The Fractalist

Author: Benoit Mandelbrot
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 030738991X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
Here is the remarkable life story of Benoit Mandelbrot, the creator of fractal geometry, and his unparalleled contributions to science mathematics, the financial world, and the arts. Mandelbrot recounts his early years in Warsaw and in Paris, where he was mentored by an eminent mathematician uncle, through his days evading the Nazis in occupied France, to his education at Caltech, Princeton, and MIT, and his illustrious career at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. An outside to mainstream scientific research, he managed to do what others had thought impossible: develop a new geometry that combines revelatory beauty with a radical way of unfolding formerly hidden scientific laws. In the process he was able to use geometry to solve fresh, real-world problems. With exuberance and an eloquent fluency, Benoit Mandelbrot recounts the high points of his fascinating life, offering us a glimpse into the evolution of his extraordinary mind. With full-color inserts and black-and-white photographs throughout.

The Fractalist

Author: Benoit Mandelbrot
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307378608
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
A fascinating memoir from the man who revitalized visual geometry, and whose ideas about fractals have changed how we look at both the natural world and the financial world. Benoit Mandelbrot, the creator of fractal geometry, has significantly improved our understanding of, among other things, financial variability and erratic physical phenomena. In The Fractalist, Mandelbrot recounts the high points of his life with exuberance and an eloquent fluency, deepening our understanding of the evolution of his extraordinary mind. We begin with his early years: born in Warsaw in 1924 to a Lithuanian Jewish family, Mandelbrot moved with his family to Paris in the 1930s, where he was mentored by an eminent mathematician uncle. During World War II, as he stayed barely one step ahead of the Nazis until France was liberated, he studied geometry on his own and dreamed of using it to solve fresh, real-world problems. We observe his unusually broad education in Europe, and later at Caltech, Princeton, and MIT. We learn about his thirty-five-year affiliation with IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center and his association with Harvard and Yale. An outsider to mainstream scientific research, he managed to do what others had thought impossible: develop a new geometry that combines revelatory beauty with a radical way of unfolding formerly hidden laws governing utter roughness, turbulence, and chaos. Here is a remarkable story of both the man’s life and his unparalleled contributions to science, mathematics, and the arts.

The Fractal Geometry of Nature

Author: Benoit Mandelbrot
Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media, LLC
ISBN: 9781648370410
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Written in a style that is accessible to a wide audience, The Fractal Geometry of Nature inspired popular interest in this emerging field. Mandelbrot's unique style, and rich illustrations will inspire readers of all backgrounds.

Fractals and Chaos

Author: Benoit Mandelbrot
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475740174
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
Just 23 years ago Benoit Mandelbrot published his famous picture of the Mandelbrot set, but that picture has changed our view of the mathematical and physical universe. In this text, Mandelbrot offers 25 papers from the past 25 years, many related to the famous inkblot figure. Of historical interest are some early images of this fractal object produced with a crude dot-matrix printer. The text includes some items not previously published.

Fractals: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Kenneth Falconer
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191663441
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 153

Book Description
Many are familiar with the beauty and ubiquity of fractal forms within nature. Unlike the study of smooth forms such as spheres, fractal geometry describes more familiar shapes and patterns, such as the complex contours of coastlines, the outlines of clouds, and the branching of trees. In this Very Short Introduction, Kenneth Falconer looks at the roots of the 'fractal revolution' that occurred in mathematics in the 20th century, presents the 'new geometry' of fractals, explains the basic concepts, and explores the wide range of applications in science, and in aspects of economics. This is essential introductory reading for students of mathematics and science, and those interested in popular science and mathematics. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

My Brain is Open

Author: Bruce Schechter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0684859807
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description
Traces the eccentric life of legendary mathematician Paul Erdos, a wandering genius who fled his native Hungary during the Holocaust and helped devise the mathematical basis of computer science.

Anthropology Of China, The: China As Ethnographic And Theoretical Critique

Author: Stephan Feuchtwang
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
ISBN: 1783269855
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
Putting China into the context of general anthropology offers novel insights into its history, culture and society. Studies in the anthropology of China need to look outwards, to other anthropological areas, while at the same time, anthropologists specialised elsewhere cannot afford to ignore contributions from China. This book introduces a number of key themes and in each case describes how the anthropology and ethnography of China relates to the surrounding theories and issues. The themes chosen include the anthropology of intimacy, of morality, of food and of feasting, as well as the anthropology of civilisation, modernity and the state.The Anthropology of China covers both long historical perspectives and ethnographies of the twenty-first century. For the first time, ethnographic perspectives on China are contextualised in comparison with general anthropological debates. Readers are invited to engage in and rethink China's place within the wider world, making it perfect for professional researchers and teachers of anthropology and Chinese history and society, and for advanced undergraduate and graduate study.

No Regrets

Author: Carolyn Burke
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408822156
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 335

Book Description
Edith Piaf was one of the most greatly loved singers of the twentieth century. From the start of her exceptional career in the 1930s, her waif-like form and heart-wrenching voice endeared her first to the French, then to audiences around the globe. As she moved from her youth singing in the streets to the glamour of the Paris music-halls, Piaf formed lasting friendships with such figures as Maurice Chevalier, Jean Cocteau and Marlene Dietrich; she wrote many of her own songs, aided the Resistance in the Second World War, and mentored younger singers like Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour. Yet her path to stardom was full of tragedies - the death of her daughter in infancy; the death of Marcel Cerdan, her greatest love, in a plane crash; her many illnesses, affairs and addictions, all of which nourished her passionate performances and strengthened her enduring bond with audiences. In this mesmerising, definitive new biography Carolyn Burke gives us Piaf in her own time and place, illuminating through sympathetic readings of sources hitherto unavailable both the charm and the pathos of the 'Little Sparrow' who enchanted generations and still enthralls us today.

Multifractals and 1/ƒ Noise

$Multifractals and 1/ƒ Noise PDF$ Author: Benoit B. Mandelbrot
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1461221501
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
Mandelbrot is a world renowned scientist, known for his pioneering research in fractal geometry and chaos theory. In this volume, Mandelbrot defends the view that multifractals are intimately interrelated through the two fractal themes of "wildness" and "self-affinity". This link involves a powerful collection of technical tools, which are of use to diverse scientific communities. Among the topics covered are: 1/f noise, fractal dimension and turbulence, sporadic random functions, and a new model for error clustering on telephone circuits.

Masters of Wisdom

Author: Edward Abdill
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698163621
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
A rigorous historical and philosophical examination of the controversial spiritual Masters who guided Madame H.P. Blavatsky in opening the world to Eastern and esoteric spirituality in the late nineteenth century. In the late nineteenth century, Russian noblewoman and occult philosopher Madame H.P. Blavatsky enthralled the world with revelations of an ancient “secret doctrine” behind the major faiths and a cosmic theology that united the insights of religion and science. Blavatsky said she was operating under the guidance of hidden Masters of wisdom, or mahatmas, who led her to reveal forgotten wisdom to modern people. The mythos of Blavatsky’s Masters left a deep mark on Western culture and spawned more than a century of debate: Were the Masters real? What did they teach? Are they reachable today? Now, independent scholar of religion Edward Abdill provides an authoritative, historically reliable, and delightfully readable study of the background and ideas of the Masters – in particular highlighting their message and its enduring relevance.