Information theory and inference, taught together in this exciting textbook, lie at the heart of many important areas of modern technology - communication, signal processing, data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, computational neuroscience, bioinformatics and cryptography. The book introduces theory in tandem with applications. Information theory is taught alongside practical communication systems such as arithmetic coding for data compression and sparse-graph codes for error-correction. Inference techniques, including message-passing algorithms, Monte Carlo methods and variational approximations, are developed alongside applications to clustering, convolutional codes, independent component analysis, and neural networks. Uniquely, the book covers state-of-the-art error-correcting codes, including low-density-parity-check codes, turbo codes, and digital fountain codes - the twenty-first-century standards for satellite communications, disk drives, and data broadcast. Richly illustrated, filled with worked examples and over 400 exercises, some with detailed solutions, the book is ideal for self-learning, and for undergraduate or graduate courses. It also provides an unparalleled entry point for professionals in areas as diverse as computational biology, financial engineering and machine learning.

Diese kompakte Einf hrung in die Theoretische Informatik stellt die wichtigsten Modelle f r zentrale Probleme der Informatik vor. Dabei werden u.a. folgende Fragestellungen behandelt: Welche Probleme sind algorithmisch l sbar? (Theorie der Berechenbarkeit und Entscheidbarkeit)Wie schwierig ist es algorithmische Probleme zu l sen? (Theorie der Berechnungskomplexit t, NP-Theorie)Wie sind informationsverarbeitende Systeme prinzipiell aufgebaut? (Theorie der endlichen Automaten)Welche Strukturen besitzen Programmiersprachen? (Theorie der formalen Sprachen)In der Erarbeitung dieser Themen wird der Abstraktionsproze von den realen Gegenst nden der Informatik zu den in der Theoretischen Infromatik etabliertern Modellen, wie z.B. Random-Access-Maschinen, Turingmaschinen und endliche Automaten, nachvollzogen und umgekehrt verdeutlicht, was diese Modelle aufgrund der ber sie gewonnenen Erkenntnisse f r die Praxis leisten k nnen.

Dieses Lehrbuch ist der erste Band einer dreiteiligen Einführung in die Analysis. Der moderne und klare Aufbau richtet seinen Blick auf das Wesentliche. Anders als übliche Lehrbücher trennt es nicht zwischen der Theorie einer Variablen und derjenigen mehrerer Veränderlicher. Leser erkennen wesentliche Inhalte und Ideen der Analysis und erwerben sich so ein solides Fundament für das Studium tieferliegender Theorien. Das Werk richtet sich an Hörer und Dozenten der Anfängervorlesung der Analysis. Zahlreiche Beispiele, Übungsaufgaben und Ergänzungen empfehlen es zum Selbststudium und als Grundlage für vertiefende Seminare und das gesamte Studium.

New York Times bestselling author Edward Dolnick brings to light the true story of one of the most pivotal moments in modern intellectual history—when a group of strange, tormented geniuses invented science as we know it, and remade our understanding of the world. Dolnick’s earth-changing story of Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the birth of modern science is at once an entertaining romp through the annals of academic history, in the vein of Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything, and a captivating exploration of a defining time for scientific progress, in the tradition of Richard Holmes’ The Age of Wonder.

From the author of the immensely influential and best-selling Of Paradise and Power— a major reevaluation of America’s place in the world from the colonial era to the turn of the twentieth century.
Robert Kagan strips away the myth of America’s isolationist tradition and reveals a more complicated reality: that Americans have been increasing their global power and influence steadily for the past four centuries. Even from the time of the Puritans, he reveals, America was no shining “city up on a hill” but an engine of commercial and territorial expansion that drove Native Americans, as well as French, Spanish, Russian, and ultimately even British power, from the North American continent. Even before the birth of the nation, Americans believed they were destined for global leadership. Underlying their ambitions, Kagan argues, was a set of ideas and ideals about the world and human nature. He focuses on the Declaration of Independence as the document that firmly established the American conviction that the inalienable rights of all mankind transcended territorial borders and blood ties. American nationalism, he shows, was always internationalist at its core. He also makes a startling discovery: that the Civil War and the abolition of slavery—the fulfillment of the ideals of the Declaration—were the decisive turning point in the history of American foreign policy as well. Kagan's brilliant and comprehensive reexamination of early American foreign policy makes clear why America, from its very beginning, has been viewed worldwide not only as a wellspring of political, cultural, and social revolution, but as an ambitious and, at times, dangerous nation.

The future obviously matters to us. It is, after all, where we'll be spending the rest of our lives. We need some degree of foresight if we are to make effective plans for managing our affairs. Much that we would like to know in advance cannot be predicted. But a vast amount of successful prediction is nonetheless possible, especially in the context of applied sciences such as medicine, meteorology, and engineering. This book examines our prospects for finding out about the future in advance. It addresses questions such as why prediction is possible in some areas and not others; what sorts of methods and resources make successful prediction possible; and what obstacles limit the predictive venture.Nicholas Rescher develops a general theory of prediction that encompasses its fundamental principles, methodology, and practice and gives an overview of its promises and problems. Predicting the future considers the anthropological and historical background of the predictive enterprise. It also examines the conceptual, epistemic, and ontological principles that set the stage for predictive efforts. In short, Rescher explores the basic features of the predictive situation and considers their broader implications in science, in philosophy, and in the management of our daily affairs.