Buchcover - Cellular Automata - ISBN 978-1-118-03063-9
Leseprobe - Cellular Automata - ISBN 978-1-118-03063-9
„The book is well produced and a good introduction to its subject.“(Computing Reviews, January 30, 2009)
„An interesting read and worth browsing by somebody interestedin getting a general background on CA. The examples are many andvaried, and the numerous citations--both to electronic and printedmedia--are very helpful.“ (Computing Reviews, November 11,2008)
„An interesting read and worth browsing by somebody interestedin getting a general background on CA. The examples are manyand varied, and the numerous citations--both to electronic andprinted media--are very helpful.“ (Computing Reviews, Nov2008)
„Schiff suppresses most mathematical details, rendering his bookhighly accessible, informative, and entertaining, but leaving openniches for a textbook treatment with exercises or an advancedmonograph with proofs.“ (CHOICE, October 2008)
„This book serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate andgraduate students in the physical, biological, and social sciencesand may also be of interest to any reader with a scientific orbasic mathematical ground.“ (Mathematical Reviews,2008m)
„Schiff suppresses most mathematical details, rendering his bookhighly accessible, informative, and entertaining, but leaving openniches for a textbook treatment with exercises or an advancedmonograph with proofs.“ (CHOICE Oct 2008)
„This book serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate andgraduate students in the physical, biological, and social sciencesand may also be of interest to any reader with a scientific or basic mathematical ground.“ (Mathematical Reviews2008)
An accessible and multidisciplinaryintroduction to cellularautomata
As the applicability of cellular automata broadens andtechnology advances, there is a need for a concise, yet thorough, resource that lays the foundation of key cellularautomata rules andapplications. In recent years, Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind ofScience has brought the modeling power that lies in cellularautomata to the attentionof the scientific world, and now, CellularAutomata: A Discrete View of the World presents all the depth, analysis, and applicability of the classic Wolfram text in astraightforward, introductory manner. This book offers anintroduction to cellular automata as a constructive method formodeling complex systems where patterns of self-organizationarising from simple rules are revealed in phenomena that existacross a wide array of subject areas, including mathematics, physics, economics, and the social sciences.
The book begins with a preliminary introduction to cellularautomata, including a brief history of the topic along withcoverage of sub-topics such as randomness, dimension, information, entropy, and fractals. The author then provides a completediscussion of dynamical systems and chaos due to their closeconnection with cellular automata and includes chapters that focusexclusively on one- and two-dimensional cellular automata. The nextand most fascinating area of discussion is the application of thesetypes of cellular automata in order to understand the complexbehavior that occurs in natural phenomena. Finally, the continuallyevolving topic of complexity is discussed with a focus on how toproperly define, identify, and marvel at its manifestations invarious environments.
The author's focus on the most important principles of cellularautomata, combined with his ability to present complex material inan easy-to-follow style, makes this book a very approachable andinclusive source for understanding the concepts and applications ofcellular automata. The highly visual nature of the subject isaccented with over 200 illustrations, including an eight-page colorinsert, which provide vivid representations of the cellularautomata under discussion. Readers also have the opportunity tofollow and understand the models depicted throughout the text andcreate their own cellular automata using Java applets and simplecomputer code, which are available via the book's FTP site. Thisbook serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduatestudents in the physical, biological, and social sciences and mayalso be of interest to any reader with a scientific or basicmathematical background.
