Amebas

Amebas

Physics Foibles

The science of Physics is based on observations that lead to the formulation of mathematical relationships between measured quantities. Some would consider Physics an exact science. Its discoveries and laws are basic to understanding in all areas of science and technology. Four Physics foibles 1) Kurt Godel proved that there are unknowables in our mathematics. 2) Werner Heisenberg showed that there are uncertainties in our measurements. 3) Entropy says that we can only predict the probabilities of events. 4)Chaos Theory deals with things that are effectively impossible to predict like turbulence and long term weather forecasting. The word foible as defined by Webster: An odd feature or mild failing in a person's character a weakness. In fencing, the weaker part of a sword blade. It is the acceptance of these foibles in Physics that has led to broader understanding. In the process of examining these 'weaknesses' in science, many creative and practical solutions have been discovered. There are a number of original computer programs throughout the book. No other person, living or dead - other than the author - has edited or examined the programs. No effort has been made to optimize any of these programs. The author has relied on the computer's results to serve as his default editor. Computer programs are included that take you through puzzles and paradoxes, distribute molecules, follow ameba populations, prove and disprove Murphy's Law, flip coins, and play lottery and casino games. Many have asked about the book. Some with a technical background - and some not - have questioned: What do dice, poker, lotto, and heads-or-tails have to do with Physics? The mathematical study of games of chance is as old as mathematics itself. The connection between games of chance and Nature's laws can be rigorously refined in the field of Statistical Mathematics. If you can analyze multiple coin flips, you can view molecular distribution. If you can understand the results of a game of Roulette, you can understand Radioactive decay. Also included are polls, number systems, wave packets, the search for Pi and the elusive Random, Internet quotes, and more. And in the the process of reading, stop and listen to the words of the science gurus displayed in cartoons throughout.

The Handicap Principle

Ever since Darwin, animal behavior has intrigued and perplexed human observers. The elaborate mating rituals, lavish decorative displays, complex songs, calls, dances and many other forms of animal signaling raise fascinating questions. To what degree can animals communicate within their own species and even between species? What evolutionary purpose do such communications serve? Perhaps most importantly, what can animal signaling tell us about our own non-verbal forms of communication? In The Handicap Principle, Amotz and Ashivag Zahavi offer a unifying theory that brilliantly explains many previously baffling aspects of animal signaling and holds up a mirror in which ordinary human behaviors take on surprising new significance. The wide-ranging implications of the Zahavis' new theory make it arguably the most important advance in animal behavior in decades. Based on 20 years of painstaking observation, the Handicap Principle illuminates an astonishing variety of signaling behaviors in animals ranging from ants and ameba to peacocks and gazelles. Essentially, the theory asserts that for animal signals to be effective they must be reliable, and to be reliable they must impose a cost, or handicap, on the signaler. When a gazelle sights a wolf, for instance, and jumps high into the air several times before fleeing, it is signaling, in a reliable way, that it is in tip-top condition, easily able to outrun the wolf. (A human parallel occurs in children's games of tag, where faster children will often taunt their pursuer before running). By momentarily handicapping itself--expending precious time and energy in this display--the gazelle underscores the truthfulness of its signal. Such signaling, the authors suggest, serves the interests of both predator and prey, sparing each the exhaustion of a pointless chase. Similarly, the enormous cost a peacock incurs by carrying its elaborate and weighty tail-feathers, which interfere with food gathering, reliably communicates its value as a mate able to provide for its offspring. Perhaps the book's most important application of the Handicap Principle is to the evolutionary enigma of animal altruism. The authors convincingly demonstrate that when an animal acts altruistically, it handicaps itself--assumes a risk or endures a sacrifice--not primarily to benefit its kin or social group but to increase its own prestige within the group and thus signal its status as a partner or rival. Finally, the Zahavis' show how many forms of non-verbal communication among humans can also be explained by the Handicap Principle. Indeed, the authors suggest that non-verbal signals--tones of voice, facial expressions, body postures--are quite often more reliable indicators of our intentions than is language. Elegantly written, exhaustively researched, and consistently enlivened by equal measures of insight and example, The Handicap Principle illuminates virtually every kind of animal communication. It not only allows us to hear what animals are saying to each other--and to understand why they are saying it--but also to see the enormously important role non-verbal behavior plays in human communication.