Convergence is a history of modern science with an original and significant twist. Various scientific disciplines, despite their very different beginnings, and disparate areas of interest have been coming together over the past 150 years, converging and coalescing, to identify one extraordinary master narrative, one overwhelming interlocking coherent story: the history of the universe. Intimate connections between physics and chemistry have been revealed as have the links between quantum chemistry and molecular biology. Astronomy has been augmented by particle physics, psychology has been increasingly aligned with physics, with chemistry and even with economics. Genetics has been harmonised with linguistics, botany with archaeology, climatology with myth. This is a simple insight but one with profound consequences. Convergence is, as Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg has put it, ‘The deepest thing about the universe.’ This book does not, however, tell the story by beginning at the beginning and ending at the end. It is much more revealing, more convincing, and altogether more thrilling to tell the story as it emerged, as it began to fall into place, piece by piece, converging tentatively at first, but then with increasing speed, vigour and confidence. The overlaps and interdependence of the sciences, the emerging order that they are gradually uncovering, is without question the most enthralling aspect of twenty-first-century science.
Two problems continually arise in the sciences and humanities, according to Mario Bunge: parts and wholes and the origin of novelty. In Emergence and Convergence, he works to address these problems, as well as that of systems and their emergent properties, as exemplified by the synthesis of molecules, the creation of ideas, and social inventions. Along the way, Bunge examines further topical problems, such as the search for the mechanisms underlying observable facts, the limitations of both individualism and holism, the reach of reduction, the abuses of Darwinism, the rational choice-hermeneutics feud, the modularity of the brain vs. the unity of the mind, the cluster of concepts around 'maybe,' the uselessness of many-worlds metaphysics and semantics, the hazards posed by Bayesianism, the nature of partial truth, the obstacles to correct medical diagnosis, and the formal conditions for the emergence of a cross-discipline. Bunge is not interested in idle fantasies, but about many of the problems that occur in any discipline that studies reality or ways to control it. His work is about the merger of initially independent lines of inquiry, such as developmental evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, and socio-economics. Bunge proposes a clear definition of the concept of emergence to replace that of supervenience and clarifies the notions of system, real possibility, inverse problem, interdiscipline, and partial truth that occur in all fields.
There exist a number of phenomena that hint at a fundamental unity of the universe -- from the prevalence of the golden mean and Fibonacci series in the geometries of nature, to the recurrence of numbers and themes across world cosmogonies, to age-old therapeutic practices that transcend the duality of psyche and physicality. In this unique book, researcher Monique Pommier explores the areas where science and spirituality intersect, in search of a unified cosmology.
A fully updated edition of the classic text by acclaimed physicist A. Zee Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available. This expanded edition features several additional chapters, as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading. The most accessible and comprehensive introductory textbook available Features a fully revised, updated, and expanded text Covers the latest exciting advances in the field Includes new exercises Offers a one-of-a-kind resource for students and researchers Leading universities that have adopted this book include: Arizona State University Boston University Brandeis University Brown University California Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon College of William & Mary Cornell Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Northwestern University Ohio State University Princeton University Purdue University - Main Campus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rutgers University - New Brunswick Stanford University University of California - Berkeley University of Central Florida University of Chicago University of Michigan University of Montreal University of Notre Dame Vanderbilt University Virginia Tech University
Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world, and in their wake have left an uneasy coexistence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical inquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality? After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds, as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophic study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why all avenues of inquiry—scientific as well as spiritual—must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examinations of reality. This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers—both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.
Although the particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm requires relatively few parameters and is computationally simple and easy to implement, it is not a globally convergent algorithm. In Particle Swarm Optimisation: Classical and Quantum Perspectives, the authors introduce their concept of quantum-behaved particles inspired by quantum mechanics, which leads to the quantum-behaved particle swarm optimisation (QPSO) algorithm. This globally convergent algorithm has fewer parameters, a faster convergence rate, and stronger searchability for complex problems. The book presents the concepts of optimisation problems as well as random search methods for optimisation before discussing the principles of the PSO algorithm. Examples illustrate how the PSO algorithm solves optimisation problems. The authors also analyse the reasons behind the shortcomings of the PSO algorithm. Moving on to the QPSO algorithm, the authors give a thorough overview of the literature on QPSO, describe the fundamental model for the QPSO algorithm, and explore applications of the algorithm to solve typical optimisation problems. They also discuss some advanced theoretical topics, including the behaviour of individual particles, global convergence, computational complexity, convergence rate, and parameter selection. The text closes with coverage of several real-world applications, including inverse problems, optimal design of digital filters, economic dispatch problems, biological multiple sequence alignment, and image processing. MATLAB®, Fortran, and C++ source codes for the main algorithms are provided on an accompanying downloadable resources. Helping you numerically solve optimisation problems, this book focuses on the fundamental principles and applications of PSO and QPSO algorithms. It not only explains how to use the algorithms, but also covers advanced topics that establish the groundwork for understanding.
"From Schrödinger's Equation to Deep Learning: A Quantum Approach" offers a captivating exploration that bridges the realms of quantum mechanics and deep learning. Tailored for scientists, researchers, and enthusiasts in both quantum physics and artificial intelligence, this book delves into the symbiotic relationship between quantum principles and cutting-edge deep learning techniques. Covering topics such as quantum-inspired algorithms, neural networks, and computational advancements, the book provides a comprehensive overview of how quantum approaches enrich and influence the field of deep learning. With clarity and depth, it serves as an enlightening resource for those intrigued by the dynamic synergy between quantum mechanics and the transformative potential of deep learning.
This graduate-level text surveys the fundamentals of quantum optics, including the quantum theory of partial coherence and the nature of the relations between classical and quantum theories of coherence.1968 edition.