Dice world
Subtitle: science and life in a random universe
By: Brian Clegg
Publisher: Icon; Icon Books Ltd
Published: 2013
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 274
ISBN-13: 9781848315167; 9781848315655
Copyright date: 2013
Subjects: Chaotic behavior in systems; Kaos; Popular works; Science
Description: For centuries scientists believed that the universe was a vast machine - with enough detail, you could predict exactly what would happen. Admittedly real life wasn't like that. But only, they argued, because we didn't have enough data to be certain. Then the cracks began to appear. It proved impossible to predict exactly how three planets orbiting each other would move. Meteorologists discovered that the weather was truly chaotic - so dependent on small variations that it could never be predicted for more than a few days out. And the final nail in the coffin was quantum theory, showing that everything in the universe has probability at its heart. That gives human beings a problem. We understand the world through patterns. Randomness and probability will always be alien to us. But it's time to plunge into this fascinating, shadowy world, because randomness crops up everywhere. Probability and statistics are the only way to get a grip on nature's workings. They may even seal the fate of free will and predict how the universe will end. Forget Newton's clockwork universe. Welcome to Dice World.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Ch. 0 Alea jacta est; title: ch. 1 Improbable world :; title: Finding patterns; title: The patterns of science; title: The randomness confusion; title: Weighing up risk; title: From classical to chaos; title: ch. 2 More random than random :; title: The success factor; title: Random success; title: Superstition conjures causation; title: A natural cycle; title: ch. 3 A measure for luck :; title: The inhuman economist; title: Gambling with chance; title: ch. 4 It's all in the stats :; title: What's it worth?; title: The law of large numbers; title: Distributing the outcomes; title: ch. 5 The clockwork universe :; title: The universe according to Newton; title: No need for that hypothesis; title: ch. 6 Just three bodies :; title: Relativity becomes special; title: The eternal triangle; title: ch. 7 Chaos! :; title: The unpredictables; title: The next bestseller; title: ch. 8 Statistical substance :; title: Sample selection; title: Blinded by science; title: All in the context; title: Statistics aren't fair; title: The rare event; title: ch. 9 What does random mean? :; title: Generating randomness; title: Cherry picking; title: The unbalanced target.; title: How significant is significant?; title: Probability on trial; title: The sources of randomness; title: ch. 10 Really random :; title: Into the quantum atom; title: The light revolution; title: A case of uncertainty; title: ch. 11 No quantum cats :; title: In the quantum tunnel; title: Dead or alive?; title: Interpreting the quantum; title: ch. 12 Improbable world redux :; title: The quantum mechanical window; title: Einstein's hidden truths; title: Quantum secrecy; title: Computing with quanta; title: Beam me up; title: ch. 13 Follow the heat :; title: Laying down the law; title: The law of change; title: Quantifying disorder; title: Entropy plays dice; title: ch. 14 Maxwell's demon :; title: Unmixing the mixture; title: Uniqueness is disorder; title: The mystery of time; title: The clockwork runs down; title: ch. 15 Crystal balls and winning goats :; title: It's in the stars; title: Future vision; title: A simulated world; title: Cars and goats; title: Born on a Tuesday; title: ch. 16 The Reverend Bayes and the golden retriever :; title: The case of the informative mug; title: Good guesses are better than nothing; title: Mr Bayes's oracle.; title: Ch. 17 Free will? :; title: My lucky numbers; title: I had no choice; title: A spanner in the clockwork; title: The random deity.