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Internationally renowned theoretical physicist Penrose invented twistor theory, a radical new approach to space-time where geometric points no longer enter the theory as primitives. More recently, he has stirred controversy with two books that invoke modern physics to plumb the nature of human consciousness. This festschrift honoring Penrose on his 65th birthday contains survey articles by some of the most eminent mathematicians (Atiyah, Donaldson, Connes, et al.) and physicists (Hawking, Astekar, Veneziano, among others) of our time. Besides browsing the most formidable contributions, undergraduates may particularly benefit from Artur Ekert's introduction to quantum cryptography, Paul Steinhardt's new approach to Penrose tilings, and particularly, biologist Stuart Hameroff's defense of Penrose's theories of consciousness from the charge of merely constituting a 'minimization of mysteries.' Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. --Choice This book grew out of a symposium ... honoring Roger Penrose (b. 1931) at the age of 65. Even at an early age, it was noted about Penrose that he 'thinks geometrically.' His geometrical thinking led him, in 1974, to a solution of a problem that had eluded Johannes Kepler and Albrecht Durer, that is, how to cover a surface with motifs of pentagonal symmetry without gaps and overlaps, the Penrose tiling. ... In this volume, Paul Steinhardt ... revisits the Penrose tiling and quasicrystals, reports recent results in modeling, and points out the still unresolved problems. ... The Penrose tiling was an inadvertent discovery, a result of almost idle doodling. The main areas of Penrose's research include time-space, quantum theory, and the workings of the mind ... [and m]ost of the 32 contributions in this book, including Penrose's own Afterword, concern Penrose's main activities. The book is introduced by a brief and charming Laudatio by John A. Wheeler. --The Chemical Intelligencer

<br> Internationally renowned theoretical physicist Penrose invented twistor theory, a radical new approach to space-time where geometric points no longer enter the theory as primitives. More recently, he has stirred controversy with two books that invoke modern physics to plumb the nature of human consciousness. This festschrift honoring Penrose on his 65th birthday contains survey articles by some of the most eminent mathematicians (Atiyah, Donaldson, Connes, et al.) and physicists (Hawking, Astekar, Veneziano, among others) of our time. Besides browsing the most formidable contributions, undergraduates may particularly benefit from Artur Ekert's introduction to quantum cryptography, Paul Steinhardt's new approach to Penrose tilings, and particularly, biologist Stuart Hameroff's defense of Penrose's theories of consciousness from the charge of merely constituting a 'minimization of mysteries.' Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. --Choice<p><br> This book grew out of a

`The articles cover a vast range of topics from differential geometry and integrable systems to gravity and quantum mechanics....This volume is a fitting tribute to [Penrose's] endeavours over the past forty years' THES 25/09/98 `It will be of great interest to active researchers in mathematical physics.' Aslib Book Guide 'The main value of the book is the up-to-date way in which it illustrates the present state of the twistor proramme'The mathematical Gazette 'It is always enjoyable to read him,lucid,precise and tinged with enthusiasm, both for what has been done and for those questions whose answers still elude us' General Relativity and Gravitation

Internationally renowned theoretical physicist Penrose invented twistor theory, a radical new approach to space-time where geometric points no longer enter the theory as primitives. More recently, he has stirred controversy with two books that invoke modern physics to plumb the nature of human consciousness. This festschrift honoring Penrose on his 65th birthday contains survey articles by some of the most eminent mathematicians (Atiyah, Donaldson, Connes, et al.) and physicists (Hawking, Astekar, Veneziano, among others) of our time. Besides browsing the most formidable contributions, undergraduates may particularly benefit from Artur Ekert's introduction to quantum cryptography, Paul Steinhardt's new approach to Penrose tilings, and particularly, biologist Stuart Hameroff's defense of Penrose's theories of consciousness from the charge of merely constituting a 'minimization of mysteries.' Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. --Choice<br> This book grew out of a symposium ... honoring Roger Penrose (b. 1931) at the age of 65. Even at an early age, it was noted about Penrose that he 'thinks geometrically.' His geometrical thinking led him, in 1974, to a solution of a problem that had eluded Johannes Kepler and Albrecht Durer, that is, how to cover a surface with motifs of pentagonal symmetry without gaps and overlaps, the Penrose tiling. ... In this volume, Paul Steinhardt ... revisits the Penrose tiling and quasicrystals, reports recent results in modeling, and points out the still unresolved problems. ... The Penrose tiling was an inadvertent discovery, a result of almost idle doodling. The main areas of Penrose's research include time-space, quantum theory, andthe workings of the mind ... [and m]ost of the 32 contributions in this book, including Penrose's own Afterword, concern Penrose's main activities. The book is introduced by a brief and charming Laudatio by John A. Wheeler. --The Chemical Intelligencer<br>

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