5 comments about Chaos in Dynamical Systems.

1. A good introduction to chaos in dynamical systems for physicists. The emphasis is not on time-series analysis or nonlinear systems, but chaos in "physical" systems (in the sense of applications in physics). A good reading for undergrads in physics and maths. One of the best starters for getting deeper into chaos theory...



2. The best book on chaos in Dynamical Systems for physicists: clear, well written, contains the right things and does not waste time treating less necessary sections on the subject. Particularly valuable is the part on Entropy, Information and strange attractors. A good choice is to use it together with V.I. Arnold's CM. Contains also a final part on connections between QM and chaos.



3. Ott gives a very clear description of the concept of chaos or chaotic behaviour in a dynamical system of equations. Where often these equations are nonlinear. While containing rigour, the text proceeds at a pace suitable for a non-mathematician in the physical sciences. In other words, it is not at a very formal level, like the epsilon-delta approach to teaching calculus. The concepts are also backed by well drawn diagrams, that illustrate key points.
   
   The book does not have the lovely diagrams of Julia sets and fractals, that you often see in other books on this subject. Those are certainly pretty and useful. But Ott's book concentrates on the ideas.



4. 
   The book is a good introduction to chaos and the new edition has a chapter on synchronization that is a good review of the literature



5. I can only echo the comments made by other reviewers: excellent, well-paced introduction that focuses on the meat of the subject and leaves out all the pretty-picture stuff. Suitably pitched at non-mathematicians who are drawn to this fascinating subject, it eschews the formal theorem-proof format and carefully explains concepts, then applies them. If you are scientifically literate, I highly recommend this textbook. Genuinely useful.

5 comments about Earth's Dynamic Systems (9th Edition).

1. Hamblin y Christiansen han creado el perfecto balance entre lo esencialmente tecnico y lo ampliamente comprensible. Es una obra que durara toda la vida en manos de geologos, geofisicos y cualquier amante del estudio del planeta tierra.

   Un exelente libro que, por su excesivo costo para latinoamérica, está fuera del alcance de muchos estudiantes quienes continuaremos estudiando en la bibliotecas.

   Una exelente obra de los autores y un muy mal acto de la editora.




2. I own a copy of the fifth edition of this book. I am a science junkie and enjoy reading science text books. I find geology particularly interesting and over the years I have read dozens and dozens of geology textbooks. Earth's Dynamic Systems is by far the best I have ever read. If I was ever to teach a geology class, this is the book I would use. The line of thinking is so clear and logical in this book it is a joy to read. The illustrations are among the best I have ever seen and I have just the old the 5th ed. Generally when there are a number of good books on a given subject, they are all pretty much the same in quality. But that is not the case here, this book is head and shoulders above all other geology books. The edition I have also came with a lab manual that I also highly recommend. A wonderful set of books I am proud to own. If you are looking for a definitive single book that best covers all of geology, this is it. In this one book is more geology than in several other books put together. If you thoroughly read this book, you will know geology better than most geologists, it really is that good.



3. This book was advertised as the 10th edition, but was really the 9th edition. The seller contacted me and offered my money back or a discount, but I didn't respond promply to the email, so I ended up with the book anyway. I ended up buying it from the bookstore too. This books seemed to be the same, exempt the chapters were in different orders. I felt that is was my fault for not responding to the email, but advertising the right edition I think is key if you are going to sell books online.



4. i find it hard to understand the concepts



5. Another great book. useful not only for a student but even for a graduated geologist, where you can find all the basic concepts explained in an exceptional way.

5 comments about The Recursive Universe: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge.

1. This book is about complexity and information theory. For this purpose it has a great deal with the now famous Conway's CA, Life, as an illustration. Though the survey of the main topic is pretty good--discussing such topics as Maxwell's demon, self-reproduction, self-organization, Von Neumann's automata &c--the book turns out to focus primarily on Life, ending with a detailed explanation of how to make a computing machine and then a universal constructor out of the game. It's the book's major point.

   The author is neither a specialist of artificial intelligence or artificial life, nor he is an exceptionally talented writer. One fellow author of his kind whom he could be compared to is James Gleick, who has the same approach of the subject he's writing about but--in my opinion--with much better style and overall presentation. Yet Poundstone might serve as a good introduction to the field with this very book (for he seems now to content himself with really garbage "literature").

   People seeking more Life documentation may want to inquire after Robert Wainwright, computer consultant for this book, who provided till recently (and certainly still does so) Lifenthusiasts with Lifeline, a letter recording many Life facts found out in its early history, and still of great importance nowadays.




2. A wonderful journey through key concepts in information theory using Conway's "Life" program as a vehicle. This book is a celebration of what is possible when natural law is applied to a random system, and demonstrates the necessity of limits on systems. Highly recommended for anyone interested in entropy, extreme sensitivity to initial conditions, or cellular automata. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.



3. I've given many copies of this book to my students--the ones who have particular promise, the ones who ask questions about things. Like the question that Poundstone asks in the book: where did all this complex stuff come from. Of all the complexity literature--Arthur, Kaufman, et al--I've found this the most meaningful. And the use of the Game of Life to illustrate the emergence of the complex is beautifully done.



4. I read most of this book (library copy) many years ago and one set of concepts had a great impact: The clear explanation of the deep epistemologiacal implications of Leo Szilard's 1929 groundbreaking paper analyzing Maxwell's Demon and the foundations of observational information. I can't recall all the details but the conclusions were clear and startling. It goes much deeper than Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in outlining the fundamental limits of observation and thus empirical/scientific knowledge. Szilard's results would even apply in a "classical" universe.
   I have yet to see this fully explicated in philosophy departments or other "popular" texts, etc.
   Recommended as a very good, basic introduction to information and communication theory. Also, try anything by Greg Chaitin for purely mathematical limits to information and [analytic?] knowledge.



5. Although this book was written in the 80's it is still up to date as it covers timeless aspects of physics. The book alternates chapters on Conway's Game of Life with chapters on physics. There is a lot of clearly explained chapters on information theory including Maxwell's Demon and the solution to that paradox. Also there is information on what happened at the beginning of the universe and what will happen at the end of the universe. There is also a mini biography of Von Neumann which I found very interesting. Finally, there is a good bibliography of books some of which are still current. I have read several books on this kind of stuff but this is probably the clearest book I have read, especially the part on information theory.

No comments about Troubleshooting the Extrusion Process: A Systematic Approach to Solving Plastic Extrusion Problems.

No comments about Quantitative Conservation Biology: Theory and Practice of Population Viability Analysis.

No comments about Large-Scale Dynamic Systems: Stability and Structure.

No comments about The Economy As an Evolving Complex System, III: Current Perspectives and Future Directions (Santa Fe Institute Studies on the Sciences of Complexity).

1 comments about Dynamic Systems: Modeling and Analysis.

1. The book is very well written. It's very simple to understand and follow. By solving the examples, the rest of the problems just follow through. I took the class with Doctor Vu (one of the authors) and he just makes the material not only entertaining but very easy to understand.

1 comments about General Lattice Theory.

1. This is an outstanding book on a field of mathematics which, although very accessible and widely applicable, is not considered as fundamental as I believe it should be. The author writes clearly, providing concise proofs with sound logic, good motivation for the material, discussion of historical development of the subject, and directions for future research. Diagrams are used very well in this text. The exercises are numerous and very illuminating, and very fun! The author provides an extensive bibliography and references results throughout the text.
   
   There is something very enticing about the way of thinking used in lattice theory, and in particular, the way Gratzer approaches the subject in this book. Like in most areas of mathematics, a given concept can be viewed in many different ways, and one can study these objects at progressively higher levels of abstraction and generality. What is most remarkable about lattice theory, however, is that these higher levels of abstraction and generality do not become overwhelmingly difficult to comprehend as they develop--something that unfortunately happens in many other areas of mathematics. In particular, I think that algebraic concepts such as congruence relations, equational varieties, and "freeness" are much easier to understand in the context of lattices than in other algebraic structures. However, this is also true of more general mathematical concepts such as the effect of weakening conditions on theorems, searching for counterexamples, finding equivalent formulations of a given condition, and studying properties preserved under maps. This is partly due to the fact that in lattices, much of what is going on can be easily drawn or visualized. For this reason, lattices provide an excellent framework for understanding many of the basic concepts that underly all areas of mathematics.
   
   Although the topic of this book is viewed as specialized and esoteric by some mathematicians, I believe that the material it contains is quite universal. Lattices appear in virtually every area of mathematics, and they are especially useful in universal algebra and combinatorics. While this book does not directly talk much about these applications, this book would certainly enrich the knowledge and understanding of people who work in those fields. I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about algebra or combinatorics as well, as the ways of thinking developed by reading this book and working exercises will prove invaluable in these disciplines. This book also might be useful to beginning graduate students who want to develop their general mathematical maturity in a setting which can be a lot more fun and accessible than other areas of abstract math.
   
   As a final note, the binding on the hardcover edition is excellent. I rarely encounter books this well-bound, in a day an age when sometimes even hardback books start falling apart after moderate use.

No comments about Managing Organizational Complexity: Philosopy, Theory And Application (Isce Book Series) (Isce Book Series).