ALTERNATE REALITIES : Mathematical Models of Nature and Man by John L Casti - 1989

New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience/John Wiley, 1989. First Edition, 2nd Printing . Hardcover. New/Very Good. Text/BRAND NEW & Bright. Gilt embossed red linen boards/Fine. DJ/VG; sound w/rubs to corner tips, short closed tear to upper back, and discoloration to upper front & spine. Written for researchers, teachers & students. Highly regarded treatment of theory & practice of mathematical modeling for economics, social sciences, biology, computer science disciplines. Reviews system-theoretic concepts such as self-organization, adaptation, resiliance, surprise & uncertainty, and the mathematical structures needed to incorporate these interests into formal systems. 493 pgs in 9 chapters: 1, The Ways of Modeling: Natural Systems & Formal Mathematical Representations; 2, Pattern & the Emergence of Living Forms: Cellular Automata & Discrete Dynamics; 3, The Analytical Engine: A Newtonian View of Brains, Minds & Mechanisms; 4, Catastrophes & Life: The Singularities of Ecological & Natural Resource Systems; 5, Order in Chaos: Turbulence & Pattern in the Flow of Fluids, Populations & Money; 6, Strategies for Survival: Competition, Games & the Theory of Evolution; 7, Taming Nature & Man: Control, Anticipation, & Adaptation in Social & Biological Processes; 8, The Geometry of Human Affairs: Connective Structure in Art, Literature & Games of Chance; and, 9, How Do We Know?: Myths, Models and Paradigms in the Creation of Beliefs. Questions, problems, and exercises following each chapter are an integral part of the book.