Where does the particular form or configuration of a pattern come from, and how is it propagated from pattern to pattern? Templets and the Explanation of Complex Patterns provides a natural language for analysing such questions. Using it, the organisational forces that underlie the fabrication of any pattern can be divided into two classes. First, there are the 'universal laws' of pattern assembly, the configurational rules and constraints inherent within the fabric of the pattern elements themselves. Second, there are the 'templets' - external, situational constraints imposed on the pattern elements. From the perspective of templeting, simple patterns can be directly contrasted with complex patterns: the former are completely determined by their universal laws, whereas the latter also require extensive templets. Natural patterns range along the entire spectrum from simple to complex, and the most complex of these include both random patterns and many biological patterns.
If God does exist, why is there so much evil in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do we suffer so many trials and tribulations in our lives? These difficult questions that nonbelievers often use to deny God's existence are addressed in this book with the biblical and religious references and answers. Proof and evidence of God's existence surround us everywhere we go if we simply open our eyes and our minds to the truth. The miracles and incredible balance in nature, the wonder of the human body, the intricate structure of our eyes and ears, cellular complexity, molecular genetics, DNA, the wonders of the Earth and our universe all point to intelligent design. It is beyond belief and comprehension that all of these things could have simply evolved from some freak accident of "nature." The watchmaker's analogy for intelligent design is a good one and is certainly applicable to the creationism versus the evolution and randomness arguments discussed in this book.Jesus performed many miracles that were seen by a multitude of people and recorded by eyewitnesses. But there are also records of modern-day medical miracles that non-Christian doctors cannot explain. Additionally, thousands of people have chosen to share their near-death experiences with a research foundation, and virtually all of them reported that they came back with a profound understanding of God's love. In an interesting 1982 blind prayer study conducted by the San Francisco Medical Center, data suggests that the intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God had a beneficial therapeutic effect in patients who were admitted to a critical care unit.Although there are many biblical and religious documents that recorded events in Jesus's life, there are well over ten independent accounts from outside the biblical record that identify over sixty life events and beliefs about Jesus's life. Finally, we must look to human nature itself for evidence of the existence of God and his son, Jesus Christ. Many Christians, including Jesus, and all but one of his disciples were persecuted, horribly tortured, and died excruciating deaths because of their belief in God. Many people throughout history have been willing to die for what they truly believed in, but no one willingly dies for what they know to be a lie.Finally, how do you approach a nonbeliever and talk with them about faith? This is difficult for most people, as they feel that they must have some specialized training in order to do so. One does not need a special gift to evangelize. The mandate to be a witness applies to every follower of Christ. This book can help you be a true witness!
Cellular automata are a class of spatially and temporally discrete mathematical systems characterized by local interaction and synchronous dynamical evolution. Introduced by the mathematician John von Neumann in the 1950s as simple models of biological self-reproduction, they are prototypical models for complex systems and processes consisting of a large number of simple, homogeneous, locally interacting components. Cellular automata have been the focus of great attention over the years because of their ability to generate a rich spectrum of very complex patterns of behavior out of sets of relatively simple underlying rules. Moreover, they appear to capture many essential features of complex self-organizing cooperative behavior observed in real systems.This book provides a summary of the basic properties of cellular automata, and explores in depth many important cellular-automata-related research areas, including artificial life, chaos, emergence, fractals, nonlinear dynamics, and self-organization. It also presents a broad review of the speculative proposition that cellular automata may eventually prove to be theoretical harbingers of a fundamentally new information-based, discrete physics. Designed to be accessible at the junior/senior undergraduate level and above, the book will be of interest to all students, researchers, and professionals wanting to learn about order, chaos, and the emergence of complexity. It contains an extensive bibliography and provides a listing of cellular automata resources available on the World Wide Web.
Photography of art has served as a basis for the reconstruction of works of art and as a vehicle for the dissemination and reinterpretation of art. This book provides the first definitive treatment of the subject, with essays from noted authorities in the fields of art history, architecture, and photography. The essays explore the many meanings of photography as documentation for the art historian, inspiration for the artist, and as a means of critical interpretation of works of art. Art History Through the Camera's Lens will be important reading for students, historians, librarians, and curators of the visual arts.
Over the last decade research into design processes utilizing ideas and models drawn from artificial intelligence has resulted in a better understanding of design -- particularly routine design -- as a process. Indeed, most of the current research activity directly or indirectly deals only with routine design. Not surprisingly, many practicing designers state that the level of understanding represented by these models is only of mild interest because they fail to embody any ideas about creativity. This volume provides a set of chapters in the areas of modeling creativity and knowledge-based creative design that examines the potential role and form of computer-aided design which supports creativity. It aims to define the state-of-the-art of computational creativity in design as well as to identify research directions. Published at a time when the field of computational creativity in design is still immature, it should influence the directions of growth and assist the field in reaching maturity.
The aim of pattern theory is to create mathematical knowledge representations of complex systems, analyse the mathematical properties of the resulting regular structures, and to apply them to practically occuring patterns in nature and the man-made world. Starting from an algebraic formulation of such representations they are studied in terms of their topological, dynamical and probabilistic aspects. Patterns are expressed through their typical behaviour as well as through their variability around their typical form. Employing the representations (regular structures) algorithms are derived for the understanding, recognition, and restoration of observed patterns. The algorithms are investigated through computer experiments.
In 1987, in Edwards v. Aguillard, the United States Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional a Louisiana statute requiring the state's public schools to teach creationism if evolution is taught and to teach evolution if creationism is taught. It was a serious blow to creationism in public schools, but a new movement since then has kept the debate alive. That new movement is 'Intelligent Design.' Should Intelligent Design be taught in schools? In Law, Darwinism, & Public Education, Francis J. Beckwith asks whether teaching 'ID' in public schools would be constitutional, in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Edwards v. Aguillard. At that time, the Court ruled that teaching creationism violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Beckwith examines the Intelligent Design theory and the Edwards case to find out whether teaching ID would suffer the same fate if brought before the court.
This text covers an array of methods needed for undertaking qualitative data collection & analysis. It includes 30 chapters, each focusing on a specific technique including chapters on traditional methods, analysis techniques, intervention methods & the latest developments in research methods.
