Bøger af Ian Stewart

The fourth book in the Science of Discworld series, and this time around dealing with THE REALLY BIG QUESTIONS, Terry Pratchett s brilliant new Discworld story Judgement Day is annotated with very big footnotes (the interleaving chapters) by mathematician Ian Stewart and biologist Jack Cohen, to bring you a mind-mangling combination of fiction, cutting-edge science and philosophy.Marjorie Daw is a librarian, and takes her job and indeed the truth of words very seriously. She doesn t know it, but her world and ours Roundworld is in big trouble. On Discworld, a colossal row is brewing The Wizards of Unseen University feel responsible for Roundworld (as one would for a pet gerbil). After all, they brought it into existence by bungling an experiment in Quantum ThaumoDynamics. But legal action is being brought against them by Omnians, who say that the Wizards god-like actions make a mockery of their noble religion.As the finest legal brains in Discworld (a zombie and a priest) gird their loins to do battle and when the Great Big Thing in the High Energy Magic Laboratory is switched on Marjorie Daw finds herself thrown across the multiverse and right in the middle of the whole explosive affair. As God, the Universe and, frankly, Everything Else is investigated by the trio, you can expect world-bearing elephants, quantum gravity in the Escher-verse, evolutionary design, eternal inflation, dark matter, disbelief systems and an in-depth study of how to invent a better mousetrap.

The acclaimed Science of Discworld centred around an original Pratchett story about the Wizards of Discworld. In it they accidentally witnessed the creation and evolution of our universe, a plot which was interleaved with a Cohen & Stewart non-fiction narrative about Big Science. In The Science of Discworld II our authors join forces again to see just what happens when the wizards meddle with history in a battle against the elves for the future of humanity on Earth. London is replaced by a dozy Neanderthal village. The Renaissance is given a push. The role of fat women in art is developed. And one very famous playwright gets born and writes The Play. Weaving together a fast-paced Discworld novelette with cutting-edge scientific commentary on the evolution and development of the human mind, culture, language, art, and science, this is a book in which 'the hard science is as gripping as the fiction'. (The Times)

Examines seventeen groundbreaking equations that have altered the course of human history. This book explores how Pythagoras' Theorem led to GPS and SatNav; how logarithms are applied in architecture; why imaginary numbers were important in the development of the digital camera, and what is really going on with Schrodinger's cat.

Roundworld is in trouble again, and this time it looks fatal. Having created it in the first place, the wizards of Unseen Univeristy feel vaguely responsible for its safety. They know the creatures who lived there escaped the impending Big Freeze by inventing the space elevator - they even intervened to rid the planet of a plague of elves, who attempted to divert humanity onto a different time track. But now it's all gone wrong - Victorian England has stagnated and the pace of progress would embarrass a limping snail. Unless something drastic is done, there won't be time for anyone to invent spaceflight and the human race will be turned into ice-pops.Why, though, did history come adrift? Was it Sir Arthur Nightingale's dismal book about natural selection? Or was it the devastating response by an obscure country vicar called Charles Darwin, whose bestselling Theology of Species made it impossible to refute the divine design of living creatures? Either way, it's no easy task to change history, as the wizards discover to their cost. Can the God of Evolution come to humanity's aid and ensure Darwin writes a very different book? And who stopped him writing it in the first place?

A new history of the Celts that reveals how this once-forgotten people became a pillar of modern national identity in Britain, Ireland, and FranceBefore the Greeks and Romans, the Celts ruled the ancient world. They sacked Rome, invaded Greece, and conquered much of Europe, from Ireland to Turkey. Celts registered deeply on the classical imagination for a thousand years and were variously described by writers like Caesar and Livy as unruly barbarians, fearless warriors, and gracious hosts. But then, in the early Middle Ages, they vanished. In The Celts, Ian Stewart tells the story of their rediscovery during the Renaissance and their transformation over the next few centuries into one of the most popular European ancestral peoples. The Celts shows how the idea of this ancient people was recovered by scholars, honed by intellectuals, politicians, and other thinkers of various stripes, and adopted by cultural revivalists and activists as they tried to build European nations and nationalisms during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Long-forgotten, the Celts improbably came to be seen as the ancestors of most western Europeans-and as a pillar of modern national identity in Britain, Ireland, and France. Based on new research conducted across Europe and in the United States, The Celts reveals when and how we came to call much of Europe "Celtic," why this idea mattered in the past, and why it is still matters today, as the tide of nationalism is once again on the rise.

In this autobiographical work, Ian Stewart shows his vulnerability in sharing his recovery story. He has written the answers to the questions he posed in his previous book, Know Thyself. Ian has included many other helps he found along the way in his recovery that you may find as important gems in your recovery.Ian explains, "Writing out steps 1 through 7 is very important to review during continued recovery you can see where you have been, where you want to go (recovery achievements), and where you are now. You can trace your recovery process and accomplishments, proving to yourself (and others) that your recovery journey has enhanced your life."There are twelve steps of recovery in all 12-Step recovery programs. Steps 1 through 7 are the core of the recovery program, identifying a person's strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and self-discoveries. It shows the person's areas that need to be worked on to improve their life by identifying areas, taking action in correcting, and moving to a healthier way of life by renewing your mind.Step 8 identifies people, places, and things to make amends to for enhancing an individual's recovery (if you don't realize your problem, it simply does not exist to you; however, others can see your problem areas clearly).Steps 9 through 12 are maintenance steps to keep an individual on track and in a strong recovery program.This book is highly recommended reading for all people in any 12-step program, whether contemplating attending a 12-step program, after your first 12-step meeting, or after years of attending recovery groups.

"The John Benítez Bass Method Volume 2 - El Sonero del Barrio: A Creative Approach To Salsa" is the second in a comprehensive book series documenting the unique playing and teaching methods of five-time GRAMMY Award winning bassist John Benítez. While its predecessor "Volume 1 - Freedom In The Clave: A Rhythmic Approach To Bass Playing" is a vast collection of rhythmic independence exercises designed to strengthen a student's overall rhythmic confidence and awareness in regards to the clave, Volume 2 is the first installment that deals with Benitez's playing in specific contexts throughout his extensive recording career. Vol. 2 concentrates on Benítez's incredibly innovative approach to salsa playing via eleven note-for-note transcriptions from the Frankie Vazquez 1999 classic "Los Soneros del Barrio" along with in-depth analyses to demonstrate how this master musician puts his own concepts to work in real time. For inquisitive bassists and musicians looking to explore the seemingly limitless possibilities of the Afro-Cuban tumbao, this book is a must-have.

Knowing that the most exciting math is not taught in school, Professor Ian Stewart has spent years filling his cabinet with intriguing mathematical games, puzzles, stories, and factoids intended for the adventurous mind. This book reveals the most exhilarating oddities from Professor Stewart's legendary cabinet.Inside, you will find hidden gems of logic, geometry, and probability-like how to extract a cherry from a cocktail glass (harder than you think), a pop-up dodecahedron, and the real reason why you can't divide anything by zero. Scattered among these are keys to Fermat's last theorem, the PoincarÃ(c)onjecture, chaos theory, and the P=NP problem (you'll win a million dollars if you solve it). You never know what enigmas you'll find in the Stewart cabinet, but they're sure to be clever, mind-expanding, and delightfully fun.

It is one of the wonders of mathematics that, for every problem mathematicians solve, another awaits to perplex and galvanize them. Some of these problems are new, while others have puzzled and bewitched thinkers across the ages. Such challenges offer a tantalizing glimpse of the field's unlimited potential, and keep mathematicians looking toward the horizons of intellectual possibility. In Visions of Infinity, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart provides a fascinating overview of the most formidable problems mathematicians have vanquished, and those that vex them still. He explains why these problems exist, what drives mathematicians to solve them, and why their efforts matter in the context of science as a whole. The three-century effort to prove Fermat's last theorem -- first posited in 1630, and finally solved by Andrew Wiles in 1995 -- led to the creation of algebraic number theory and complex analysis. The Poincare conjecture, which was cracked in 2002 by the eccentric genius Grigori Perelman, has become fundamental to mathematicians' understanding of three-dimensional shapes. But while mathematicians have made enormous advances in recent years, some problems continue to baffle us. Indeed, the Riemann hypothesis, which Stewart refers to as the "Holy Grail of pure mathematics," and the P/NP problem, which straddles mathematics and computer science, could easily remain unproved for another hundred years. An approachable and illuminating history of mathematics as told through fourteen of its greatest problems, Visions of Infinity reveals how mathematicians the world over are rising to the challenges set by their predecessors -- and how the enigmas of the past inevitably surrender to the powerful techniques of the present.

"Ante la percepciâon popular de que las matemâaticas son inâutiles para nuestro dâia a dâia, el profesor Ian Stewart nos demuestra que esta disciplina va mucho mâas allâa de los câalculos aburridos que todos recordamos de la escuela y nos propone un curioso recorrido por los usos de las matemâaticas que a menudo permanecen ocultos a simple vista, pero contribuyen a nuestras vidas. Desde la trigonometrâia que mantiene un satâelite en âorbita hasta los nâumeros primos utilizados por los sistemas de seguridad mâas avanzados del mundo, pasando por los nâumeros imaginarios que permiten la realidad aumentada, los mâetodos mâas eficientes para los trasplantes de riänâon, las aplicaciones en polâitica, la predicciâon del cambio climâatico o, incluso, câomo una curva extraäna e infinitamente ondulada optimiza las entregas a domicilio; las matemâaticas no solo son relevantes para nuestras vidas, sino que sin ellas el mundo moderno como lo conocemos se desmoronarâia."--Publisher's description.

Don't poke your nose down a wormhole - you never know what you might find.Two universes joined by a wormhole pair that forms a 'loophole', with an icemoon orbiting through the loophole, shared between two different planetary systems in the two universes.A civilisation with uploaded minds in virtual reality served by artificial humans.A ravening Horde of replicating machines that kill stars.Real humans from a decrepit system of colony worlds.A race of hyperintelligent but somewhat vague aliens.Who will close the loophole... who will exploit it?Cover design: David A. Hardy

Uncovers new material from one of the major figures of the Scottish Enlightenment As scholarly interest in the Scottish Enlightenment continues to grow, so too does attention to the moral philosopher and historian Adam Ferguson (1723-1816). Ferguson has been one of the principal beneficiaries of the refocus of academic attention beyond the towering figures of David Hume (1711-1776) and Adam Smith (1723-1790) and towards their larger intellectual network. The plethora of recent studies, as well as the publication of Ferguson's unpublished manuscripts and his apparent extant correspondence, testifies to the increasing recognition of his importance to this era in Scotland. This volume contains thirty-six previously unpublished letters and one new essay on the French Revolution written by Ferguson. Penned during the last decades of his life, they were all addressed to his close friend Sir John Macpherson (1745-1821). The letters and essay concern major topics such as the context of the European Enlightenment, Empire, and the French Revolution, as well as various illuminating details about Ferguson's ideas (philosophical, historical, economic, and political) and his intellectual milieu from 1784 to 1815. The rediscovery of these writings marks a significant development in Ferguson studies and in the historiography of the late Scottish Enlightenment. This book presents the notable findings from these materials and provides a critical apparatus to assist specialists and students alike in understanding this key Enlightenment thinker. Key features and benefits: - Contextualises the thirty-six new letters and the new essay within Ferguson's life and oeuvre - Includes modern editions of further writings by Ferguson and helps to fill in gaps in his biography - Focuses on various anecdotes by and new information about the Moderate Literati of the Scottish Enlightenment - Presents new angles on crucial areas of study including the East India Company, the Regency Crisis, Scottish reactions to the French Revolution, and contemporary perceptions of Adam Smith's Political Economy - Reveals the extent of political influence that the Moderates of the Scottish Enlightenment, such as Ferguson, Hugh Blair (1718-1800) and Alexander Carlyle (1722-1805), attempted to exert on British foreign policy in the 1790s Ian Stewart is Associate Lecturer in European Intellectual History at University College London. Max Skjönsberg is an Assistant Professor of Humanities in the Hamilton Center at the University of Florida.

Ian Stewart, el más prestigioso divulgador de las matemáticas, nos enfrenta en este libro a retos matemáticos apasionantesLas matemáticas no son sólo una maravillosa herramienta lógica, con una espléndida vida propia condensada en teorías, axiomas, teoremas o proposiciones, o el mejor instrumento creado por los humanos para describir los fenómenos naturales. Son, asimismo, un inmenso universo en el que se pueden llevar a cabo apasionantes aventuras intelectuales, o, si se prefiere, practicar juegos extraordinariamente divertidos y de muy variada dificultad. En este territorio se mueve Ian Stewart, el más prestigioso divulgador de las matemáticas, que nos enfrentará en este libro a retos apasionantes. La teoría de probabilidades aplicada al Monopoly, las estrategias ganadoras en juegos matemáticos, por qué cada cultura tiene su propio calendario, demostraciones de imposibilidad, por qué las tostadas caen siempre del lado de la mantequilla, o cuántos trabajadores fueron necesarios para construir la Gran Pirámide de Keops son algunos de los temas que el profesor Stewart aborda y desgrana en las páginas de este libro fascinante.

El progreso humano contado a través de 17 ecuaciones explicadas en un libro de lectura apasionante. - Claudi Alsina"Las ecuaciones, esos conjuntos de números y símbolos separados por el signo igual, son el alma de las matemáticas, la ciencia y la tecnología. Sin ellas, nuestro mundo no existiría en su forma actual: escondidas para muchos, han constituido una fuerza motriz en la civilización humana durante miles de años, abriendo nuevas perspectivas en campos tan variados como las comunicaciones, la tecnología espacial o la física nuclear. Que así es, es algo que se encarga de demostrar, con su maestría habitual, el distinguido matemático y reputado divulgador Ian Stewart. Para ello ha seleccionado 17 ecuaciones, pertenecientes a dos grupos diferentes. Uno es el de las ecuaciones que revelan regularidades matemáticas, como el teorema de Pitágoras, que nos dice cómo están relacionados los tres lados de un triángulo rectángulo, mientras que el otro es el de las ecuaciones que expresan leyes de la naturaleza, como la ley de gravitación universal de Newton, las ecuaciones del electromagnetismo de Maxwell, la ecuación de Schrödinger de la mecánica cuántica, o la ecuación desarrollada por Claude Shannon que define cuánta información contiene un mensaje." El progreso humano contado a través de 17 ecuaciones explicadas en un libro de lectura apasionante. - Claudi Alsina

This highly interdisciplinary book, covering more than six fields, from philosophy and sciences all the way up to the humanities and with contributions from eminent authors, addresses the interplay between content and context, reductionism and holism and their meeting point: the notion of emergence. Much of today's science is reductionist (bottom-up); in other words, behaviour on one level is explained by reducing it to components on a lower level. Chemistry is reduced to atoms, ecosystems are explained in terms of DNA and proteins, etc. This approach fails quickly since we can't cannot extrapolate to the properties of atoms solely from Schrodinger's equation, nor figure out protein folding from an amino acid sequence or obtain the phenotype of an organism from its genotype. An alternative approach to this is holism (top-down). Consider an ecosystem or an organism as a whole: seek patterns on the same scale. Model a galaxy not as 400 billion-point masses (stars) but as an object in its own right with its own properties (spiral, elliptic). Or a hurricane as a structured form of moist air and water vapour. Reductionism is largely about content, whereas holistic models are more attuned to context. Reductionism (content) and holism (context) are not opposing philosophies - in fact, they work best in tandem. Join us on a journey to understand the multifaceted dialectic concerning this duo and how they shape the foundations of sciences and humanities, our thoughts and, the very nature of reality itself.

Enter the magical maze of mathematics and explore the surprising passageways of a fantastical world where logic and imagination converge. For mathematics is a maze--a maze in your head--a maze of ideas, a maze of logic. And that maze in your mind is a powerful tool for understanding an even bigger maze--the one of cause and effect that we call ""the universe."" That is its special kind of magic. Real magic. Strange magic. Infinitely fascinating magic. Acclaimed author Ian Stewart leads you swiftly and humorously through the junctions, byways, and secret passages of the magical maze to reveal its beauty, surprise, and power. Along the way, he reveals the infinite possibilities that arise from what he calls ""the two-way trade between the natural world and the human mind."" If you've always loved mathematics, you will find endless delights in the twists and turns of The Magical Maze. If you've always hated mathematics, a trip through this marvelous book will do much to change your mind.

A workshop on Singularities, Bifuraction and Dynamics was held at Warwick in July 1989, as part of a year-long symposium on Singularity Theory and its applications. The proceedings fall into two halves: Volume I mainly on connections with algebraic geometry and volume II on connections with dynamical systems theory, bifurcation theory and applications in the sciences. The papers are original research, stimulated by the symposium and workshop: All have been refereed and none will appear elsewhere. The main topic of volume II is new methods for the study of bifurcations in nonlinear dynamical systems, and applications of these.

The science of chaos is forcing scientists to rethink Einstein's fundamental assumptions regarding the way the universe behaves. This text reveals a strange universe in which nothing may be as it seems. It aims to make the complex mathematics of chaos accessible and entertaining.

Eye of the Tiger is the story of one of the most legendary figures in Glasgow Rangers' rich history, a man who epitomised what it meant to be a Ranger. Jock Shaw was a no-nonsense full-back whose fierce, uncompromising tackling earned him the nickname 'Tiger' from club supporters. He joined the Gers from Airdrie in 1938 for GBP2,000 and was a key figure in the Ibrox defence in the immediate post-war years. That defence was dubbed the 'Iron Curtain' because it seemed as unyielding as the barrier that divided Europe at the time. The book charts Jock's extraordinary journey from the coal pit at Bedlay (Annathill) to becoming Rangers' first treble-winning captain. His signing for Rangers started a remarkable association with the club, which lasted over 40 years and saw him serve as team captain, third-team coach and groundsman. He also captained Scotland and shared the distinction of beating England with his brother David. Ian Stewart worked with Tiger Shaw's family to bring you the inside track on his life and career.

A celebrated mathematician explores how math helps us make sense of the unpredictableWe would like to believe we can know things for certain. We want to be able to figure out who will win an election, if the stock market will crash, or if a suspect definitely committed a crime. But the odds are not in our favor. Life is full of uncertainty --- indeed, scientific advances indicate that the universe might be fundamentally inexact --- and humans are terrible at guessing. When asked to predict the outcome of a chance event, we are almost always wrong. Thankfully, there is hope. As award-winning mathematician Ian Stewart reveals, over the course of history, mathematics has given us some of the tools we need to better manage the uncertainty that pervades our lives. From forecasting, to medical research, to figuring out how to win Let's Make a Deal, Do Dice Play God? is a surprising and satisfying tour of what we can know, and what we never will.

A unique and innovative study, Roasting Chestnuts seeks to demystify Maritime politics and expose the flimsy basis for many of the region's lasting political stereotypes.

Enter the magical maze of mathematics and explore the surprising passageways of a fantastical world where logic and imagination converge. For mathematics is a maze-a maze in your head-a maze of ideas, a maze of logic. And that maze in your mind is a powerful tool for understanding an even bigger maze-the one of cause and effect that we call "e;the universe."e; That is its special kind of magic. Real magic. Strange magic. Infinitely fascinating magic. Acclaimed author Ian Stewart leads you swiftly and humorously through the junctions, byways, and secret passages of the magical maze to reveal its beauty, surprise, and power. Along the way, he reveals the infinite possibilities that arise from what he calls "e;the two-way trade between the natural world and the human mind."e; If you've always loved mathematics, you will find endless delights in the twists and turns of The Magical Maze. If you've always hated mathematics, a trip through this marvelous book will do much to change your mind.