0-19-516661-2, paper, 192 pages
Description
The Quine-Putnam indispensability argument
in the philosophy of
mathematics urges us to place mathematical
entities on the same
ontological footing as other theoretical
entities essential to
our best scientific theories. Recently, the
argument has come
under serious scrutiny, with many influential
philosophers
unconvinced of its cogency. This book not
only outlines the
indispensability argument in considerable
detail but also defends
it against various challenges.
About the Author(s)
Mark Colyvan, Lecturer, School of Philosophy,
University of
Tasmania, Australia
(Hardback)0-19-852927-9
Paperback)0-19-852536-2
Publication date: 6 November 2003
396 pages, numerous figures, 240mm x 168mm
Description
''Jim Baggotts Beyond Measure is a lively
tour through the major
positions. in the foundations and interpretation
of the quantum
theory. It is not a prancing roshis tour
but a carefully written
and beautifully organized primer on virtually
all the interesting
issues.'' - Arthur Fine, Professor of Philosophy,
Adjunct
Professor of Physics, University of Washington,
Seattle
''More than a revision of a classic account
of quantum mechanics,
Jim Baggotts book is the definitive non-technical
account of the
wonder and understandable strangeness of
the theory that
underlies all of physics - quantum mechanics''
-Roald Hoffmann-Nobel
prize winner for chemistry in 1981. Department
of Chemistry and
Chemical Biology, Cornell University
Quantum theory is one of the most important
and successful
theories of modern physical science. A fact
all the more
remarkable because quatum theory is a theory
that few understand.
Most academic textbooks on the subject are
written for
specialists, filled with complex jargon and
dense mathematics. In
contrast there are many popular presentations
of the inherent
'weirdness' of the quantum world that are
light on jargon and
contain no mathematics.Together these presentations
serve to
create the impression that there are two
theories - the 'serious,
one and the 'wierd' one. Baggott successfully
bridges the gulf
between these presentations by grounding
the discussion of the
theory's profound problems directly in its
mathematical formalism
in a way that under-graduate students and
interested individuals
can follow.
Readership: Students of physical science
(physics/ chemistry)
Curiosity - they are taught quantum theory
and often do not
understand why they do not understand it.
Informed lay readers (the
proverbial "average New Scientist reader")
- they will
have read many popular treatments but are
interested to penetrate
more of the detail. Academic scientists and
philosophers -
because this is their field, the book represents
a possible
course text or, if this is not their field,
because they are also
curious.
(Hardback) 0-19-852938-4
Publication date: 18 December 2003
130 pages, none, 234mm x 156mm
Series: Oxford Lecture Series in Mathematics
and Its Applications
Concise and clear coverage of analysis in
metric spaces
Based on lecture notes from the Scuola Normale
Supplemented with exercises of varying difficulty
Coverage of classical and recent results
Description
''This would be an excellent basis for a
one-semester graduate
course. This is very much a good time for
this book.' ' -Professor
Stephen Semmes (Rice University)
''[it is] above average and very important.
The selected topics
provide a good start in the field.'' -Professor
Bernd Kirchheim (University
of Oxford)
Based on lecture notes from the Scuola Normale
this book presents
the main mathematical prerequisites for analysis
in metric spaces.
Supplemented with exercises of varying difficulty
it is ideal for
a graduate-level short course for applied
mathematicians and
engineers.
Readership: Graduate students in in applied
mathematics and
engineering undertaking a course on analysis
in metric spaces.
Contents/contributors
1 Some preliminaries in measure theory
2 Hausdorff measures and covering theorems
in metric spaces
3 Lipschitz functions in metric spaces
4 Geodesic problem and Gromov-Hausdorff convergence
5 Sobolev spaces in a metric framework
6 A quick overview on the theory of integration
(Hardback) 0-19-851058-6
Publication date: 22 January 2004
256 pages, 234mm x 156mm
Series: Oxford Statistical Science Series
First systematic overview of Procrustean
methods in one volume
Multi-disciplinary - these matching methods
are used in many
fields involving data analysis at research
level
Contains new algorithms
Presents a unifying ANOVA framework
Description
Procrustean methods are used to transform
one set of data to
represent another set of data as closely
as possible. The name
derives from the Greek myth where Procrustes
invited passers-by
in for a pleasant meal and a night's rest
on a magical bed that
would exactly fit any guest. He then either
stretched the guest
on the rack or cut off their legs to make
them fit perfectly into
the bed. Theseus turned the tables on Procrustes,
fatally
adjusting him to fit his own bed. The text
is the first
systematic overview of Procrustean methods
in one volume,
presenting a unifying Analysis of Variance
framework for
different matching methods and the development
of statistical
tests.
Readership: Statisticians, data analysts
and research workers
using Procrustean methods, graduate students
of statistics and
multivariate analysis, specialists in many
other fields involved
in analysing data
Contents/contributors
Preface
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Initial transformations
3 Two-set Procrustes problems: generalities
4 Orthogonal Procrustes problems
5 Projection Procrustes problems
6 Oblique Procrustes problems
7 Other two-sets Procrustes problems
8 Weighting, scaling and missing values
9 Generalised Procrustes problems
10 Analysis of variance framework
11 Incorporating information on variables
12 Accuracy and stability
13 Links with other methods
14 Some application areas, future and conclusion
A1 Configurations
A2 Rotations and reflections
A3 Orthogonal projections
A4 Oblique axes
A5 A minimisation problem
A6 Symmetric matrix products
References
0-19-852870-1 Hardback
Description
This book presents cutting-edge topics in
modern theoretical
physics - quantum Hall systems - the subject
of two Nobel Prizes
in 1985 and 1998.
Readership: Graduate students and researchers
working in
theoretical physics and in particular, condensed
matter
physicists. Also of interest to mathematicians.
Contents/contributors
1 Introduction
2 Topological methods for description of
quantum many-body
systems
3 Quantization of many-particle systems and
quantum statistics in
lower dimensions
4 Topological approach to composite particles
in two dimensions
5 Many-body methods for Chern-Simons systems
6 Anyon superconductivity
7 The fractional quantum Hall effect in composite
fermion systems
8 Quantum Hall systems on a sphere
9 Pseudopotential approach to the fractional
quantum Hall states
(Hardback)0-19-926753-7
Publication date: 20 November 2003
Clarendon Press 394 pages, 234mm x 156mm
Description
Charles Chihara's new book develops a structural
view of the
nature of mathematics, and uses it to explain
a number of
striking features of mathematics that have
puzzled philosophers
for centuries. In particular, this perspective
allows Chihara to
show that, in order to understand how mathematical
systems are
applied in science, it is not necessary to
assume that its
theorems either presuppose mathematical objects
or are even true.
He also advances several new ways of undermining
the Platonic
view of mathematics. Anyone working in the
field will find much
to reward and stimulate them here.
Readership: Scholars and students of the
philosophy of
mathematics; mathematicians interested in
the foundations of
their subject.
Contents/contributors
Introduction
1 Five Puzzles in Search of an Explanation
2 Geometry and Mathematical Existence
3 The Van Inwagen Puzzle
4 Structuralism
5 Platonism
6 Minimal Anti-Nominalism
7 The Constructibility Theory
8 Constructible Structures
9 Applications
10 If-Thenism
11 Field's Account of Mathematics and Metalogic
Appendix A: Some Doubts about Hellman's Views
Appendix B: Balaguer's Fictionalism