The Science of Conjecture

The Science of Conjecture PDF

Author: James Franklin

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2015-08-01

Total Pages: 767

ISBN-13: 1421418819

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How did we make reliable predictions before Pascal and Fermat's discovery of the mathematics of probability in 1654? What methods in law, science, commerce, philosophy, and logic helped us to get at the truth in cases where certainty was not attainable? In The Science of Conjecture, James Franklin examines how judges, witch inquisitors, and juries evaluated evidence; how scientists weighed reasons for and against scientific theories; and how merchants counted shipwrecks to determine insurance rates. The Science of Conjecture provides a history of rational methods of dealing with uncertainty and explores the coming to consciousness of the human understanding of risk.

Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture

Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture PDF

Author: Apostolos Doxiadis

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2012-11-15

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 057129569X

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Uncle Petros is a family joke. An ageing recluse, he lives alone in a suburb of Athens, playing chess and tending to his garden. If you didn't know better, you'd surely think he was one of life's failures. But his young nephew suspects otherwise. For Uncle Petros, he discovers, was once a celebrated mathematician, brilliant and foolhardy enough to stake everything on solving a problem that had defied all attempts at proof for nearly three centuries - Goldbach's Conjecture. His quest brings him into contact with some of the century's greatest mathematicians, including the Indian prodigy Ramanujan and the young Alan Turing. But his struggle is lonely and single-minded, and by the end it has apparently destroyed his life. Until that is a final encounter with his nephew opens up to Petros, once more, the deep mysterious beauty of mathematics. Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture is an inspiring novel of intellectual adventure, proud genius, the exhilaration of pure mathematics - and the rivalry and antagonism which torment those who pursue impossible goals.

Conjectures and Refutations

Conjectures and Refutations PDF

Author: Karl Raimund Popper

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 614

ISBN-13: 9780415285940

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Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper's most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insight into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge, but our aims and our standards, grow through an unending process of trial and error.

The Science of Conjecture

The Science of Conjecture PDF

Author: James Franklin

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2015-08

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 1421418800

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The Science of Conjecture provides a history of rational methods of dealing with uncertainty and explores the coming to consciousness of the human understanding of risk.

The Poincare Conjecture

The Poincare Conjecture PDF

Author: Donal O'Shea

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2009-05-26

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0802718949

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Henri Poincaré was one of the greatest mathematicians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He revolutionized the field of topology, which studies properties of geometric configurations that are unchanged by stretching or twisting. The Poincaré conjecture lies at the heart of modern geometry and topology, and even pertains to the possible shape of the universe. The conjecture states that there is only one shape possible for a finite universe in which every loop can be contracted to a single point. Poincaré's conjecture is one of the seven "millennium problems" that bring a one-million-dollar award for a solution. Grigory Perelman, a Russian mathematician, has offered a proof that is likely to win the Fields Medal, the mathematical equivalent of a Nobel prize, in August 2006. He also will almost certainly share a Clay Institute millennium award. In telling the vibrant story of The Poincaré Conjecture, Donal O'Shea makes accessible to general readers for the first time the meaning of the conjecture, and brings alive the field of mathematics and the achievements of generations of mathematicians whose work have led to Perelman's proof of this famous conjecture.

The Art of Causal Conjecture

The Art of Causal Conjecture PDF

Author: Glenn Shafer

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 554

ISBN-13: 9780262193689

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In The Art of Causal Conjecture, Glenn Shafer lays out a new mathematical and philosophical foundation for probability and uses it to explain concepts of causality used in statistics, artificial intelligence, and philosophy. The various disciplines that use causal reasoning differ in the relative weight they put on security and precision of knowledge as opposed to timeliness of action. The natural and social sciences seek high levels of certainty in the identification of causes and high levels of precision in the measurement of their effects. The practical sciences -- medicine, business, engineering, and artificial intelligence -- must act on causal conjectures based on more limited knowledge. Shafer's understanding of causality contributes to both of these uses of causal reasoning. His language for causal explanation can guide statistical investigation in the natural and social sciences, and it can also be used to formulate assumptions of causal uniformity needed for decision making in the practical sciences. Causal ideas permeate the use of probability and statistics in all branches of industry, commerce, government, and science. The Art of Causal Conjecture shows that causal ideas can be equally important in theory. It does not challenge the maxim that causation cannot be proven from statistics alone, but by bringing causal ideas into the foundations of probability, it allows causal conjectures to be more clearly quantified, debated, and confronted by statistical evidence.

The Pauli-Jung Conjecture and Its Impact Today

The Pauli-Jung Conjecture and Its Impact Today PDF

Author: Harald Atmanspacher

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2017-01-16

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1845407598

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Related to the key areas of Pauli's and Jung's joint interests, the book covers overlapping issues from the perspectives of physics, philosophy, and psychology. Of primary significance are epistemological questions connected to issues such as realism, measurement, observation, consciousness, and the unconscious. The contributions assess the extensive material that we have about Pauli's and Jung's ideas today, with particular respect to concrete research questions and projects based on and related to current knowledge.

Explaining Human Origins

Explaining Human Origins PDF

Author: Wiktor Stoczkowski

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-06-20

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9780521657303

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Wiktor Stoczkowski, a palaeo-anthropologist, argues that the theories of human origins developed by archaeologists and physical anthropologists from the early nineteenth century to the present day are structurally similar to Western folk theories, and to the speculations of earlier philosophers. Reviewing a remarkable range of thinkers writing in a variety of European languages, he makes a convincing argument for this case. Even though the book criticises the lack of development in theories of human origins, its conclusion is optimistic about the power of the scientific approach to deliver more reliable theories - but only if the influences of popular discourse on its thinking are properly identified.

Classic Problems of Probability

Classic Problems of Probability PDF

Author: Prakash Gorroochurn

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-05-02

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1118063252

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Winner of the 2012 PROSE Award for Mathematics from The American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. "A great book, one that I will certainly add to my personal library." —Paul J. Nahin, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, University of New Hampshire Classic Problems of Probability presents a lively account of the most intriguing aspects of statistics. The book features a large collection of more than thirty classic probability problems which have been carefully selected for their interesting history, the way they have shaped the field, and their counterintuitive nature. From Cardano's 1564 Games of Chance to Jacob Bernoulli's 1713 Golden Theorem to Parrondo's 1996 Perplexing Paradox, the book clearly outlines the puzzles and problems of probability, interweaving the discussion with rich historical detail and the story of how the mathematicians involved arrived at their solutions. Each problem is given an in-depth treatment, including detailed and rigorous mathematical proofs as needed. Some of the fascinating topics discussed by the author include: Buffon's Needle problem and its ingenious treatment by Joseph Barbier, culminating into a discussion of invariance Various paradoxes raised by Joseph Bertrand Classic problems in decision theory, including Pascal's Wager, Kraitchik's Neckties, and Newcomb's problem The Bayesian paradigm and various philosophies of probability Coverage of both elementary and more complex problems, including the Chevalier de Méré problems, Fisher and the lady testing tea, the birthday problem and its various extensions, and the Borel-Kolmogorov paradox Classic Problems of Probability is an eye-opening, one-of-a-kind reference for researchers and professionals interested in the history of probability and the varied problem-solving strategies employed throughout the ages. The book also serves as an insightful supplement for courses on mathematical probability and introductory probability and statistics at the undergraduate level.

Darwin's Conjecture

Darwin's Conjecture PDF

Author: Geoffrey M. Hodgson

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2010-12

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0226346900

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A theoretical study dealing chiefly with matters of definition and clarification of terms and concepts involved in using Darwinian notions to model social phenomena.