A paradigm-shifting, widely acclaimed work for our generation, The Knowledge Machine revolutionizes our understanding of the origins and structure of science.Michael Strevens’s “provocative and fascinating” (Jennifer Szalai, New York Times) investigation of science asks two fundamental questions: Why is science so powerful? And why did it take so long for the human race to start using science to learn the secrets of nature? The Knowledge Machi...

Many philosophers believe they can gain knowledge about the world from the comfort of their armchairs, simply by reflecting on the nature of things. But how can the mind arrive at substantive knowledge of the world without seeking its input? Michael Strevens proposes an original defense of the armchair pursuit of philosophical knowledge, focusing on “the method of cases,” in which judgments about category membership—Does this count as causation? Does that count as the right action to take?...

Tychomancy—meaning “the divination of chances”—presents a set of rules for inferring the physical probabilities of outcomes from the causal or dynamic properties of the systems that produce them. Probabilities revealed by the rules are wide-ranging: they include the probability of getting a 5 on a die roll, the probability distributions found in statistical physics, and the probabilities that underlie many prima facie judgments about fitness in evolutionary biology.Michael...

A paradigm-shifting work that revolutionizes our understanding of the origins and structure of science.Captivatingly written, interwoven with historical vignettes ranging from Newton's alchemy to quantum mechanics to the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy, Michael Strevens's wholly original investigation of science asks two fundamental questions: Why is science so powerful? And why did it take so long, two thousand years after the invention of philosophy and mathematic...

This book contains S. S. Wilks' lessons on mathematical statistics, and will make an excellent addition to the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in the subject. Preface: 'Most of the mathematical theory of statistics in its present state has been developed during the past twenty years. Because of the variety of scientific fields in which statistical problems have arisen, the original contributions to this branch of applied mathematics are widely scattered in scientific literature. Most ...

Mathematical Modelling in One Dimension demonstrates the universality of mathematical techniques through a wide variety of applications. Learn how the same mathematical idea governs loan repayments, drug accumulation in tissues or growth of a population, or how the same argument can be used to find the trajectory of a dog pursuing a hare, the trajectory of a self-guided missile or the shape of a satellite dish. The author places equal importance on difference and differential equations, sh...

What is the origin of our universe? What are dark matter and dark energy? What is our role in the universe as human beings capable of knowledge? What makes us intelligent cognitive agents seemingly endowed with consciousness? Scientific research across both the physical and cognitive sciences raises fascinating philosophical questions. Philosophy and the Sciences For Everyone introduces these questions and more. It begins by asking what good is philosophy for the sciences before e...

This is the first comprehensive book on information geometry, written by the founder of the field. It begins with an elementary introduction to dualistic geometry and proceeds to a wide range of applications, covering information science, engineering, and neuroscience. It consists of four parts, which on the whole can be read independently. A manifold with a divergence function is first introduced, leading directly to dualistic structure, the heart of information geometry. This part (Part ...

The pebbles used in ancient abacuses gave their name to the calculus, which today is a fundamental tool in business, economics, engineering and the sciences. This introductory book takes readers gently from single to multivariate calculus and simple differential and difference equations. Unusually the book offers a wide range of applications in business and economics, as well as more conventional scientific examples. Ideas from univariate calculus and linear algebra are covered as needed, ...

The book describes and discusses the numerical methods which are successfully being used for analysing ecological data, using a clear and comprehensive approach. These methods are derived from the fields of mathematical physics, parametric and nonparametric statistics, information theory, numerical taxonomy, archaeology, psychometry, sociometry, econometry and others. - An updated, 3rd English edition of the most widely cited book on quantitative analysis of multivariate ecological data - ...

This book deals with a number of mathematical topics that are of great importance in the study of classical econometrics. There is a lengthy chapter on matrix algebra, which takes the reader from the most elementary aspects to the partitioned inverses, characteristic roots and vectors, symmetric, and orthogonal and positive (semi) definite matrices. The book also covers pseudo-inverses, solutions to systems of linear equations, solutions of vector difference equations with constant coeffic...

Mathematical Statistics for Economics and Business, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles of mathematical statistics which underpin statistical analyses in the fields of economics, business, and econometrics. The selection of topics in this textbook is designed to provide students with a conceptual foundation that will facilitate a substantial understanding of statistical applications in these subjects. This new edition has been updated throughout...