Beautiful Math: The Surprisingly Simple Ideas behind the Digital Revolution in How We Live, Work, and Communicate
Author: Chris Bernhardt (Author)
Publisher finelybook 出版社: The MIT Press
Publication Date 出版日期: 2024-09-17
Language 语言: English
Print Length 页数: 240 pages
ISBN-10: 0262549778
ISBN-13: 9780262549776
Book Description
By finelybook
From the bestselling author of Quantum Computing for Everyone, a concise, accessible, and elegant approach to mathematics that not only illustrates concepts but also conveys the surprising nature of the digital information age.
Most of us know something about the grand theories of physics that transformed our views of the universe at the start of the twentieth century: quantum mechanics and general relativity. But we are much less familiar with the brilliant theories that make up the backbone of the digital revolution. In
Beautiful Math, Chris Bernhardt explores the mathematics at the very heart of the information age. He asks questions such as: What is information? What advantages does digital information have over analog? How do we convert analog signals into digital ones? What is an algorithm? What is a universal computer? And how can a machine learn?The four major themes of Beautiful Math are information, communication, computation, and learning. Bernhardt typically starts with a simple mathematical model of an important concept, then reveals a deep underlying structure connecting concepts from what, at first, appear to be unrelated areas. His goal is to present the concepts using the least amount of mathematics, but nothing is oversimplified. Along the way, Bernhardt also discusses alphabets, the telegraph, and the analog revolution; information theory; redundancy and compression; errors and noise; encryption; how analog information is converted into digital information; algorithms; and, finally, neural networks. Historical anecdotes are included to give a sense of the technology at that time, its impact, and the problems that needed to be solved.
Taking its readers by the hand, regardless of their math background, Beautiful Math is a fascinating journey through the mathematical ideas that undergird our everyday digital interactions.
Review
“Today’s digital world relies on powerful computers—obviously. Less obvious is its equally vital reliance on mathematics. Bernhardt sets the record straight in this readable account of the hidden math that powers our digital lifestyle.”
—Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, University of Warwick; author of What’s the Use?: How Mathematics Shapes Everyday Life
“Over the past century, technology has radically changed our world. The methods we use to communicate, encode information, and compute have reshaped our lives. Chris Bernhardt has written a beautiful book that clearly describes the basic mathematics underlying these revolutionary ideas.”
—Noson S. Yanofsky, author of The Outer Limits of Reason: What Science, Math, and Logic Cannot Tell Us
—Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, University of Warwick; author of What’s the Use?: How Mathematics Shapes Everyday Life
“Over the past century, technology has radically changed our world. The methods we use to communicate, encode information, and compute have reshaped our lives. Chris Bernhardt has written a beautiful book that clearly describes the basic mathematics underlying these revolutionary ideas.”
—Noson S. Yanofsky, author of The Outer Limits of Reason: What Science, Math, and Logic Cannot Tell Us
About the Author
Chris Bernhardt was a professor of mathematics at Fairfield University for over thirty years before he retired. His books include Turing’s Vision: The Birth of Computer Science and Quantum Computing for Everyone, both published by the MIT Press.
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