James Owen Weatherall è un fisico, filosofo e matematico il cui lavoro si addentra nelle profonde connessioni tra scienza e filosofia. Esplora come i concetti matematici plasmano la nostra comprensione dell'universo e come le questioni filosofiche influenzano il progresso scientifico. La scrittura di Weatherall è nota per la sua chiarezza e la sua capacità di rendere accessibili idee complesse a un vasto pubblico.
Introduces game theory, before assessing working using signaling games to explore questions related to communication, meaning, language, and reference. O'Connor then addresses prosociality - strategic behavior that contributes to the successful functioning of social groups - using the prisoner's dilemma, stag hunt, and bargaining games.
James Owen Weatherall's previous book, The Physics of Wall Street, was a New York Times best-seller and named one of Physics Today's five most intriguing books of 2013. In his newest volume, he takes on a fundamental concept of modern physics: nothing. The physics of stuff--protons, neutrons, electrons, and even quarks and gluons--is at least somewhat familiar to most of us. But what about the physics of nothing? Isaac Newton thought of empty space as nothingness extended in all directions, a kind of theater in which physics could unfold. But both quantum theory and relativity tell us that Newton's picture can't be right. Nothing, it turns out, is an awful lot like something, with a structure and properties every bit as complex and mysterious as matter. In his signature lively prose, Weatherall explores the very nature of empty space--and solidifies his reputation as a science writer to watch.
A book which reveals the people and ideas on the cusp of a new era in finance...
In almost every human society some people get more and others get less. Why is inequity the rule in human societies? Philosopher Cailin O'Connor reveals how cultural evolution works on social categories such as race and gender to generate unfairness.
A Harvard scholar argues that mathematical models can provide solutions to current economic challenges, explaining that the economic meltdown of 2008 was based on a misunderstanding of scientific models rather than on the models themselves.
The social dynamics of alternative facts why what you believe depends on who you know
This Element will overview research using models to understand scientific practice. It argues that while these models are epistemically useful, the best way to employ most of them to understand and improve science is in combination with empirical methods and other sorts of theorizing.