William Gasarch's Books

Problems With A Point: Exploring Math And Computer Science

By: William Gasarch,Clyde Kruskal

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Problems With A Point: Exploring Math And Computer Science

By: William Gasarch,Clyde Kruskal

Points, questions, stories, and occasional rants introduce the 24 chapters of this engaging volume. With a focus on mathematics and peppered with a scattering of computer science settings, the entries range from lightly humorous to curiously thought-provoking. Each chapter includes sections and sub-sections that illustrate and supplement the point at hand. Most topics are self-contained within each chapter, and a solid high school mathematics background is all that is needed to enjoy the discussions. There certainly is much to enjoy here.'CHOICEEver notice how people sometimes use math words inaccurately? Or how sometimes you instinctively know a math statement is false (or not known)?Each chapter of this book makes a point like those above and then illustrates the point by doing some real mathematics through step-by-step mathematical techniques.This book gives readers valuable information about how mathematics and theoretical computer science work, while teaching them some actual mathematics and computer science through examples and exercises. Much of the mathematics could be understood by a bright high school student. The points made can be understood by anyone with an interest in math, from the bright high school student to a Field's medal winner.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

285

Publisher

World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9813279745

ISBN 13

9789813279742

Mathematical Muffin Morsels: Nobody Wants A Small Piece

By: William Gasarch,Erik Metz,Jacob Prinz,Daniel Smolyak

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Mathematical Muffin Morsels: Nobody Wants A Small Piece

By: William Gasarch,Erik Metz,Jacob Prinz,Daniel Smolyak

Suppose you have five muffins that you want to divide and give to Alice, Bob, and Carol. You want each of them to get 5/3. You could cut each muffin into 1/3-1/3-1/3 and give each student five 1/3-sized pieces. But Alice objects! She has large hands! She wants everyone to have pieces larger than 1/3.Is there a way to divide five muffins for three students so that everyone gets 5/3, and all pieces are larger than 1/3? Spoiler alert: Yes! In fact, there is a division where the smallest piece is 5/12. Is there a better division? Spoiler alert: No.In this book we consider THE MUFFIN PROBLEM: what is the best way to divide up m muffins for s students so that everyone gets m/s muffins, with the smallest pieces maximized. We look at both procedures for the problem and proofs that these procedures are optimal.This problem takes us through much mathematics of interest, for example, combinatorics and optimization theory. However, the math is elementary enough for an advanced high school student.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

227

Publisher

World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9811215197

ISBN 13

9789811215193

Bounded Queries in Recursion Theory

By: William Levine,Georgia Martin

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Bounded Queries in Recursion Theory

By: William Levine,Georgia Martin

One of the major concerns of theoretical computer science is the classifi cation of problems in terms of how hard they are. The natural measure of difficulty of a function is the amount of time needed to compute it (as a function of the length of the input). Other resources, such as space, have also been considered. In recursion theory, by contrast, a function is considered to be easy to compute if there exists some algorithm that computes it. We wish to classify functions that are hard, i.e., not computable, in a quantitative way. We cannot use time or space, since the functions are not even computable. We cannot use Turing degree, since this notion is not quantitative. Hence we need a new notion of complexity-much like time or spac~that is quantitative and yet in some way captures the level of difficulty (such as the Turing degree) of a function.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

356

Publisher

Springer Science & Business Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1461206359

ISBN 13

9781461206354

Philosophy of Computer Science

An Introduction to the Issues and the Literature

By: William J. Rapaport

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Philosophy of Computer Science

An Introduction to the Issues and the Literature

By: William J. Rapaport

A unique resource exploring the nature of computers and computing, and their relationships to the world. Philosophy of Computer Science is a university-level textbook designed to guide readers through an array of topics at the intersection of philosophy and computer science. Accessible to students from either discipline, or complete beginners to both, the text brings readers up to speed on a conversation about these issues, so that they can read the literature for themselves, form their own reasoned opinions, and become part of the conversation by contributing their own views. Written by a highly qualified author in the field, the book looks at some of the central questions in the philosophy of computer science, including: What is philosophy? (for readers who might be unfamiliar with it) What is computer science and its relationship to science and to engineering? What are computers, computing, algorithms, and programs?(Includes a line-by-line reading of portions of Turing’s classic 1936 paper that introduced Turing Machines, as well as discussion of the Church-Turing Computability Thesis and hypercomputation challenges to it) How do computers and computation relate to the physical world? What is artificial intelligence, and should we build AIs? Should we trust decisions made by computers? A companion website contains annotated suggestions for further reading and an instructor’s manual. Philosophy of Computer Science is a must-have for philosophy students, computer scientists, and general readers who want to think philosophically about computer science.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

534

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1119891922

ISBN 13

9781119891925

Booker T: From Prison to Promise

Life Before the Squared Circle

By: Booker T Huffman,Andrew William Wright

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Booker T: From Prison to Promise

Life Before the Squared Circle

By: Booker T Huffman,Andrew William Wright

As a six-time world champion, TV commentator, and holder of more than 35 major titles in WWE, WCW, and TNA, Huffman knows what it means to fight. He learned long before he entered the ring, when daily survival was a fierce battle.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

165

Publisher

Medallion Media Group

Published Date

ISBN 10

1605424870

ISBN 13

9781605424873

The Computational Beauty of Nature

Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation

By: Gary William Flake

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Computational Beauty of Nature

Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation

By: Gary William Flake

Gary William Flake develops in depth the simple idea that recurrent rules can produce rich and complicated behaviors. In this book Gary William Flake develops in depth the simple idea that recurrent rules can produce rich and complicated behaviors. Distinguishing "agents" (e.g., molecules, cells, animals, and species) from their interactions (e.g., chemical reactions, immune system responses, sexual reproduction, and evolution), Flake argues that it is the computational properties of interactions that account for much of what we think of as "beautiful" and "interesting." From this basic thesis, Flake explores what he considers to be today's four most interesting computational topics: fractals, chaos, complex systems, and adaptation. Each of the book's parts can be read independently, enabling even the casual reader to understand and work with the basic equations and programs. Yet the parts are bound together by the theme of the computer as a laboratory and a metaphor for understanding the universe. The inspired reader will experiment further with the ideas presented to create fractal landscapes, chaotic systems, artificial life forms, genetic algorithms, and artificial neural networks.

Average ratings

N/A