Crashes, crises, and calamities : how we can use science to read the early-warning signs / Len Fisher.

Author
Fisher, Len [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
New York : Basic Books, c2011.
Description
xviii, 233 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Lewis Library - Stacks HV675 .F49 2011 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    Drawing on ecology and biology, math and physics, the author offers four fundamental tools that scientists and engineers use to forecast the likelihood of sudden change: stability, catastrophe, complexity, and game theories.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    • Pt. 1. A potted pre-history of prognostication. Do animals have crystal balls?
    • The future eclipsed
    • Galileo's hell
    • Pt. 2. How disasters happen. The stress of it all
    • Runaway disaster
    • The balance of nature and the nature of balance
    • Pt. 3. Imminent catastrophes : reading the signs. The chaotic ecology of dragons
    • Teetering on the brink of catastrophe
    • Models and supermodels
    • Beware of mathematicians
    • Weak signals as major early-warning signs
    • Summary : The future of forecasting.
    ISBN
    • 9780465021024 (hardback)
    • 0465021026 (hardback)
    • 9780465023356 (ebook)
    • 0465023355 (ebook)
    LCCN
    2010048289
    OCLC
    657595615
    Statement on language in description
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