Fractals, Chaos, Power Laws: Minutes from an Infinite Paradise, Paperback

Descriere

-As notable as the book's broad sweep is the author's good-natured, humorous presentation. The willing reader can sit back and enjoy an all-encompassing, irrepressibly enthusiastic tour, ranging from psycho physics to quasicrystals, from gambling strategies to Bach concertos, from the construction of Cantor sets to the design of concert halls.- -- Physics Today -Such a richness of topics and amazing splendor of illustrations - -- Mathematics Magazine -An inviting exposition for a literate but not highly scientific audience.- -- American Mathematical Monthly This fascinating book explores the connections between chaos theory, physics, biology, and mathematics. Its award-winning computer graphics, optical illusions, and games illustrate the concept of self-similarity, a typical property of fractals. Author Manfred Schroeder -- hailed by Publishers Weekly as a modern Lewis Carroll -- conveys memorable insights in the form of puns and puzzles that relate abstract mathematics to everyday experience. Excellent entertainment for readers with a grasp of algebra and some calculus, this book forms a fine university-level introduction to fractal math. Eight pages of color images clarify the text, along with numerous black-and-white illustrations.