In Search Of Certainty

Quite soon, the world’s information infrastructure is going to reach a level of scale and complexity that will force scientists and engineers to approach it in an entirely new way. The familiar notions of command and control are being thwarted by realities of a faster, denser world of communication where choice, variety, and indeterminism rule. The myth of the machine that does exactly what we tell it has come to an end. What makes us think we can rely on all this technology? What keeps it together today, and how might it work tomorrow? Will we know how to build the next generation—or will we be lulled into a stupor of dependence brought about by its conveniences? In this book, Mark Burgess focuses on the impact of computers and information on our modern infrastructure by taking you from the roots of science to the principles behind system operation and design. To shape the future of technology, we need to understand how it works—or else what we don’t understand will end up shaping us. This book explores this subject in three parts: Part I, Stability: describes the fundamentals of predictability, and why we have to give up the idea of control in its classical meaning Part II, Certainty: describes the science of what we can know, when we don’t control everything, and how we make the best of life with only imperfect information Part III, Promises: explains how the concepts of stability and certainty may be combined to approach information infrastructure as a new kind of virtual material, restoring a continuity to human-computer systems so that society can rely on them.

This seeker-friendly book invites readers to discover that certainty involves some absolutes. It addresses postmodernists' view of truth, pointing to the absolute truth in the person of Jesus.

“The 1990s was a decade of reckoning that compressed our spirits as well as our bank accounts. We hunkered down through a prolonged winter of decline before finally, at decade’s end, emerging to breathe in the first stirrings of national recovery. The long journey tested our confidence in the country, its governments, our employers and even ourselves.... Happily, we discovered a new inner strength, and the wisdom to take advantage of global trends and to build a new social and cultural Canada in the post-Trudeau era.” – from Searching for Certainty Darrell Bricker, president of the leading market research firm in Canada, and Ed Greenspon, political columnist for The Globe and Mail, join forces to offer a comprehensive report on the new economic, social and cultural Canada - the dramatic changes wrought by globalization and technologicial innovation over the last two decades as well as the more subtle shifts in how we approach work, health care and education. Using the most up-to-date and complete data available, they analyze economic trends, from global trade to the workplace, and trace the ways in which Canadian society and culture have been transformed. They reveal that Canada has emerged from the late twentieth century a stronger and more dynamic society. Far from becoming more American, the new mindset is steeped in Canadian traditions of tolerance and community. In the aftermath of the 1990s, Canada is a society searching more than ever before for certainy, not promises - for quality of life, not quantity of goods. One example: a decade ago, Canadians had never heard of the Internet, and the public equated new technology with job loss. By the fall of 2000, 70 per cent of adults - more than 15 million individuals - were connected to the Internet at home or work or school. By the end of 2001, four out of five Canadians will probably enjoy access. How is the Internet changing our health care, our political unity, how we shop, even our power in relation to governments and corporations? Searching for Certainty is a smart and entertaining, fact-filled account of how the changes over the last two decades affect us now and will determine how we feel and what we want tomorrow. Combining demographic statistics with a journalist's keen eye for real-life stories, Bricker and Greenspon offer valuable insights for business and public policy, and practical tips on how to survive and prosper in the new economy.

This volume represents a radical departure from the current philosophical duopoly in the area of foundations of probability, that is, the frequency and subjective theories. One of the main new ideas is a set of scientific laws of probability. The new laws are simple, intuitive and, last but not least, they agree well with the contents of current textbooks on probability. Another major new claim is that the OC frequency statisticsOCO has nothing in common with the OC frequency philosophy of probability, OCO contrary to popular belief. Similarly, contrary to the general perception, the OC Bayesian statisticsOCO shares nothing in common with the OC subjective philosophy of probability.OCO The book is non-partisan on the scientific side OCo it is supportive of both frequency statistics and Bayesian statistics. On the other hand, it contains well-documented and thoroughly-explained criticisms of the frequency and subjective philosophies of probability. Short reviews of other philosophical theories of probability and basic mathematical methods of probability and statistics are incorporated. The book includes substantial chapters on decision theory and teaching probability, and it is easily accessible to the general audience

The nineteenth century saw a movement to make higher mathematics rigorous. This seemed to be on the brink of success when it was thrown into confusion by the discovery of the class paradoxes. That initiated a period of intense research into the foundations of mathematics, and with it the birth of mathematical logic and a new, sharper debate in the philosophy of mathematics. The Search for Certainty examines this foundational endeavour from the discovery of the paradoxes to the present. Focusing on Russell's logicist programme and Hilbert's finitist programme, Giaquinto investigates how successful they were and how successful they could be. These questions are set in the context of a clear, non-technical exposition and assessment of the most important discoveries in mathematical logic, above all G--ouml--;del's underivability theorems. More than six decades after those discoveries, Giaquinto asks what our present perspective should be on the question of certainty in mathematics. Taking recent developments into account, he gives reasons for a surprisingly positive response.

Madeleine Thien’s stunning debut novel fulfills all her early promise and introduces a young novelist of vision, maturity, and style. Gail Lim, a producer of radio documentaries in present-day Vancouver, finds herself haunted by events in her parents’ past in wartorn Asia, a past which remains a mystery that fiercely grips her imagination. As a child, Gail’s father, Matthew Lim, wandered the Leila Road and the jungle fringe with his lovely Ani, a girl whose early bond with Matthew will affect his life always. As children, they found themselves together under the terrifying shadow of war in Japanese-occupied Sandakan, Malaysia. The war shatters their families and splits the two apart until years later, when they remeet only to be separated again. The legacy of their connection is later inherited by Matthew’s wife, Clara, in unexpected ways. Gail’s journey to unravel the mystery of her parents’ lives takes her to Amsterdam, where she meets the war photographer Sipke, who tells his story of Ani and their relationship, which began in Jakarta, a story that will bring Gail face to face with the complications in her own life and lead her closer to the truth. Vivid, poignant, wise, at once sweeping and intimate, Certainty is a novel about the legacies of loss, about the dislocations of war and the redemptive qualities of love. Thien reveals herself as a novelist of rare and potent talent.

This comprehensive overview of the prediction game takes readers on a journey through the worlds of probability, chance and chaos, and investigates developmental biology, modern warfare, weather and climate prediction, mathematics, economics and games of chance.

We all long for certainty in life, yet things often don't go as we expect. When facing illness, job loss, strained relationships, and other struggles, our impulse is to question God and strive to fix things ourselves. In this book, Shelly Miller, a trusted ministry leader, explores how difficult times can actually be purposeful times of spiritual growth. Weaving the exodus story from the Bible with her own story, she shares how to focus on God rather than trying to overcome challenges in our own limited strength. Each chapter features a simple spiritual practice to help us enjoy the peace and security that is only possible through Christ. Uncertain seasons will soon be translated as an aha instead of an oh no.