For most people, mathematics is an abstraction with little connection to the "real" universe. But profiled here are mathematicians who have discovered relatively simple yet exceedingly powerful patterns that yield insight into aspects of natural and human behavior.

Many of the great minds of the past used mathematics to explore and then define the principal laws of nature. In this way

Many of the great minds of the past used mathematics to explore and then define the principal laws of nature. In this way

The sociology of science is dominated by relativists who argue that the content of science is not influenced by evidence from the empirical world but is instead socially constructed in the laboratory. "Making Science" is a critique by a sociologist of the social constructivist position. Stephen Cole begins by making a distinction between two kinds of knowledge: the core, which ...(展开全部)

The sociology of science is dominated by relativists who argue that the content of science is not influenced by evidence from the empirical world but is instead socially constructed in the laboratory. "Making Science" is a critique by a sociologist of the social constructivist position. Stephen Cole begins by making a distinction between two kinds of knowledge: the core, which ...(展开全部)

In this spirited and irreverent critique of Darwin’s long hold over our imagination, a distinguished philosopher of science makes the case that, in culture as well as nature, not only the fittest survive: the world is full of the “good enough” that persist too. Why is the genome of a salamander forty times larger than that of a human? Why does the avocado tree produce a million...(展开全部)

Here the author of "How to Solve It" explains how to become a "good guesser." Marked by G. Polya's simple, energetic prose and use of clever examples from a wide range of human activities, this two-volume work explores techniques of guessing, inductive reasoning, and reasoning by analogy, and the role they play in the most rigorous of deductive disciplines.

Here the author of "How to Solve It" explains how to become a "good guesser." Marked by G. Polya's simple, energetic prose and use of clever examples from a wide range of human activities, this two-volume work explores techniques of guessing, inductive reasoning, and reasoning by analogy, and the role they play in the most rigorous of deductive disciplines.

Stimulating, thought-provoking guide shows how to discover a rich new design source in the abstractions inherent in natural forms. Lines of growth and structure, water and liquid forms, weather and atmospheric patterns, luminosity, earth colors, many other elements are shown to be wellsprings of creative abstraction. Over 370 photographs, scientific illustrations, diagrams and ...(展开全部)