2. This is one of the best books around for studying Random Processes ! The author has also provided a very good introduction to Detection, Estimation and Modelling of Stochastic Processes. I found this book very useful and I'd strongly suggest this book for an introductionary level graduate course. If you want to build a strong foundation in Random Signal Theory, this book is the way to go.. Other advanced texts like Simon Haykin's "Adaptive Filter Theory" will be a lot easier to understand once you study this book thoroughly and work out the exercise problems.



3. I agree with the other reviews that this is one of the best books for studying random processes, especially in the context of DSP. I used the book in a graduate level "statistical signal processing" course at the University of London and I found it extremely useful.
   It covers everything from the definition of a sample space, AR and MA processes, periodograms to optimal Wiener filter theory. The examples are very clear and they accompany each of the chapters. One point to notice is that you do need to know something about Fourier transforms and also have basic familiarity with probability.
   
   Highly recommended to anyone in the DSP field.



4. I've read the statistical signal processing and stochastic processes books by Kay, Papoulis, Srinath and Stark & Woods, and this is by far the best book that covers both subject areas in a logical fashion. The text is very clearly written, mathematical notation is easy to follow, and example problems are very worthwhile. I'm currently a PhD student using this book to prepare for my qualification exams, and it's really helping me master the difficult subject of estimation and detection theory.
   
   Though the book does not get much into measure spaces and some of the abstract theoretical fundamentals, it's an excellent engineering reference that's ideal for an introductory class in the subject. My only complaint is that the book is not hardcover.

5 comments about Introducing Chaos, New Edition (Introducing).

1. The main problem with the book is its emphasis on multiculterism, not to mention that the author simply does not know his stuff. We are told that Galileo ignored friction in order to get "neat results" and somehow caused Western science to only study linear systems. He seems to think that nonlinearity and chaos are the same thing. He tells us that nonlinear problems are not solvable. He actually suggests that we have only recently seen that the three-body problem is chaotic. (Instead Poincare proved the chaotic nature of the problem around 1890.) He seems to think that Asian philosophies actually capture the mathematical substance of chaos theory. I could go on. If you want to study chaos get the volume "Chaos and Fractals: New Frontiers of Science" by Peitgen, Jurgens, and Saupe.



2. This is an excellent introduction to Chaos. It is aimed at the general non academic reader who may have heard about this buzzword called "Chaos" and wondered what's it all about. It is not for the academic, informed reader but a quick introduction for the intelligent layman or someone who last formally studied science many years ago. It draws heavily on James Gleick's book "Chaos" which was the first book to popularise the subject. If you are busy and want to know something about chaos to see if you then want to find out more, this book is perfect.



3. I was looking for an easy-to-understand book on Chaos Theory for some non-English speakers (say, some Japanese students) to read, and I personally like "Introducing Fractal Geometry", so I got my hand on this book...

   It was a mistake.

   I would not say much about this. The author did introduce Chaos, not really Chaos theory, to the readers. He tried his best, I believe, to make things easy to understand by simplifying things... However, in doing so, he had just created Chaos.

   Hence, this book is probably one of the best examples of "How Simplicity creates Complexity and Chaos"... a simple scheme found in Complex systems (like complex Cellular Automata which emerged from a simple set of rules).

   One thing, while a lot of names (technical terms) were introduced, almost all of them are left unexplained. And I think only "introducing" is never enough. (Well, it was the name of the book afterall... this book wasn't named "Explaing Chaos" :)

   There are other good books on Chaos for layperson. And, in fact, "Introducing Fractal Geometry" did a far better job than this one.




4. I've read a number of books on Chaos/Complexity, and found this one to be fine. I think my favorite was the one by Mitchell M. Waldrop "Complexity: the Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos."
   
   At any rate, for the audience for which the book is intended, which is someone who wants an easy-to-read introduction on chaos, I think the book is perfectly adequate.



5. This was the book that got me hooked on the Introducing... series. I wanted to get a nice overview of Chaos Theory, and this book provided it.

2 comments about Linear System Theory (2nd Edition) (Prentice-Hall Information and System Sciences Series).

1. Kailath's System Theory essentially rejected Chen's Linear System Theory for its undue emphasis on computation of the matrix exp. and other crimes. Kailath in turn beat realization theory to death, and is now rejected by Rugh. Well, this is but a better organized rewrite and update of Brockett's 1969 book. While that was easy to learn from, this one is not. In fact no current text on system theory is easy to learn from, save Luenberger's which is too watered down anyway. The student is as usuall left to his own devices. Good luck.



2. This is really a terrible book on system theory. It can never point out the essencial points of the theory. Rather, the auther uses a lot of mathematics to make the book a nightmare. One can never easily get the idea. There is nothing but matrices. Well, those matrix techniques are not so difficult in the viewpoint of mathematics,except, complicated sometimes.

   This one may be okay to look at when you are fairly familiar with the linear system theory but definitely it is not suitable for a textbook. Unfortunately, our school chose it as our text.

5 comments about Chaos in Wonderland: Visual Adventures in a Fractal World.

1. it might just me, but i found "Chaos.." to be a disappointing fairy tale about creatures in love with fractals. "Chaos.."'s only message is that fractals are weird and kinda look nice as pictures. no effort was made to give us a consistent view of Pickover's fictional world, no character relationships, and no guiding theme (except strangeness).
   All i ended up with is a bunck of drawings and riddles, and eventhough i am a major in computer graphics and AI, this is absolutely unsufficient.



2. Dr. Pickover is a master fractal and chaos writer and tries to reach a wider public with this book. I would say that he is better on plot than on dialog and the connection between the beautiful frcatal trajectories and the plot development is pretty stretched. His heart is in the right place: I think he is the model for Dr. Malcom in the Jurassic Park movies! But he can't bring this one down to a point where you can live with the characters. Buy it for the pictures and the programs. Your unique Associates ID is: thefractaltransl.



3. A strange and beautiful journey through fractals, chaos, and science fiction. Filled with incredible illustrations.




4. The beautiful images and creative ideas set this book apart from most others on the subject of fractals, chaos, and computer art. There are endless ideas for experimentation. An excellent and fun introduction to chaos for a wide variety of readers. You will really understand the concept of Lyapunov exponenent after you read this strange tale.




5. Forget Heinlein. Say goodbye to Azimov. Break it off with Bradbury. This is the real stuff.

   _Chaos is Wonderland_ is really three books in one, each with a different style and purpose. Part I, titled "The Latööcarfian Civilization," introduces the reader to an ancient race of mathematicians that just happens to live in the ice beneath Ganymede (one of Jupiter's moons). It reads a little like a textbook, but Pickover is just setting the stage for a far grander work. A rather dull paragraph in Section 2.1 merely sets the stage:

   "Far from the bright twinkling city lights and the chaotic world of humans, lives a shy, sentient race of creatures known as the Latööcarfians. Their home is Ganymede, a moon of planet Jupiter. Ganymede (radius 2,635 km / 1,636 mi) is the largest and brightest member of the Jovian family of moons. In fact, Ganymede is one of the largest satellites in the Solar System, rivalled only by Neptune's Triton, and Saturn's Titan. Ganymede has a rock and ice crust approximately 100 km thick, with a covering mantel of water or soft ice about 600 km thick. The icy surface has become dirty with age" (5).

   This may not sound like easy - or even worthwhile - reading, but Pickover quickly moves to the anatomy and culture of the ice-dwelling Latööcarfians, whose gallium-arsenide biology allows them to display intricate patterns of light on their foreheads. These patterns are based on complex, chaos-theory equations: dynamical systems, Lorenz attractors, and strange attractors are thrown around and even graphed. It's no big deal if the math is beyond you (as it is beyond me) - the audacity of Pickover's ideas is what really moves the text. Loaded with photos of Jupiter and its moons, cartographic maps, and anatomical illustrations, one could easily believe that Part I is a textbook from the 25th century.

   Part II, "The Dream-Weavers of Ganymede," is a swashbuckling space opera that explores all of the ideas set forth in Part I... and more. It follows the adventures of Garth and Kalinda as they explore Ganymede and run afoul of fractal spiders, brain parasites, slug- and mole-people, glass girls, and - of course - the Latööcarfians themselves. It will never be considered high literature, but it is corny fun, and chock-full of hard science.

   Part III is a set of appendices, but it is worth your time. Here you will find computer programs to recreate some of the fractal patterns shown in the book, fractal games that you can build and play, "the 100 strangest mathematical titles ever published," a treatise on communicating with aliens via math, "the 15 most famous transcendental numbers," methods on how to calculate pi, and suggestions for further reading. And more! Find out the true identity of the Celestial Police, read bibliographies of mathematics in science-fiction and computers in science-fiction, plumb the secrets of the ten formulas that changed the face of the world... And more!

   Last word: this amazing book is like a small library. If you like cutting-edge science, weird science, hypothetical science, abstract math, wonky space operas, or references of the bizarre, then this book will not disappoint. Grade: A++ (Yes, two plus signs. It's that good.)

5 comments about The Art of Modeling Dynamic Systems: Forecasting for Chaos, Randomness and Determinism (Dover Books on Mathematics).

1. This is a fantastic book and I'm sorry it's hard to get now. I found it by accident in a used book store in Madison, WI, in 1995 and found I learned a lot from it, even though by that time I had already taken multiple classes in Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Statistics, etc. Dr. Morrison really sets out in lucid detail many of the important developments in applied modeling theory--dynamical systems, stochastic systems, the fudamentals that lie behind them--from a very useful perspective, and one that is often missing from the orthodox academic treatments. What he chooses not to cover in detail he references thoroughly. I wish that I had had this book when I was learning many of the topics. Anyone who is seriously considering learning dynamic modeling should read this book and I have little doubt that fairly experienced modelers will find something between the covers.



2. This book is certainly the best book you'll find around for treating in depth the subject of modeling dynamic systems. The style is clear and very intuitive. It provides a well-structured identification of dynamic systems and explains the "what you can do and what you cannot" for modeling all types of dynamic systems. It's true that it can be hard to find but waiting some couple of weeks certainly is no reason for not trying to get this extraordinary overview of dynamic systems !

   The only drawback you could find is that it is too short... reading it makes you want more...so using it as an introduction to dynamic systems can only motivate you at going further in the field of dynamic systems modeling !




3. Very general overview for the subject of dynamic systems modeling, providing ample historical perspectives. Not suitable for folks looking for deep technical matters.



4. This is the kind of book that should be available in every area of science and mathematics. A book that is not a research book, but yet is not a broad popularization. This book can benefit both persons who are just beginning a study of dynamic modeling and I dare say things will be learned by even those that are researchers in the area. Good work Foster Morrison whoever you are.



5. 
   
   I find myself agreeing with all the comments made so far.
   
   It's not too common to find a book that is able to describe in simple terms, such a large and diverse range of mathematical tools.
   
   The author uses a framework - to tie together tools used in describing and handling deterministic, semi deterministic, and stochastic systems. For an example of Deterministic, try ODE's (ordinary differential equations), for semi deterministic - try Periodic but noisy wave-forms (some stock prices), and finally Stochastic - Random looking waveforms that have underlying patterns that can be described using either using Chaotic indicators (Hurst, Liapunov ) or probability type descriptors.
   
   This book is the kind of thing you needed to help steer you through those dry mathematical books that are divorced from reality - A sort of classification system for deciphering what kind of gunpowder was used in those display's of intellectual fireworks from the tops of ivory towers. Kinda "So thats what all that maths means, but in plain english".
   
   A depth of understanding, for practical application, without intellectual egotism and opaqueness. (But then maybe I'm just a bit thick ... :)
   
   I'd tend to call this book as an equivalent to the Rosetta Stone for the maths of dynamical systems.
   
   You may not use it directly - but you will benefit and grow in understanding from its' plain and simple sign posts along your journey.
   
   It has its place on my book shelf.

No comments about Introduction to Physical System Dynamics (McGraw-Hill series in mechanical engineering).