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An "intriguing and accessible" (Publishers Weekly) interpretation
of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history's greatest and most
fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and
how he was challenged by science deniers. "We really need this
story now, because we're living through the next chapter of science
denial" (Bill McKibben). Galileo's story may be more relevant today
than ever before. At present, we face enormous crises-such as
minimizing the dangers of climate change-because the science behind
these threats is erroneously questioned or ignored. Galileo
encountered this problem 400 years ago. His discoveries, based on
careful observations and ingenious experiments, contradicted
conventional wisdom and the teachings of the church at the time.
Consequently, in a blatant assault on freedom of thought, his books
were forbidden by church authorities. Astrophysicist and
bestselling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific
expertise and uses his "gifts as a great storyteller" (The
Washington Post) to provide a "refreshing perspective" (Booklist)
into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos
and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence
wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant
figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every
educated person should know science as well as literature, and
insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his
books in Italian rather than Latin. Galileo was put on trial with
his life in the balance for refusing to renounce his scientific
convictions. He remains a hero and inspiration to scientists and
all of those who respect science-which, as Livio reminds us in this
"admirably clear and concise" (The Times, London) book, remains
threatened everyday.
Bernini and His World is a unique exploration of Gian Lorenzo
Bernini the sculptor, offering new insights and including
discussions of the artist's stylistic innovations and the ways in
which he approached sculpture. Placing his life and work within a
social, anthropological and historical context, Livio Pestilli
gives a fascinating and in-depth account, from the Rome in which
Bernini lived and its reception of foreign sculptors to the
myth-making narrative of his biographers, and the judgements of his
critics. Beautifully illustrated and engagingly written, this book
draws on a deep familiarity with both historic and modern Italian
culture to give readers a vivid account of sculpture and sculptors
in early modern Rome, and of Bernini's lasting legacy.
Ranking of Multivariate Populations: A Permutation Approach with
Applications presents a novel permutation-based nonparametric
approach for ranking several multivariate populations. Using data
collected from both experimental and observation studies, it covers
some of the most useful designs widely applied in research and
industry investigations, such as multivariate analysis of variance
(MANOVA) and multivariate randomized complete block (MRCB) designs.
The first section of the book introduces the topic of ranking
multivariate populations by presenting the main theoretical ideas
and an in-depth literature review. The second section discusses a
large number of real case studies from four specific research
areas: new product development in industry, perceived quality of
the indoor environment, customer satisfaction, and cytological and
histological analysis by image processing. A web-based
nonparametric combination global ranking software is also
described. Designed for practitioners and postgraduate students in
statistics and the applied sciences, this application-oriented book
offers a practical guide to the reliable global ranking of
multivariate items, such as products, processes, and services, in
terms of the performance of all investigated products/prototypes.
Offers the latest research on this topic.
The presence of the orthopedically impaired body in art is so
pervasive that, paradoxically, it has failed to attract the
attention of most art historians. In Picturing the Lame in Italian
Art from Antiquity to the Modern Era, Livio Pestilli investigates
the changing meaning that images of individuals with limited
mobility acquired through the centuries. This study evinces that in
distinct opposition to the practice of classical artists, who
manifested a lack of interest in the subject of lameness since it
was considered 'a defect or a deformity' and deformity a 'want of
measure, which is always unsightly,' their Early Christian
counterparts depicted them profusely, because images of the
miraculous healing of the lame became the reassuring sign of
universal acceptance and the promise of a more equitable existence
in this life or the next. In the Middle Ages, instead, when
voluntary poverty came to be associated with the necessary
condition of faithfulness to Christ, the indigent lame, along with
others who were forced to beg for a living, became the image of the
alter Christus. This view was to change in the Renaissance and
Baroque periods, when, with the resurgence of classical and Pauline
ideals that condemned the idle, representations of the
orthopedically impaired became associated with swindlers,
freeloaders and parasites. This fascinating story came basically to
an end in the Eighteenth century when, with the revival of the
Greek ideal of the Beautiful, the lame gradually left center stage
to be relegated again to the margins of the visual arts.
Ranking of Multivariate Populations: A Permutation Approach with
Applications presents a novel permutation-based nonparametric
approach for ranking several multivariate populations. Using data
collected from both experimental and observation studies, it covers
some of the most useful designs widely applied in research and
industry investigations, such as multivariate analysis of variance
(MANOVA) and multivariate randomized complete block (MRCB) designs.
The first section of the book introduces the topic of ranking
multivariate populations by presenting the main theoretical ideas
and an in-depth literature review. The second section discusses a
large number of real case studies from four specific research
areas: new product development in industry, perceived quality of
the indoor environment, customer satisfaction, and cytological and
histological analysis by image processing. A web-based
nonparametric combination global ranking software is also
described. Designed for practitioners and postgraduate students in
statistics and the applied sciences, this application-oriented book
offers a practical guide to the reliable global ranking of
multivariate items, such as products, processes, and services, in
terms of the performance of all investigated products/prototypes.
Drawing on the lives of five great scientists, this "scholarly,
insightful, and beautifully written book" (Martin Rees, author of
"From Here to Infinity") illuminates the path to scientific
discovery.
Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred
Hoyle, and Albert Einstein all made groundbreaking contributions to
their fields--but each also stumbled badly. Darwin's theory of
natural selection shouldn't have worked, according to the
prevailing beliefs of his time. Lord Kelvin gravely miscalculated
the age of the earth. Linus Pauling, the world's premier chemist,
constructed an erroneous model for DNA in his haste to beat the
competition to publication. Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle dismissed the
idea of a "Big Bang" origin to the universe (ironically, the
caustic name he gave to this event endured long after his erroneous
objections were disproven). And Albert Einstein speculated
incorrectly about the forces of the universe--and that speculation
opened the door to brilliant conceptual leaps. As Mario Livio
luminously explains in this "thoughtful meditation on the course of
science itself" ("The New York Times Book Review"), these five
scientists expanded our knowledge of life on earth, the evolution
of the earth, and the evolution of the universe, despite and
because of their errors.
"Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully written" ("The
Washington Post"), "Brilliant Blunders "is a wonderfully insightful
examination of the psychology of five fascinating scientists--and
the mistakes as well as the achievements that made them famous.
Bestselling author and astrophysicist Mario Livio examines the
lives and theories of history's greatest mathematicians to ask
how--if mathematics is an abstract construction of the human
mind--it can so perfectly explain the physical world.
Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about "the unreasonable
effectiveness of mathematics" in the formulation of the laws of
nature. "Is God a Mathematician?" investigates why mathematics is
as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists
and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract
discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than
that--mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about
subatomic particles or cosmic phenomena that were unknown at the
time, but later were proven to be true. Is mathematics ultimately
invented or discovered? If, as Einstein insisted, mathematics is "a
product of human thought that is independent of experience," how
can it so accurately describe and even predict the world around us?
Physicist and author Mario Livio brilliantly explores mathematical
ideas from Pythagoras to the present day as he shows us how
intriguing questions and ingenious answers have led to ever deeper
insights into our world. This fascinating book will interest anyone
curious about the human mind, the scientific world, and the
relationship between them.
This volume represents a long overdue reassessment of the
Neapolitan painter Paolo de Matteis, an artist largely overlooked
in English language scholarly publications, but one who merits our
attention for the quality of his work and the originality of its
iconography, as well as for his remarkable ability to respond
creatively to his patrons' aesthetic ideals and agendas. Following
a meticulous examination of the ways in which posterity's
impression of de Matteis has been conditioned by a biased
biographical and literary tradition, Livio Pestilli devotes rich,
detailed analyses to the artist's most significant paintings and
drawings. More than just a novel approach to de Matteis and the
Neapolitan Baroque, however, the book makes a significant
contribution to the study and understanding of early
eighteenth-century European art and cultural history in general,
not only in Naples but in other major European centers, including
Paris, Vienna, Genoa, and Rome.
This contributed volume analyzes in depth how a border area is
constantly reshaped as migration policies harden, and what kind of
social, political and economic impacts are produced at local and
international level. The study is focused on Ventimiglia, an
Italian town located 6 km away from the French-Italian border on
the gulf of Genoa with a long story of commerce, custom and
smuggling activities related to its proximity to the frontier.
While several projects have analyzed other symbolic places of the
EU migration crisis such as Lampedusa, Calais and Lesvos, there is
a severe empirical gap regarding Ventimiglia, a border town at the
very geographic core of the Schengen area. This case study may
provide emblematic insights into what European migratory movements
are currently revealing in terms of the lack of shared
responsibility between EU Member States, the EU common asylum
system and respect for human rights, with increasing claims for
national sovereignty by some Member States.
This contributed volume analyzes in depth how a border area is
constantly reshaped as migration policies harden, and what kind of
social, political and economic impacts are produced at local and
international level. The study is focused on Ventimiglia, an
Italian town located 6 km away from the French-Italian border on
the gulf of Genoa with a long story of commerce, custom and
smuggling activities related to its proximity to the frontier.
While several projects have analyzed other symbolic places of the
EU migration crisis such as Lampedusa, Calais and Lesvos, there is
a severe empirical gap regarding Ventimiglia, a border town at the
very geographic core of the Schengen area. This case study may
provide emblematic insights into what European migratory movements
are currently revealing in terms of the lack of shared
responsibility between EU Member States, the EU common asylum
system and respect for human rights, with increasing claims for
national sovereignty by some Member States.
This volume explores the complex problems that arise in the
modeling and simulation of crowd dynamics in order to present the
state-of-the-art of this emerging field and contribute to future
research activities. Experts in various areas apply their unique
perspectives to specific aspects of crowd dynamics, covering the
topic from multiple angles. These include a demonstration of how
virtual reality may solve dilemmas in collecting empirical data; a
detailed study on pedestrian movement in smoke-filled environments;
a presentation of one-dimensional conservation laws with point
constraints on the flux; a collection of new ideas on the modeling
of crowd dynamics at the microscopic scale; and others. Applied
mathematicians interested in crowd dynamics, pedestrian movement,
traffic flow modeling, urban planning, and other topics will find
this volume a valuable resource. Additionally, researchers in
social psychology, architecture, and engineering may find this
information relevant to their work.
This unique book helps business executives to improve their
company's business performance by showing how to build an effective
and future-proof distribution channel, and adopt effective
commercial policies and value-based pricing strategies. For the
first time, an ex-McKinsey consultant and general manager reveals
the methodology adopted by successful Fortune 100 multinationals,
offering readers a concise, informative and pragmatic guide to the
core principles, with an abundance of concrete examples and visual
frameworks. Every good business manager needs to have a microscope
on one eye and a telescope on the other eye - this practical, easy
to follow book, anchored in solid analytic principles, allows for
fast and solid transitions between diagnosis, long-term strategic
thinking, and short-term execution. Bruno Barcelos, General Manager
Sandoz, a Novartis Company
This book focuses on wealth inequality trends in the North Atlantic
Anglo-sphere countries of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the
United States over the period from 1668 to 2013: a wider
perspective than generally used when wealth inequality is
discussed. This book demonstrates that it is important to put
current dimensions of wealth inequality into historical context by
looking at performance over the long run rather than simply a few
decades. Moreover, this contribution compiles a substantial amount
of data on estimates of wealth inequality and provides a concise
overview of trends as well as the drivers of inequality over the
long term. It serves as a short supplementary text for economics
and sociology courses on economic inequality, economic history and
social change-while remaining of interest to scholars and
policymakers invested in equality debates of the past and present.
This book offers a comprehensive analysis of central banks, and
aims to demystify them for the general public, which is the only
way to have a rational debate about them and ultimately to make
them truly accountable. The book originates from the author's
graduate lectures on Central Banking at the University of Frankfurt
J.W. Goethe. It contains an overview of all the key questions
surrounding central banks and their role in the economy. It leads
the reader from the more established concepts (including monetary
theory and historical experience), necessary to have a good grasp
of modern central banking, to the more open and problematic
questions, which are being debated within academic and financial
market circles. This structure enables readers without specific
knowledge of central banks or monetary economics to understand the
current challenges. The book has three defining characteristics,
which set it apart from competing titles: first, it is pitched at
the general public and uses simple and entertaining language.
Second, it is rooted in, and makes frequent reference to, recent
academic research, based on content for a graduate level course.
Third, the author thinks 'out of the box' in order to describe the
possible evolution of central banks (including the prospect of
their disappearance), and not only the status quo.
This monograph aims to lay the groundwork for the design of a
unified mathematical approach to the modeling and analysis of
large, complex systems composed of interacting living things.
Drawing on twenty years of research in various scientific fields,
it explores how mathematical kinetic theory and evolutionary game
theory can be used to understand the complex interplay between
mathematical sciences and the dynamics of living systems. The
authors hope this will contribute to the development of new tools
and strategies, if not a new mathematical theory. The first chapter
discusses the main features of living systems and outlines a
strategy for their modeling. The following chapters then explore
some of the methods needed to potentially achieve this in practice.
Chapter Two provides a brief introduction to the mathematical
kinetic theory of classical particles, with special emphasis on the
Boltzmann equation; the Enskog equation, mean field models, and
Monte Carlo methods are also briefly covered. Chapter Three uses
concepts from evolutionary game theory to derive mathematical
structures that are able to capture the complexity features of
interactions within living systems. The book then shifts to
exploring the relevant applications of these methods that can
potentially be used to derive specific, usable models. The modeling
of social systems in various contexts is the subject of Chapter
Five, and an overview of modeling crowd dynamics is given in
Chapter Six, demonstrating how this approach can be used to model
the dynamics of multicellular systems. The final chapter considers
some additional applications before presenting an overview of open
problems. The authors then offer their own speculations on the
conceptual paths that may lead to a mathematical theory of living
systems hoping to motivate future research activity in the field. A
truly unique contribution to the existing literature, A Quest
Toward a Mathematical Theory of Living Systems is an important book
that will no doubt have a significant influence on the future
directions of the field. It will be of interest to mathematical
biologists, systems biologists, biophysicists, and other
researchers working on understanding the complexities of living
systems.
The book covers areas of cellular physiology and metabolism that
are of interest to scientists involved in research in diabetes and
metabolic diseases. Some chapters of the book are specifically
research-oriented, as all the authors are actively practicing
either bench or clinical research in the area. Nonetheless, since
the work is fully comprehensive of the discipline, it is also
suitable for university classes of graduate and undergraduate
students. In particular, the book discusses classical aspects of
cellular physiology and the metabolism of physical exercise, as
well as novel topics like exercise in transplantation and exercise
in beta-cell failure, which mark the frontiers of research in
sport-related sciences and research. Exercise physiologists,
biologists and physicians are the specific professional and
academic targets of this work. The team of authors together with
the editor are world-renowned experts in the field of physiology
and metabolism applied to sport sciences.
This 2006 book acknowledges the importance of identifying the most
crucial science to be performed by the superb Hubble Telescope.
With this goal in mind, the book presents a review of some of the
most important open questions in astronomy. World experts examine
topics ranging from extrasolar planets and star formation to
supermassive black holes and the reionization of the universe.
Special emphasis is placed on what astronomical observations should
be carried out during the next few years to enable breakthroughs in
our understanding of a complex and dynamic universe. In particular,
the reviewers attempt to identify those topics to which the Hubble
Space Telescope can uniquely contribute. The special emphasis on
future research makes this book an essential resource for both
professional researchers and graduate students in astronomy and
astrophysics.
Humans have long thought that planetary systems similar to our own
should exist around stars other than the Sun, yet the search for
planets outside our Solar System has had a dismal history of
discoveries that could not be confirmed. However, this all changed
in 1995, after which astonishing progress can be seen in this
field; we now know of more than 200 extrasolar planets. These
findings mark crucial milestones in the search for extraterrestrial
life - arguably one of the most intriguing endeavors of modern
science. These proceedings from the 2005 Space Telescope Science
Institute Symposium on Extrasolar Planets explore one of the
hottest topics in astronomy. Discussions include the Kepler
mission, observational constraints on dust disk lifetimes and the
implications for planet formation, and gravitational instabilities
in protoplanetary disks. With review papers written by world
experts in their fields, this is an important resource on
extrasolar planets.
The Local Group of galaxies consists of the Milky Way and all of
its neighbours. The proximity of these galaxies allows for detailed
studies of the processes that have led to their formation,
structures, and evolution. In particular, studies of the Local
Group can test predictions of structure formation that are based on
dark energy and cold dark matter. This book presents a collection
of review papers, written by world experts, on some of the most
important aspects of Local Group Astrophysics. It is an invaluable
resource for both professional researchers and graduate students in
this fascinating area of research.
Astrobiology is one of the hottest areas of current research,
reflecting not only impressive advances in the understanding of the
origin of life but also the discovery of over 100 extrasolar
planets in recent years. This volume is based on a meeting held in
2002 at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which aimed to lay
the astrophysical groundwork for locating habitable places in the
Universe. Written by leading scientists in the field, it covers a
range of topics relevant to the search for life in the Universe,
including: cosmology and its implications for the emergence of
life, the habitable zone in the Milky Way Galaxy, the formation of
stars and planets, the study of interstellar and interplanetary
matter, searches for extrasolar planets, the synthesis of organic
material in space, and spectroscopic signatures that could be used
to detect life. This is an invaluable resource for both
professional researchers and graduate students.
This book reviews the findings on the composition of the universe,
its dynamics, and the implications of both for the evolution of
large-scale structure and for fundamental theories of the universe.
With each chapter written by a leading expert in the field, topics
include massive compact halo objects, the oldest white dwarfs, hot
gas in clusters of galaxies, primordial nucleosynthesis, modified
Newtonian dynamics, the cosmic mass density, the growth of
large-scale structure, and a discussion of dark energy. This book
is an invaluable resource for both professional astronomers and
graduate students.
This volume represents a long overdue reassessment of the
Neapolitan painter Paolo de Matteis, an artist largely overlooked
in English language scholarly publications, but one who merits our
attention for the quality of his work and the originality of its
iconography, as well as for his remarkable ability to respond
creatively to his patrons' aesthetic ideals and agendas. Following
a meticulous examination of the ways in which posterity's
impression of de Matteis has been conditioned by a biased
biographical and literary tradition, Livio Pestilli devotes rich,
detailed analyses to the artist's most significant paintings and
drawings. More than just a novel approach to de Matteis and the
Neapolitan Baroque, however, the book makes a significant
contribution to the study and understanding of early
eighteenth-century European art and cultural history in general,
not only in Naples but in other major European centers, including
Paris, Vienna, Genoa, and Rome.
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