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Nature of Computation by Stephan Mertens and Cristopher Moore (2011, Hardcover)
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- Buy It NowThe Nature of Computation - Moore, Cristopher
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-100199233217
ISBN-139780199233212
eBay Product ID (ePID)63874109
Product Key Features
Number of Pages1008 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication NameNature of Computation
Publication Year2011
SubjectComputer Science, General, Data Processing, Physics / General
TypeTextbook
AuthorStephan Mertens, Cristopher Moore
Subject AreaComputers, Science
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height2.5 in
Item Weight78.1 Oz
Item Length9.8 in
Item Width7.7 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
LCCN2011-288098
ReviewsIn a class by itself - in The Nature of Computation, Cristopher Moore and Stephan Mertens have produced one of the most successful attempts to capture the broad scope and intellectual depth of theoretical computer science as it is practiced today. The Nature of Computation is one of those books you can open to a random page and find something amazing, surprising and, often, very funny., "A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!" --Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Instituute of Technology, "To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!)." -- Scott Aaronson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter." -- Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University "If you want to learn about complexity classes, scaling laws in computation, undecidability, randomized algorithms, how to prepare a dinner with Pommard, Quail and Roquefort, or the new ideas that quantum theory brings to computation, this is the right book. It offers a wonderful tour through many facets of computer science. It is precise and gets into details when necessary, but the main thread is always at hand, and entertaining anecdotes help to keep the pace." -- Marc Mzard, Universit de Paris Sud, Orsay "A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!" -- Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Instituute of Technology "A fantastic and unique book - a must-have guide to the theory of computation, for physicists and everyone else." -- Riccardo Zecchina, Politecnico di Torino "The Nature of Computation (TNoC) is a comprehensive, accessible, and highly enjoyable book that conveys the key intellectual contributions of the theory of computing. The project took off as an effort to present theoretical computer science to physicists, but it is equally suitable for any science graduate who is curious to explore beautiful and deep ideas related to the mathematical structure of problems. ... TNoC provides not just a window through which people from other disciplines can get glimpses of the interesting nuggets from computer science, but also provides an entertaining open house session where a visitor can meet various deep ideas and understand the core arguments behind key results." --Haris Aziz, SIGACT News Book Review Column "The book is highly recommended for all interested readers: in or out of courses, students undergraduate, researchers in other fields eager to learn the subject, or scholars already in the field who wish to enrich their current understanding. It makes for a great textbook in a conventional theory of computing course, as I can testify from recent personal experience (I used it once; I'll use it again!). With its broad and deep wealth of information, it would be a top contender for one of my "desert island" books. [The Nature of Computation] speaks directly, clearly, convincingly, and entertainingly, but also goes much further: it inspires." --Frederic Green, SIGACT News Book Review Column, "A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter." --Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University, "To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!)." -- Scott Aaronson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter." -- Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University "If you want to learn about complexity classes, scaling laws in computation, undecidability, randomized algorithms, how to prepare a dinner with Pommard, Quail and Roquefort, or the new ideas that quantum theory brings to computation, this is the right book. It offers a wonderful tour through many facets of computer science. It is precise and gets into details when necessary, but the main thread is always at hand, and entertaining anecdotes help to keep the pace." -- Marc Mézard, Université de Paris Sud, Orsay"A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!" -- Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Instituute of Technology"A fantastic and unique book - a must-have guide to the theory of computation, for physicists and everyone else." -- Riccardo Zecchina, Politecnico di Torino "The Nature of Computation (TNoC) is a comprehensive, accessible, and highly enjoyable book that conveys the key intellectual contributions of the theory of computing. The project took off as an effort to present theoretical computer science to physicists, but it is equally suitable for any science graduate who is curious to explore beautiful and deep ideas related to the mathematical structure of problems. ... TNoC provides not just a window through which people from other disciplines can get glimpses of the interesting nuggets from computer science, but also provides an entertaining open house session where a visitor can meet various deep ideas and understand the core arguments behind key results." --Haris Aziz, SIGACT News Book Review Column"The book is highly recommended for all interested readers: in or out of courses, students undergraduate, researchers in other fields eager to learn the subject, or scholars already in the field who wish to enrich their current understanding. It makes for a great textbook in a conventional theory of computing course, as I can testify from recent personal experience (I used it once; I'll use it again!). With its broad and deep wealth of information, it would be a top contender for one of my "desert island" books. [The Nature of Computation] speaks directly, clearly, convincingly, and entertainingly, but also goes much further: it inspires." --Frederic Green, SIGACT News Book Review Column, "To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!)." --Scott Aaronson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "If you want to learn about complexity classes, scaling laws in computation, undecidability, randomized algorithms, how to prepare a dinner with Pommard, Quail and Roquefort, or the new ideas that quantum theory brings to computation, this is the right book. It offers a wonderful tour throughmany facets of computer science. It is precise and gets into details when necessary, but the main thread is always at hand, and entertaining anecdotes help to keep the pace." --Marc Mezard, Universite de Paris Sud, Orsay, "To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!)." -- Scott Aaronson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter." -- Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University "If you want to learn about complexity classes, scaling laws in computation, undecidability, randomized algorithms, how to prepare a dinner with Pommard, Quail and Roquefort, or the new ideas that quantum theory brings to computation, this is the right book. It offers a wonderful tour through many facets of computer science. It is precise and gets into details when necessary, but the main thread is always at hand, and entertaining anecdotes help to keep the pace." -- Marc Mézard, Université de Paris Sud, Orsay "A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!" -- Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Instituute of Technology "A fantastic and unique book - a must-have guide to the theory of computation, for physicists and everyone else." -- Riccardo Zecchina, Politecnico di Torino, 'To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!).'Scott Aaronson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology'A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter.'Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University'If you want to learn about complexity classes, scaling laws in computation, undecidability, randomized algorithms, how to prepare a dinner with Pommard, Quail and Roquefort, or the new ideas that quantum theory brings to computation, this is the right book. It offers a wonderful tour through many facets of computer science. It is precise and gets into details when necessary, but the main thread is always at hand, and entertaining anecdotes help to keep thepace.'Marc Mézard, Université de Paris Sud, Orsay'A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!'Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Instituute of Technology'A fantastic and unique book - a must-have guide to the theory of computation, for physicists and everyone else.'Riccardo Zecchina, Politecnico di Torino, Moore and Mertens guide the reader through the interesting field of computational complexity in a clear, broadly accessible and informal manner, while systematically explaining the main concepts and approaches in this area and the existing links to other disciplines. The book is comprehensive and can be easily used as a textbook, at both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate levels, but is equally useful for researchers in neighbouring disciplines, such as statistical physics[...]. Some of the material covered, such as approximability issues and Probabilistically Checkable Proofs is typically not presented in books of this type, and the authors do an excellent job in presenting them very clearly and convincingly., To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!)., "A fantastic and unique book - a must-have guide to the theory of computation, for physicists and everyone else." --Riccardo Zecchina, Politecnico di Torino, A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter., A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!, "To put it bluntly: this book rocks! It's 900+ pages of awesome. It somehow manages to combine the fun of a popular book with the intellectual heft of a textbook, so much so that I don't know what to call it (but whatever the genre is, there needs to be more of it!)." -- Scott Aaronson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "A creative, insightful, and accessible introduction to the theory of computing, written with a keen eye toward the frontiers of the field and a vivid enthusiasm for the subject matter." -- Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University "If you want to learn about complexity classes, scaling laws in computation, undecidability, randomized algorithms, how to prepare a dinner with Pommard, Quail and Roquefort, or the new ideas that quantum theory brings to computation, this is the right book. It offers a wonderful tour through many facets of computer science. It is precise and gets into details when necessary, but the main thread is always at hand, and entertaining anecdotes help to keep the pace." -- Marc Mézard, Université de Paris Sud, Orsay "A treasure trove of ideas, concepts and information on algorithms and complexity theory. Serious material presented in the most delightful manner!" -- Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Instituute of Technology "A fantastic and unique book - a must-have guide to the theory of computation, for physicists and everyone else." -- Riccardo Zecchina, Politecnico di Torino "The Nature of Computation (TNoC) is a comprehensive, accessible, and highly enjoyable book that conveys the key intellectual contributions of the theory of computing. The project took off as an effort to present theoretical computer science to physicists, but it is equally suitable for any science graduate who is curious to explore beautiful and deep ideas related to the mathematical structure of problems. ... TNoC provides not just a window through which people from other disciplines can get glimpses of the interesting nuggets from computer science, but also provides an entertaining open house session where a visitor can meet various deep ideas and understand the core arguments behind key results." --Haris Aziz, SIGACT News Book Review Column "The book is highly recommended for all interested readers: in or out of courses, students undergraduate, researchers in other fields eager to learn the subject, or scholars already in the field who wish to enrich their current understanding. It makes for a great textbook in a conventional theory of computing course, as I can testify from recent personal experience (I used it once; I'll use it again!). With its broad and deep wealth of information, it would be a top contender for one of my "desert island" books. [The Nature of Computation] speaks directly, clearly, convincingly, and entertainingly, but also goes much further: it inspires." --Frederic Green, SIGACT News Book Review Column
TitleLeadingThe
IllustratedYes
Table Of Content1. Prologue2. The Basics3. Insights and Algorithms4. Needles in a Haystack: The class NP5. Who is the Hardest One of All: NP-Completeness6. The Deep Question: P vs. NP7. Memory, Paths and games8. Grand Unified Theory of Computation9. Simply the Best: Optimization10. The Power of Randomness11. Random Walks and Rapid Mixing12. Counting, Sampling, and Statistical Physics13. When Formulas Freeze: Phase Transitions in Computation14. Quantum Computing15. Epilogue16. Appendix: Mathematical Tools
SynopsisWhy are some problems easy to solve, while others seem nearly impossible? What can we compute with a given amount of time or memory, and what cannot be computed at all? How will quantum physics change the landscape of computation? This book gives a playful and accessible introduction to the deep ideas of theoretical computer science., Computational complexity is one of the most beautiful fields of modern mathematics, and it is increasingly relevant to other sciences ranging from physics to biology. But this beauty is often buried underneath layers of unnecessary formalism, and exciting recent results like interactive proofs, phase transitions, and quantum computing are usually considered too advanced for the typical student. This book bridges these gaps by explaining the deep ideas of theoretical computer science in a clear and enjoyable fashion, making them accessible to non-computer scientists and to computer scientists who finally want to appreciate their field from a new point of view. The authors start with a lucid and playful explanation of the P vs. NP problem, explaining why it is so fundamental, and so hard to resolve. They then lead the reader through the complexity of mazes and games; optimization in theory and practice; randomized algorithms, interactive proofs, and pseudorandomness; Markov chains and phase transitions; and the outer reaches of quantum computing. At every turn, they use a minimum of formalism, providing explanations that are both deep and accessible. The book is intended for graduate and undergraduate students, scientists from other areas who have long wanted to understand this subject, and experts who want to fall in love with this field all over again., Computational complexity is one of the most beautiful fields of modern mathematics, and it is increasingly relevant to other sciences ranging from physics to biology. But this beauty is often buried underneath layers of unnecessary formalism, and exciting recent results like interactive proofs, cryptography, and quantum computing are usually considered too "advanced" to show to the typical student. The aim of this book is to bridge both gaps by explaining the deep ideas of theoretical computer science in a clear and enjoyable fashion, making them accessible to non computer scientists and to computer scientists who finally want to understand what their formalisms are actually telling. This book gives a lucid and playful explanation of the field, starting with P and NP-completeness. The authors explain why the P vs. NP problem is so fundamental, and why it is so hard to resolve. They then lead the reader through the complexity of mazes and games; optimization in theory and practice; randomized algorithms, interactive proofs, and pseudorandomness; Markov chains and phase transitions; and the outer reaches of quantum computing. At every turn, they use a minimum of formalism, providing explanations that are both deep and accessible. The book is intended for graduates and undergraduates, scientists from other areas who have long wanted to understand this subject, and experts who want to fall in love with this field all over again. To request a copy of the Solutions Manual, visit: http: //global.oup.com/uk/academic/physics/admin/solutions
LC Classification NumberQA267.7
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