1 comments about Automating with SIMATIC: Controllers, Software, Programming, Data Communication Operator Control and Process Monitoring.

1. A book that gives a good overall picture of the Siemens Simatic S7 200/300/400. It may help engineers and technicians who are working with this product to understand many other configurations of Siemens automation products. Not a book if you are only interested in how to program S7 PLC.

5 comments about how nature works: The Science of Self-Organized Criticality (Copernicus).

1. Per Bak's book How Nature Works is about the theory of self organizing criticality and its applicability to a variety of questions and problems in several sciences. It is an interesting and quick read for the most part. I have read other books on self organized criticality that were far less understandable and more limited in their scope of applicability.

   Although there were portions of Bak's work that were a little belabored-I found my interest in sand piles began to sag after the initial discussion, for instance-much of the rest of the book was enlightening. The discussion in Chapter 1 of the contrast between the clarity and simplicity of the laws of physics and the complexity and unpredictability of nature was particularly interesting as was the discussion of the difference between chaos and complexity. His explanation in Chapter 2 of the theory of self organized criticality and the history of its development is far clearer than I found Stuart Kauffman's to be. It might make a better starting place for anyone wishing to understand the theory a little better before going on to Kauffman's and other books on the subject.

   Essentially the theme of the book involves the self organization of much of the universe, from stars and volcanoes to traffic jams and economics, into critical states sustained as stable systems until they evolve through cascade events or what Bak calls avalanches (after his sand pile paradigm) or catastrophes. Bak explains that the system maintains itself along a critical line, above which chaos rules and nothing can be predicted and below which nothing happens so there is nothing to predict!

   Chapter 5 which deals with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions interested me in particular because of my own study of geology. Here Bak suggests that geophysicists' attempts at prediction of events is a lost cause. He believes it to be based upon the mistaken human habit of looking at random events for patterns and periodicity where none exists. While the history of a given event can be studied in some detail after the fact, the information derived is useless in predicting the future. In Bak's opinion, the variables involved are so legion and are interrelated in so convoluted a way as to be impossible to monitor before the fact.

   In chapters 7, 8, and 9 the author attempts to model Darwin's gradual evolution, Gould's punctuated equilibrium, and the Santa Fe Institute's fitness landscape to see which fits the facts better. In general Darwin's theories are vindicated---no real surprise there---while punctuated equilibrium is also found to have it's place in a complete theory of evolution. Chapter 11 contained a section on the unavoidability of catastrophes and fluctuations---and by their extension, one supposes, biological evolution-which casts light on the boom and bust character of economics among other things. This chapter extends the use of the theory of SOC to human activities as well as to human evolution.

   The author's style is very chatty, which makes it readable and personable. By filling in the human details of the discoverers, he makes the book more personal. In all, though I found myself occasionally losing the thread of the author's theme, I nevertheless found the content of each chapter well worth.




2. Per Bak claimed to have invented a fundamentally new way of looking at nature by ascribing an almost mystical significance to ``power-law'' distributions (for the non-technical reader, that simply means one quantity is proportional to another quantity raised to some power; the power, typically a number like 1.8, is a constant). There are two things wrong with this claim:

   1. There is no deep significance to a power law distribution. All it means is that there is no natural scale of the phenomenon. (No power law runs from zero to infinity, so at best it means that there is no natural scale in the range in which the distribution is a power law.)

   2. There is nothing new about this conclusion. It was understood in the 1940's by Kolmogorov in his theory of turbulence and Fermi in his theory of cosmic ray acceleration. The only thing Bak added was the application of these old ideas to the artificial and uninteresting problem of sandpiles.

   There is nothing wrong with taking old ideas and applying them to new problems. However, Bak never admitted where the ideas came from. He never cited this earlier work. For example, models identical to his ``Self Organized Criticality'' were published by scientists working on earthquakes (Journal of Geophysical Research 90, 1894 [1985] and 91, 10412 [1986], building on earlier ideas by Knopoff). Although Bak was aware of this work, published before he ever began working on ``SOC'', he didn't acknowledge it. To a scientist this is an unpardonable sin, equivalent to a banker cooking the books.

   There is a striking resemblence between Bak's How Nature Works and Wolfram's A New Kind of Science. Each author claimed to have made profound and original insights which explain not just one phenomenon, but almost every aspect of the world around us. In each case these supposed insights are essentially mathematical, based on models which ignore the actual physical, chemical or biological processes involved. And in each case closer examination shows that the work is almost trivial, and irrelevant to real scientific problems. You get out what you put in, and when you don't put any science in you, don't get any science out.

   Each of these authors has also claimed credit to which he is not entitled by failing to acknowledge the prior work of others. They suffer from a would-be-genius syndrome, in which someone is so infatuated with his own supposed brilliance that he both exaggerates the slight significance of his work and fails to give credit to those who actually did it earlier....




3. great book. don't buy an old used copy here for $99 when they say it's "hard to find". you can buy a brand new copy direct from the publisher - www.copernicusbooks.com - for only $18!!!



4. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding how Nature works. Nature by far is bursty, intermittent, diverse, highly inhomogeneous both in time and space. This ubiquitous non-uniformity includes natural shapes, human behavior, dynamics of macroevolution, economics, distribution of galaxies, etc. In contrast, we all are very familiar with "bell curves", describing the statistics of the homogeneous-ordered-normal-boring. No theory can account properly with the prevalence in Nature of in-homogeneity and diversity. This book it is dedicated to propose a physical mechanism to generate all of that at once!. Starting with the 1987 Per Bak work on toy models, the book conveys the idea that there is hope in finding a few (instead of one for each phenomena) common ("universal") mechanisms from which the diversity (complexity?) seen in Nature emerges out of the interaction of the parts.
   The theme of the book is: how to write the equation that generates complexity, and -importantly- without including complexity in the recipe. I usually recommend this book (long with Buchanan's "Ubiquity") to novice students eager to read the first things about this question, and the majority found my suggestion useful. The book contains a detailed bibliography helping the newcomer to check further the breadth and validity of the author' claims. The reader could disagree with some bold claims, but should be assured that there is not frivolous thinking wasting pages: all the material in the book was published in the most prestigious scientific journals and quoted by thousands of scientists who found inspiration in this perspective. That alone, set this book apart from recent ones claiming to have a theory for everything.



5. This book is a great attempt at finding some universality based on systems in a "critical" state, with departures from such state taking place in a manner that follows power laws. The sandpile is a great baby model for that.
   Some people are critical of Bak's approach, some even suggesting that we may not get power laws in these "sandpile" effects, but something less scalable in the tails. The point is :so what? The man has vision.
   I looked at the reviews of this book. Clearly a few narrow-minded scientists do not seem to like it (many did not like Per Bak's ego). But the book is remarkably intuitive and the presentation is so clear that he takes you by the hand. It is even entertaining. If you are looking to find flaws in his argument his pedagogy allows it (it is immediately obvious to us who dabble with simulations of these processes that you need an infinite sandpile to get a pure power law).
   Another problem. I have been ordering the book on Amazon for ages. Copernicus books does not respond to emails. I got my copy at the NYU library. Bak passed away 2 years ago and nobody seems to be pushing for his interest and that of us his readers (for used books to sell for 99 implies some demand). This convinces me NEVER to publish with Springer.

5 comments about Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity: A Platform for Designing Business Architecture.

1. This is really aimed at the reader who wishes to work on the transformation of whole organisations. Demonstrating the multi-dimensional relationships between organisational design, performance and behaviour.
   
   This work has had a profound effect on my thinking and development of management ideas. It integrates many concepts into a systemic whole. I have used this book with many management teams in recent years.
   
   If you are venturing into the world of systems thinking then this is probably the most accessible in terms of simplicity and breakthrough applications.
   
   Putting these ideas into practice with your colleagues or management teams might seem a little daunting but it's the only way to learn and master the concepts which will bring deeper insight into organisational change and provide you with better solutions to some of your more persistent management issues. Don't be afraid.



2. I used this for a Ph.D. level course in Leadership Studies and can honestly say that, in almost three full decades of teaching, it was the worst mistake I have made in picking a textbook. Besides the above comment that it is low in definitional accuracy, it is just self-indulgent beyond words. I had the picture of a puppy bringing me a chewed newspaper and waiting to get petted for doing so. The author goes to great pains to demonstrate how bright he is, while demonstrating that his "brightness" is in the manipulation of words and other tools, not in understanding what he is talking about or in helping others to understand what he thinks he is saying.
   
   Unless you like "buzz words" and jargon and the good feeling that comes from superficiality, stay away from this one.



3. Jamshid Gharajedaghi has presented a very nice introduction to a very difficult and complex problem. He has correctly identified the need for thinking about complex systems. The one really valuable insight is his discussion of the evolution of systems philosophies in Chapter 1.
   
   Unfortunately, he does not truly present a unified approach to solving problems. He does explain rather well that choice is a very important component of complex systems, and that a well designed system incentivizes decision makers to do what is best for the group. His idea of holistic iterative design is a correct approach to solving complex systems problems. Yet clear methodologies and simulation approaches are lacking in their discussion, presentation, and illustration.
   
   Simulation is a very important tool for understanding the behavior of complex systems. It should be used as extensively as possible. The presentation of systems dynamics in the book was very, very poor. It was too weak to be of much use to the designers and managers of practical systems. Yet models are not reality, and in the words of Richard Bandler, "the map is not the territory." There was no discussion of model validation. This is a clear fault of this book.
   
   I do think that the idea of starting from the ideal scenario is of absolute importance in solving problems. It may be desirable or even necessary to alter the structure, function, and process of any organization in order to achieve the best results for the overall system. Yet Gharajedaghi does not provide a clear framework for doing so.
   
   The case studies in this book are valuable, because they do give important insights to the application of systems thinking to practical situations. They will be valuable for researchers and managers who must start thinking holistically about practical business problems.
   
   All in all, this book is for managers who need to pick up some kind of insight about practical systems problems, but it does not live up to the reputation of Jay Forrester or Russel Ackoff. The problem presentation is good, but the methodological sections are very, very weak.
   
   I believe that the book is a very good start toward making an important contribution to the management science literature, but it is half-baked at best.



4. This is one of the most important books written in the last 30 years. It is about moving beyond process, synthetic and analytical thinking as singular means of improving business. It is a key to understanding that all of these methods are insufficient on their own as a means of creating optimum results, continuous improvement and business development.
   
   We all understand that in the greatest of companies, musical ensembles, theatre troupes, and sports teams, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. However, we remain mystified by that elusive "chemistry" that actually is the necessary final ingredient needed to move beyond simply being very, very good, and becoming extraordinary.
   
   Dr. Gharajedaghi reveals to us that "chemistry" remains elusive because of the way we see it. He demonstrates that it is not an ingredient that we can insert, but it is a product of the interaction and interdependence of the other ingredients that we are using. Additionally, we learn that the ingredients must be put into the right mixing bowl, or operational environment, which he defines in general terms as "context".
   
   With this book, Professor Gharajedaghi provides us with a very clear understanding as to how chemistry can be created and recreated within any organization, and how to sustain it. This book is a key that will allow you to actually implement process improvement theories such as TQM and Lean, that have been at best a disappointment and at worst a failure in corporate America over the last 20 years.



5. I could not get the essence of this book. There is not a coherent framework, nor ideas are applied in a way that I would find useful. Please try to peruse a copy before purchasing it - in my case it would not make my first cut through the "search inside" feature.

5 comments about Multivariable Feedback Control: Analysis and Design.

1. This is a excellent book for graduate student working in Control. It starts of with concepts in control and gradually goes into the details of multivariable control. Presentation on $\mu$ is clear and concise. I really liked the material on decentralzed control and control structure selection. Prof. Siguard Skogestad and Prof. Ian Postlethwaite did a excellent job. However, I wish there were more problems at the end of each chapter focussing on the research issues.



2. The item was delivered on time and was what I asked for.



3. This is a very advanced book and requires a strong background, especially in matrix analysis. I would recommend reading other text books before tackling this one. I still have not finished this book because I am reading around the subject before taking on the more advanced chapters, however I think that the book is excellent and if you can understand the techniques then the book is worth having.



4. This is a very comprehensive book on multivariable control, particularly chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9 wich are very useful to people who want to understand robustness and are interested in studying these topics by themselves. It was of great help to me.



5. This is a great book on practical, robust, multivariable control. It covers the basic control theory, analysis, limitations and design for robust SISO and MIMO systems. The theory is reinforced with computational examples throughout the text.

5 comments about Universe on a T-Shirt: The Quest for the Theory of Everything.

1. Dan Falk's Universe on a T-Shirt is an informative and entertaining tour of mainstream science-from Democritus to string theory-guided by a single, reining principle: that science is the pursuit of an aesthetic of simplicity, and that the culmination of this pursuit, the theory of everything, will be simple enough to grace a t-shirt.

   Written in clear, clever, friendly prose, the book is easy to understand yet thorough; it serves as an excellent introduction for novices in the topics of physics and cosmology, but is full of fun facts, amusing anecdotes, and intriguing insights for the more knowledgeable reader. History is brought to life through brief biographical portraits of each scientist and thinker who has played a key role in the ongoing search for the ultimate theory, and the reader emerges from Falk's journey with an exciting sense of not only what is going on in science, but of what science itself is all about.

   Speckled with illuminating quotes from physicists working in the field, Universe on a T-shirt dares to ask not only where physics is headed, but whether or not it is headed down the right path. Should notions like beauty and simplicity necessarily pave the road to truth, Falk asks. And will the ultimate theory mark the end of physics? Falk doesn't cower from the philosophy that lurks at the heart of physics. Instead, he embraces it, and allows the reader to delve into some of the most fundamental questions about the nature of reality. The author sympathetically writes of the layman's sense of cosmic alienation-perhaps this book can help those afflicted feel at home in the universe, and a part of the inspiring quest to truly understand it.




2. This book is a very easy read for even those who are non-scientists but are interested in the history of science. This book focuses mostly on cosmology and particle physics and the attempts made by scientists to unite the two areas with one theory ... the Theory of Everything.

   Right now the two biggest theories in physics are Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, which deals with gravity and big things (i.e: galaxies and stars), and the Quantum Theory, which deals with small things (i.e: atoms and quarks). The poblem is that the two of them don't mesh, they don't play well together.

   Falk's book is an overview of the history leading to these two discoveries, and the search for a theory that will explain these two theories in one framework.

   Very easy read, very informative, highly recommended.




3. This book is really a history of the scientific search for the structure of the universe since Greek times. It does not stray from a its direct path to the latest thinking about string theory. Thus, though quantum theory is often at the center of the discussion, the double slit experiment is not mentioned, since the author apparently feels it is not necessary for his main point that quantum theory is "weird". I agree with the author's approach on this point. There is also essentially no math in the book. The only formula is Einstein's famous E = M times c-squared, and there is a numerical example to illustrate the inverse square concept, and that's it for math. I've done a lot of reading about quantum theory over the last few years and am a math professor by trade, but still found this one of the best books I have read. I especially enjoyed how the author handled the history. It is true the last chapter on the meaning of it all could have been omitted, but I feel the book is stronger for including this philosopical material. Highly recommended.



4. For someone like myself coming from a traditional Arts background and with a 25 year career in the Human Services where the word "quantum " anything is a foreign language, I am used to being on the outside looking in when it comes to the mysterious ( but compelling ) world of science. Not any longer. Reading Universe on a T shirt was nothing short of an epiphany for me. The author's well thought out presentation and friendly conversational language , complete with a well placed dose of subtle humour just when you thought things were getting a bit dry, made this book user friendly at minimum and warmly engaging at its best.

   Being an amateur star gazer with a life long interest in Astronomy, I was drawn to this book because of its relevance to various theories in Astronomy and Space exploration, most of which escaped my very limited knowledge of Science of any kind. Perhaps it was the quirky title and interesting cover image that captured my attention and lead me to take a chance on what I hoped wouldn't be just another science book that I couldn;t understand. I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to read a comprehensive but not overly detailed history of all the "great s" of Science and their discoveries as well as an overview of all the major theories. When I realized, with some degree of what I can only describe as shock, that I actually understood at a very basic level, Mr. Falk's presentation of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity( the wonderful illustration of Alice and Bernice on a moving train and the accompanying explanation really clinched it for me )I began to harbour wild eyed thoughts that maybe my guidance counsellors were wrong all those years ago when they told me that I was a "people person" destined for a career in the Humanities and Human Services exclusively. This book actually made me believe,well for a brief moment anyway, that perhaps a potential scientist has been laying dormant inside of me all this time , waiting for just the right moment to be awakened..

   Especially insightful and satisfying was Mr. Falk's final chapter, "what does it all mean? Science, God and the limits of understanding" and how he brings it all together for a brief but provocative contemplation of philsophy and spirituality and how they integrate with scientific thought...or do they?

   This book will be a permanent fixture in my library for reference as well as inspiration and I eagerly look forward to the author's next book.




5. "So what, exactly, do we mean by a `Theory of Everything'?," Falk asks (eventually) in his very last chapter (p 212). We mean, he says in his very first chapter, "the universe explained" in a form so "concise, simple and elegant" that it'd fit on a T-shirt. (p 2)
   
   And THAT he says, is the aim of all science!
   
   There are only THREE problems with this claim.
   
   FIRST: most current scientists would deny that that's what they're seeking. And Falk belatedly admits as much at the very end of his book. "I may have given the impression," he writes, disingenuously, "that every physicist is obsessed with finding the Holy Grail -- the Theory of Everything. Most are not." In fact, he agrees, most, like the late great Richard Feynman, are "just looking to find out more about the world." (p 214)
   
   SECOND: there's really very little evidence that scientists in the past sought a Theory of Everything either. This will be abundantly clear to anyone who reads this book from cover to cover -- because it is in large measure a pop history of physics from the Pre-Socratics in Ancient Greece to the strung-out, p-brane theorists of today. (Pun!)
   
   Falk uses the "Universe on a T-shirt" idea as his organizing principle, and it enables him to write a short, snappy and engaging story. But he provides no evidence (`cos there is none) that, say, Copernicus, Galileo, Galvani, Oersted, Faraday, Maxwell, or any one of a host of other Greats was actually seeking a `Theory of Everything.' A case might be made for Newton and/or Einstein, but even they were more reserved and self-effacing, more hesitant in their claims than some of today's self-appointed Spokesmen for Science.
   
   THIRD: If what we're really seeking is a theory that will "explain" everything but be concise enough to fit on a T-shirt, then we've already succeeded. Assuming we use the ENTIRE T-shirt.
   
   But, that's not what Falk has in mind. What he envisions is less an "explanation" than a slogan; an equation that'll reduce all knowledge to a sound bite.
   
   But, what'd be the point? No matter what equation "we" came up with, it'd still not be self-evident. It'd only "explain" the Universe to those who'd been educated to the point where they could understand the equation ... and so wouldn't need the T-shirt!
   
   And, as for the Homer Simpsons among us, the T-shirt'd be about as useful and edifying as an advertising slogan!
   ----------
   Though these points may undermine Falk's organizing principle they won't affect your enjoyment of this book. After all, it's not a Doctoral Dissertation; it's a pop history.
   
   Readers with a good grounding in science will be pleasantly surprised by Falk's ability to convey the Big Ideas, though most'll probably be disappointed by his decision to eschew the math. (Incidentally, non-physicists should be warned -- Chemistry and Biology are at best only bit players in Falk's story).
   
   Readers with a good grounding in History will be pleased to find that the story is NOT reduced to a childish morality play in which the Big Bad Church tries wrong-headedly to suppress the Courageous, Individualistic Scientists who are engaged in the disinterested pursuit of Truth! In this regard, Falk's treatment of Copernicus and Galileo should serve as a model for all future popularizers. On the other hand, the knowledgeable reader will be disappointed that the Pre-Socratics get an entire chapter while the Arabs get little more than a page. As if incohate mumblings about "atoms" could measure up to the Hindu-Arabic number system, or algebra, or trigonometry, or ...
   
   But, these are really quite minor quibbles!
   
   Honestly!
   
   You'll enjoy this book! It's well-written and engaging, and is a remarkably easy read considering the subject matter.
   
   If you read nothing else in this book, read "What Does It All Mean?" - a chapter on "Science, God and the Limits of Understanding." It's excellent!

1 comments about The Ecology of Plants.

1. I had to purchase this book for my Plant Ecology course. I found that the book was an interesting read (if you like the subject matter). My course followed the main topic from the chapters, but not directly. The book was a great supplement to the class and by reading it I really understood the concepts. We went more indepth in some topics in class and I wish that the book covered it, because it would have been best to read about it too. I think the authors did a great job writing it so that it was interesting.

5 comments about The Nature of Consciousness : The Structure of Reality: Theory of Everything Equation Revealed : Scientific Verification and Proof of Logic God Is.

1. Mr. Wheatley has touched upon one of the most intriguing methods, through scientific study and evalution, that leads to new deductions for behavioral patterns. Many books have been written for sociological, psychological, cultural, and behavioral studies, of which I have a deep interest. However, as you are led step by step through the scientific processes of this book, one's perspective of human behavior will take on a whole new meaning. Such questions as "why do people behave the way they do?", or "How do cultural, geographical, sociological factors impact our behavior?" take on a whole new perspective for study and evaluation. This book could become required text at the college level for scientific studies. I was fascinated with several concepts put forth by Mr. Wheatley.



2. This is a really great book. It combines philosophy and science in order to tackle a multitude of existential problems. The author's style of writing is fresh and alive, I recommend ths book to anyone interested in expanding the fronteirs of their understanding. Books I also liked are a Universe in an Nutshell by Steven Hawkings and Descent into Illusions by Paul Omeziri.



3. I must preface my review by stating that I have never been so excited and moved by a book that I have wanted to contact the author. That is what I found myself doing upon reading this book. This book is just what its title says. The author does not "miss a beat" describing in great detail using practically every aspect of scientific knowledge from atomic structure through logic to quantum theory---we are even given a valuable explanation of Love. This text may be challenging to read for those unfamiliar with scientific terminology. And it can also be difficult for those with a science background, such as myself. However, for me it is well worth the work necessary to strive to understand the unfamiliar terminology. (I am continually learning from this book. I am presently on my third reread).

   One of the author's main messages is "not" to believe anything without first verifying it with reality, as we know it. He calls it the "Personal Explanation Principle". He indicates that religions are just such belief systems that we as people "fall" victims of; because we do not verify the beliefs with the facts, as we know them, of reality. He gives a very detailed explanation of how the New Testament can be explored using his methodology.

   The author methodically and meticulously walks us through his thought processes, which took 30 years to assimilate, of delineating the structure of reality and the nature of consciousness. Included in the "walk" are many of reality's phenomena made revelatory. An example of that, for me, would be the dual nature of light. It's particle/wave duality, which is explained as "functions". Also, when the author took me on the mental journey of "Setness" an exhilaration of the magnificence of life swelled up in me.

   To me this is a very important book that should be read by all that are seekers of truth. It is for all those wanting to gain an understanding of the purpose for their existence, wanting to know where life is headed towards, and wanting to know who God is.

   This book will enlighten and develop one's mind substantially. You will discover that this is our objective.

   And yes, I contacted the author and he responded openly.




4. This book will change your life. You will never think the same way you did before reading it.
   I have a degree in chemistry and I think this book should be read by everyone in the sciences. Without a doubt, the best book I've ever read. Why and what are two of our best friends



5. Although Mr. Wheatley is a little verbose in sections, his documentation of Zen Buddhistic Principles found throughout the disciplines of Mathematics, Physics, Theology, etc. forms a nice reference guide for anyone tuned into that wavelength. In particular, his explanation of how Godel's Theorem and Cantor's "Confusion" shed great light on the difference between GOD's Logic and Man's Logic should be a revelation to any undergraduate level math students who encounter these ideas for the first time. Curiously, Mr. Wheatley makes many misstatements about both Zen Buddhism Principles and the Bible, however. For example, by accepting the false biblical teaching of Original Sin, he misses the point that eating the proverbial apple gave Adam and Eve the ability to make Moral Discernments in fulfillment of GOD'S PERFECT PLAN. As proof, read Genesis 1 which states that Man and Woman were made in GOD's Image. Genesis 4 shows that Adam and Eve weren't the first humans on Earth at all, there were plenty of others by then. The allegorical meaning of the story of Eden, then, isn't that Adam and Eve were the first humans on Earth, but they were the first humans with the ability to make Moral Discernments (in GOD's Image). In fact, Moral Discernment is God's Unique Gift to Man, which is the basis of consciousness, not some Math Formula. But because the wages of the resulting, unavoidable sin are Death, many people foolishly try to return to Eden by: (1) living a sinless Life (2) by removing choice altogether by passing and enforcing strict Laws (3) by attempting to do away with Moral Discernment and the resulting consequences for our actions altogether by trying to remove Shame from Shameful actions. GOD is not some ethereal Man-In-Space, but is simply the Totality of all Real Things, The Set of All Real Sets. GOD's Love manifests itself from the amazing sub-atomic relationships that underly this magic Life all the way to the grandest of Macroscopic Scales, the Interconnected Totality itself. The Zen Buddhism connection can be found by simply superimposing the 0 symbol and the symbol for infinity (8 on its side) in Mr. Wheatley's supposedly "new" formulation that 1 = 0 x infinity. Superimposing them gives you the yin-yang symbol. A potential disadvantage of artificially separating the infinity from the zero, however, is that Mr. Wheatley is able to equate the entire expression to be equal to 1. This potentially might obscure the fact that the deepest meaning of the yin-yang symbol is that it is both 2 and 1 AT THE SAME TIME. His overall equation does preserve that important meaning by utilizing a single element on one side of the equation and two elements on the other side of his final TOE equation. This may be hard to see for some at first, however, which could potentially obscure the richest meaning of this beautiful symbol/equation. A much more GODLY TOE, in my opinion, comes from Euler, who discovered that e ^ (i * pi) - 1 = 0. When someone can explain that relationship, then they can say they know GOD.

No comments about An Introduction to Systems Analysis Techniques (2nd Edition).

1 comments about Global Sensitivity Analysis: The Primer.

1. When I was working at Oak Ridge National Lab in the late 1970s, I worked with other scientists and statisticians on data and model validation. Toby Mitchell a specialist in experimental design was developing sampling techniques to use in model validation. He has since passed on. One of the techniques he used was Latin hypercube sampling. The authors of this text are from Italy and Canada. They have computer science and mathematical backgrounds but are not statisticians. Yet once you start reading book you will see that they appreciate both the deterministic and the stochastic aspects of modeling.
   
   What they do, they call Global Sensitivity Analysis. They are very bright and are lucid in their explanations and description of philosophical issues. This is not something that those of us who do statistical modeling are very familiar with but it is important to know. It is especially gratifying to see that these authors are always wary of modeling assumptions and look for novel ways to test them. They point out that validating models is complicated. Many models that we construct are complex and even when we are aware of this and test aspects of the model. we often take some things for granted and accept aspects of the model as a given. I really enjoyed reading the afterword where these issues are well brought out.
   
   Specific methods include th elementary effects method discussed in Chapter 3 that is based on the work of Max Morris in a 1991 paper in Technometrics. In Chapter 4, they cover variance-based methods which relies on the work of Sobol and others. They illustrate the applications of these methods with an infection dynamics model.
   
   The main idea is to determine which factors affect the output variables as well as which interaction effects play a role. In the last chapter the authors make recommendations as to when to apply each technique.
   
   At the beginning of the sections they raise questions that they answer in the section. This approach and the problem sets followed by complete and clear solutions makes the text readable and enjoyable even for novices.

5 comments about Signals and Systems (Prentice-Hall Signal Processing Series).

1. The book has been arrived in good condition and spent a time less than I expect.Thanks for all.



2. Amazon's editorial reviews are correct. Don't be deceived into thinking that this is anything other than an introduction for the complete novice. It's a book with a particular style: long and wordy. It's only for a particular *kind* of novice: one who needs a lot of hand holding and every detail worked out. It's nearly 1000 pages. I learned the subject in 1976 from an earlier edition that was a third the size (I think) but there doesn't seem to be twice again as many new topics covered.
   
   The mathematics is at an undergrad level, with much (but not all) developed as needed in the text. Topics are missing. For example the inverse Laplace transform is mentioned but not developed (perhaps an appropriate choice in a book for the novice), and the Butterworth and elliptic filters are mentioned, even with graphs of their frequency responses, but they are not defined in any way whatsoever.
   
   Some topics are reserved for the exercises. For example, windowing is covered only in one long-ish problem.
   
   The Amazon review says it's a good book for self-study. I'd agree, provided you understand that you are getting only an introduction at the undergraduate level. If you are a grad student or professional, or if you can't tolerate long detailed explanations, this is not the book for you.



3. This book explain very clear what are differences about Fourier and Laplace Transform. Eventhough, those transform appears in the same range of time.
   The writer of these book is well known Professors who is also editor of Prentice hall series in Signal processing.Eventhough, I just past these subject two times in Bachelor and Master coursework. I don't found it is useful for my research until recently. I should do more exercise in this book!.



4. I have struggled through two classes utilizing this book, so I feel I do have a good sense of the material in it. It does say something about a textbook when your professor requires you to purchase a second book to fill in the gaps this book creates (Laplace transform). I feel I still do not have an adequate grasp of Fourier series - and I've read those sections time and time again. I eventually went to another textbook to teach myself the material on my own time.
   The lack of mathematical examples make the processes of understanding the material WAY more difficult than it needs to be. Another sore point: A lot of the understanding comes from the practice problems. Too bad there are so few answers in the back of the book. It leaves you to question what you have learned - if anything from the problem.



5. I am an Aerospace graduate student reading this book on my own time and pace (not taking the undergrad Electrical Engineering class that teaches/uses this book). I found out about this book because my friend (an EE student) was in that class and I asked him if I could look through it. After looking through it I decided to buy it, and I'm glad I did.
   
   This is a VERY GOOD no-nonsense book. A brief personal background, I've read Control Systems Engineering by Norman S. Nise (Very good book!), and am now reading this book. I would say that this book is really not something you want to dive into without any prior background. Start with a good controls book (Nise, Ogata, etc) and learn the basics. THEN read this book to get the finer details.
   
   Also, make sure you have the MATH background for this book. A lot of this book is dedicated to the fourier series, laplace xfrm, and z xfrm. If you have not had a formal class is fourier series, you might find this difficult to grasp. I would STRONGLY recommend you have a background of: SISO controls, ODEs, and PDEs.
   
   If you have already taken these pre-reqs, this book is a great 'aha!' moment that nicely combines the concepts from all these areas and really gives you nice insights into how they are all related.
   
   As for the problems, I'm not doing them. I'm reading this book for the material, not for a grade. I don't doubt the objections made that the problems are SIGNIFICANTLY harder than the examples. BUT, life is tough. I would recommend you look through my PDE book (Partial Differential Equations - Strauss) to see the BIG JUMP in the hw from the VERY skimpy examples. There are lots of books like this. They are made to be hard for a reason, you have to use your brain to think creatively. Dont expect every book to hold your hand through problem solving!
   
   I would ignore the people who rate this book a 1 just because they cant solve the homework problems. The writing is VERY clear and to the point. Please note, this is NOT a book you want to rush through when reading. If you take your time you will find that its actually VERY insightful.
   
   Given the fast pace of a normal semester, you might find this book to be very dense. In other words, you will have to absorb a TON of material in a short amount of time. So I can see this being a tough class to take. Reading it at your own pace, this book is pure bliss!