Overview
- Uses approachable mathematical ideas to explore what exactly makes something random
- Communicates the concept of chance in an accessible manner that encompasses a range of disciplines
- Includes in the second edition new coverage of quantum uncertainty and cognitive illusions, alongside expanded technical notes
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
- Randomness math
- Randomness and probability
- Chance mathematics
- Random probability
- Uncertainty math
- Law of large numbers
- Probability theory
- Binary sequence
- Power laws
- Incompleteness theorem
- Quantum indetereminacy
- Quantum randomness
- Information theory entropy
- Information theory
- Claude Shannon information theory
- Coin toss Random probability
About this book
We all know what randomness is. Or do we? Randomness turns out to be one of those concepts that works just fine on an everyday level, but becomes muddled upon close inspection. People familiar with quantum indeterminacy tell us that order is an illusion and that the world is fundamentally random. Yet these same people also say that randomness is an illusion: The appearance of randomness is only a sign of our ignorance and inability to detect the pattern.
By applying mathematical thinking, mathematician Edward Beltrami removes much of the vagueness that encumbers the concept of randomness. You will discover how to quantify what would otherwise remain elusive. As the book progresses, you will see how mathematics provides a framework for unifying how chance is interpreted across diverse disciplines. Communication engineering, computer science, philosophy, physics, and psychology join mathematics in the discourse to illuminate different facets of the same idea.Thisbook will provoke, entertain, and inform by challenging your ideas about randomness, providing different interpretations of what this concept means, and showing how order and randomness are really two sides of the same mysterious coin.
On the first edition:
I strongly recommend [What is Random?] to all who are interested in science and would like to see how the ideas of both theoretical mathematics and statistics have been observed and used in real life throughout history. The American Statistician
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Edward Beltrami is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Applied Mathematics at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York. His research interests include probability theory, mathematical biology, mathematical modelling, and many more. He is the author of several books on the applications of mathematics.
Beltrami lives with his wife and several cats in suburban Long Island. He enjoys cooking, listening to music, and being a part-time wine critic.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: What Is Random?
Book Subtitle: Chance and Order in Mathematics and Life
Authors: Edward Beltrami
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0799-2
Publisher: Copernicus New York, NY
eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-0716-0798-5Published: 30 July 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-1-0716-0799-2Published: 30 July 2020
Edition Number: 2
Number of Pages: XVIII, 192
Number of Illustrations: 31 b/w illustrations