Ivars Peterson

Ivars Peterson (born 4 December 1948) is an award-winning mathematics writer. Quotes The Jungles of Randomness: A Mathematical Safari (1997) All page numbers from the trade paperback first edition published by John Wiley & Sons 0-471-29587-6 Intriguingly, the mathematics of randomness, chaos, and order also furnishes what may be a vital escape from absolute certainty—an opportunity to exercise free will in a deterministic universe. Indeed, in the interplay of order and disorder that makes life interesting, we appear perpetually poised in a state of enticingly precarious perplexity. The universe is neither so crazy that we can’t understand it at all nor so predictable that there’s nothing left for us to discover. Preface, “Infinite Possibility” (p. xiii) The theory of probability combines commonsense reasoning with calculation. It domesticates luck, making it subservient to reason. Chapter 1, “The Die is Cast” (p. 19) Ramsey theory implies that complete disorder is impossible. Somehow, no matter how complicated, chaotic, or random something appears, deep within that morass lurks a smaller entity that has a definite structure. Striking regularities are bound to arise even in a universe that has no rules. Chapter 2, “Sea of Life” (p. 25) In mathematics, in science, and in life, we constantly face the delicate, tricky task of separating design from happenstance. Chapter 2, “Sea of Life” (p. 43) Most coincidences are simply chance events that turn out to be far more probable than many people imagine. Chapter 10, “Lifetimes of Chance” (p. 188) Tversky was fond of describing his work as “debugging human intuition.”...Tversky could establish again and again the existence of mismatches between intuition and probability—between cognitive illusion and reality. Chapter 10, “Lifetimes of Chance” (pp. 192-193; ellipsis represents a minor elision of description) Indeed, mathematics is full of conjectures—questions waiting for answers—with no assurance that the answers even exist. Chapter 10, “Lifetimes of Chance” (p. 199) The aim of science is to reduce the scope of chance. Chapter 10, “Lifetimes of Chance” (p. 201; quoting Hegel) Randomness, chaos, uncertainty, and chance are all a part of our lives. They reside at the ill-defined boundaries between what we know, what we can know, and what is beyond our knowing. They make life interesting. Chapter 10, “Lifetimes of Chance” (p. 202) The Mathematical Tourist: New and Updated Snapshots of Modern Mathematics (1998) All page numbers from the hardcover edition published by Barnes & Noble 0-7607-2361-3 Revision of The Mathematical Tourist: Snapshots of Modern Mathematics, originally published in 1988 More often than not, a piece of mathematics worked out years before—and believed to be totally without practical value—finds a role in the “real” world. Chapter 1, “Explorations” (p. 9) To an increasing number of practitioners, computer simulations rooted in mathematics represent a third way of doing science, alongside theory and experiment. Chapter 1, “Explorations” (p. 10) As the mathematician Clifford Taubes noted, “Physics is the study of the world, while mathematics is the study of all possible worlds.” Thus, mathematics unveils the infinite possibilities; physics pinpoints the few that structure our universe and our existence. Chapter 4, “Shadows From Higher Dimensions” (p. 114) External links Category:Mathematicians from Canada Category:Science authors Category:Living people Category:1948 births