Computer-aided math is now at a point where unaided human intelligence cannot follow the proofs, a fact that has profound implications for future science, according to James (a former executive at Thinking Machines Corp.). He illustrates this thesis by summarizing the role of different forms of math in the history of science and philosophy. Ptolemy constructed his astronomical theory on a geometrical basis of perfect circles. But when astronomers (notably Tycho Brahe) began to collect data that failed to fit the theory, new mathematical tools became necessary to construct a more accurate model of the cosmos: first algebra, then calculus. Descartes's step-by-step sequential method was matched to the strengths of the human mind and gained its most impressive results from a miserly amount of data. But physical scientists came to scorn ``mere'' data collection. A true scientist worked to discover abstract theoretical principles; collecting data and doing arithmetic were the jobs of assistants. The earliest computers mimicked the methods of human calculators; their main advantages were increased speed and almost perfect accuracy. Advanced computers change all that, handling incredible floods of data with ridiculous ease—and in many cases, in parallel streams. It is no longer unthinkable to simply pile up huge quantities of fact and analyze the resulting patterns. The implications of this are most profound in disciplines to which the sequential maths were least adaptable: meteorology, biology, and economics, all of which generate enormous masses of seemingly chaotic data. The computers can analyze these data and discover patterns, even though the programmers can no longer follow their ``reasoning.'' What this finally means is that we humans will increasingly have to accept computers as equal partners in the enterprise of science—and to accept as valid computer-generated results we cannot begin to understand. A fascinating tour of scientific history, concluding with a vision of a future that is at once exhilarating and profoundly unsettling.
Pub Date: July 3, 1996
ISBN: 0-465-00781-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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