Essays on the Future

by Hecker, Siegfried S.; Metropolis, N.; Rota, Gian-Carlo

• ISBN13: 9780817638566
• ISBN10: 0817638563
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Birkhauser

Summary

The present work represents a unique undertaking in scientific publishing to honor Nick Metropolis, who passed away in October, 1999. Nick was the last survivor of the Manhattan Project that began during World War II in Los Alamos and later became the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this volume, some of the leading scientists and humanists of our time have contributed essays related to their respective disciplines exploring various aspects of future developments in science, technology, and society. Speculations on the future developments of science and society, philosophy, national security, nuclear power, pure and applied mathematics, physics and biology, particle physics, computing, information science, among many others, are included. Contributors include: H. Agnew * R. Ashenhurst * K. Baclawski * G. Baker * N. Balazs * J.A. Freed * R. Hamming * M. Hawrylycz * O. Judd * D. Kleitman * M. Krieger * N. Krikorian * P. Lax * J.D. Louck * T. Puck * M. Raju * R. Richtmyer * J. Schwartz * R. Sokolowski * E. Teller * M. Waterman

Table of Contents

Belated Thoughts	ix
Nicholas C. Metropolis
The Future of Nuclear Power	1	(4)
Harold Agnew
The Nature of Informational Modeling	5	(6)
Robert L. Ashenhurst
Long Time, No See Categorization in Information Science	11	(16)
Kenneth Baclawski
The Once and Future Role for Approximate Calculations	27	(18)
George A. Baker, Jr.
Possible Future Trends in Relativity	45	(16)
N. L. Balazs
The Future of Libraries	61	(12)
J. Arthur Freed
The Future of Physics Information Hiding	73	(10)
R. W. Hamming
The Monte Carlo Method in Mathematical Finance	83	(40)
Michael Hawrylycz
A Future Basis for National Security and International Policy
Fresh Water	107	(16)
O'Dean P. Judd
On the Future of Combinatorics	123	(12)
Daniel J. Kleitman
Apocalypticism, One-Time Events, and Scientific Rationality	135	(38)
Martin H. Krieger
The Future of Russian Science and Technology
Some Personal Impressions	153	(20)
N. H. Krikorian
The Future of Differential Equations	173	(36)
Peter D. Lax
The Future of Quantum Theory of Angular Momentum
Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics	177	(32)
James D. Louck
Cancer and the Future	209	(8)
Theodore T. Puck
Cancer Treatment with Nuclear Particles	217	(16)
M. R. Raju
On Pure and Applied Mathematics	233	(8)
R. D. Richtmyer
The `Legion of Science'
Another Way of Exploiting Computer Technology for Scientific Discovery	237	(4)
Jack Schwartz
Future Issues in Philosophy	241	(14)
Robert Sokolowski
The Enjoyment of Surprises	255	(6)
Edward Teller
The Future of Western Civilization	261	(4)
Edward Teller
Mathematical Sciences and The New Biology	265
Michael S. Waterman