A mind-bending excursion to the limits of science and mathematics
Are some scientific problems insoluble? In Beyond Reason, internationally acclaimed math and science author A. K. Dewdney answers this question by examining eight insurmountable mathematical and scientific roadblocks that have stumped thinkers across the centuries, from ancient mathematical conundrums such as "squaring the circle," first attempted by the Pythagoreans, to G?del's vexing theorem, from perpetual motion to the upredictable behavior of chaotic systems such as the weather.
A. K. Dewdney, PhD (Ontario, Canada), was the author of Scientific American's "Computer Recreations" column for eight years. He has written several critically acclaimed popular math and science books, including A Mathematical Mystery Tour (0-471-40734-8); Yes, We Have No Neutrons (0-471-29586-8); and 200% of Nothing (0-471-14574-2).

Dewdney takes us on a guided journey through Hungry Hollow's many dimensions of time and space - a multifaceted prism through which its present and prehistory, and its worlds large and small, are all refracted. We meet many plants, animals, fungi, and other life forms, guided sometimes by the raccoon called Lotor, sometimes by the biologist Dianne, who is just coming to terms with the real world of biological diversity. We encounter a Hackberry tree whose branches reproduce the taxonomic tree of life; learn how it would look and feel to shrink by stages to the size of an amoeba; watch a toad win the survival lottery; and see the world of Hungry Hollow from the viewpoint of plants, earthworms, rotifers, and even stones. We also learn about the geological forces that molded North America, the kingdoms of life, surface tension, genetics, the strange sex lives of diatoms and bacteria, and how everything is eventually recycled into the molecular building blocks of nature.

Stochastic Communities presents a theory of biodiversity by analyzing the distribution of abundances among species in the context of a community. The basis of this theory is a distribution called the "J distribution." This distribution is a pure hyperbola and mathematically implied by the "stochastic species hypothesis" assigning equal probabilities of birth and death within the population of each species over varying periods of time. The J distribution in natural communities has strong empirical support resulting from a meta-study and strong theoretical support from a theorem that is mathematically implied by the stochastic species hypothesis.

Hungry Hollow is simply an ordinary creek winding through about a mile of ordinary forest and meadow somewhere east of the Rocky Mountains. But like all such places, it is also a vast and intricate web of life with extensions that reach around the planet, back into prehistoric time, and within to a teeming, bizarre microscopic world. In dozens of short, wonderfully imaginative chapters, A.K. Dewdney introduces us to the denizens of this world. We encounter a hackberry tree whose branches perfectly reproduce the taxonomic Tree of Life, learn how it would look and feel to shrink by stages to the size of an amoeba while swimming in a river, watch a toad win the lottery, and see the world of Hungry Hollow from the viewpoint of bears, earthworms, and even stones. This is an excursion into natural history like no other.

Der Turing Omnibus macht in 66 exzellent geschriebenen Beitragen Station bei den interessantesten Themen aus der Informatik, der Computertechnologie und ihren Anwendungen.
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No other volume provides as broad, as thorough, or as accessible an introduction to the realm of computers as A. K. Dewdney's "The Turing Omnibus."
Updated and expanded, "The Turing Omnibus" offers 66 concise, brilliantly written articles on the major points of interest in computer science theory, technology, and applications. New for this tour: updated information on algorithms, detecting primes, noncomputable functions, and self-replicating computers--plus completely new sections on the Mandelbrot set, genetic algorithms, the Newton-Raphson Method, neural networks that learn, DOS systems for personal computers, and computer viruses.

A classic book about life in a two-dimensional universe, written by a well-known author. Now brought back into print in this revised and updated edition, the book is written within the great tradition of Abbott's Flatland, and Hinton's famous Sphereland. Accessible, imaginative, and clever, it will appeal to a wide array of readers, from serious mathematicians and computer scientists, to science fiction fans.

Acclaim for "In today's world, 'innumeracy' is an even greater danger than illiteracy, and is perhaps even more common. Advertisers and politicians exploit it; intellectuals (self-styled) even flaunt it. I hope that this wise and witty book will provide cures where they are possible, and warnings where they are necessary.

"It's also a lot of fun. I can guarantee that 100%."—Arthur C. Clarke

"Dewdney retells with charm and wit magnificent morsels of mathematical mayhem discovered by his army of volunteer 'abuse detectives.' From 'sample trashing' to 'numerical terrorism,' from 'percentage pumping' to 'dimensional dementia,' 200% of Nothing plumbs the depths of innumeracy in daily life and reveals what ordinary people can do about it.

A rich, readable, instructive, and persuasive book."—Lynn Arthur Steen, Professor of Mathematics, St. Olaf College

Stochastic Communities presents a theory of biodiversity by analyzing the distribution of abundances among species in the context of a community. The basis of this theory is a distribution called the "J distribution." This distribution is a pure hyperbola and mathematically implied by the "stochastic species hypothesis" assigning equal probabilities of birth and death within the population of each species over varying periods of time. The J distribution in natural communities has strong empirical support resulting from a meta-study and strong theoretical support from a theorem that is mathematically implied by the stochastic species hypothesis.