Still another book on finite math? Why? Hasnt everything that should have been said been said? No, I would argue. The shortcoming that troubles me most about the books I am familiar with is their failure to provide perspective on what math technique and the use of technology can do for us and its limitations. This can only be addressed through vigorous and sustained use of the mathematical modeling perspective, which is a hallmark of this books exposition. A point continually stressed is that reaching a mathematical answer to a problem is not the end of the story. It is in a sense the end of a chapter, but the next chapter is concerned with questions about whether and how the mathematical answer should be implemented. Also addressed is the question of what to consider when more than one answer is obtained for a problem.

This is a thoroughly revised and enlarged second edition that presents the main results of descriptive complexity theory, that is, the connections between axiomatizability of classes of finite structures and their complexity with respect to time and space bounds. The logics that are important in this context include fixed-point logics, transitive closure logics, and also certain infinitary languages; their model theory is studied in full detail. The book is written in such a way that the respective parts on model theory and descriptive complexity theory may be read independently.

This book applies model theoretic methods to the study of certain finite permutation groups, the automorphism groups of structures for a fixed finite language with a bounded number of orbits on 4-tuples. Primitive permutation groups of this type have been classified by Kantor, Liebeck, and Macpherson, using the classification of the finite simple groups. Building on this work, Gregory Cherlin and Ehud Hrushovski here treat the general case by developing analogs of the model theoretic methods of geometric stability theory. The work lies at the juncture of permutation group theory, model theory, classical geometries, and combinatorics. The principal results are finite theorems, an associated analysis of computational issues, and an "intrinsic" characterization of the permutation groups (or finite structures) under consideration. The main finiteness theorem shows that the structures under consideration fall naturally into finitely many families, with each family parametrized by finitely many numerical invariants (dimensions of associated coordinating geometries). The authors provide a case study in the extension of methods of stable model theory to a nonstable context, related to work on Shelah's "simple theories." They also generalize Lachlan's results on stable homogeneous structures for finite relational languages, solving problems of effectivity left open by that case. Their methods involve the analysis of groups interpretable in these structures, an analog of Zilber's envelopes, and the combinatorics of the underlying geometries. Taking geometric stability theory into new territory, this book is for mathematicians interested in model theory and group theory.

Use mathematical analysis in the real world Finite math takes everything you've learned in your previous math courses and brings them together into one course with a focus on organizing and analyzing information, creating mathematical models for approaching business decisions, using statistics principles to understand future states, and applying logic to data organization. Finite Math For Dummies tracks to a typical college-level course designed for business, computer science, accounting, and other non-math majors, and is the perfect supplement to help you score high! Organize and analyze information Apply calculation principles to real-world problems Use models for business calculations Supplement your coursework with step-by-step example problems If you’re not a math person or just want to brush up on your skills to get a better grade, Finite Math For Dummies is your ticket to scoring higher!

Emphasizes the computer science aspects of the subject. Details applications in databases, complexity theory, and formal languages, as well as other branches of computer science.

Finite model theory,as understoodhere, is an areaof mathematicallogic that has developed in close connection with applications to computer science, in particular the theory of computational complexity and database theory. One of the fundamental insights of mathematical logic is that our understanding of mathematical phenomena is enriched by elevating the languages we use to describe mathematical structures to objects of explicit study. If mathematics is the science of patterns, then the media through which we discern patterns, as well as the structures in which we discern them, command our attention. It isthis aspect oflogicwhichis mostprominentin model theory,“thebranchof mathematical logic which deals with the relation between a formal language and its interpretations”. No wonder, then, that mathematical logic, and ?nite model theory in particular, should ?nd manifold applications in computer science: from specifying programs to querying databases, computer science is rife with phenomena whose understanding requires close attention to the interaction between language and structure. This volume gives a broadoverviewof some central themes of ?nite model theory: expressive power, descriptive complexity, and zero–one laws, together with selected applications to database theory and arti?cial intelligence, es- cially constraint databases and constraint satisfaction problems. The ?nal chapter provides a concise modern introduction to modal logic,which emp- sizes the continuity in spirit and technique with ?nite model theory.

William J. Adams, Professor of Mathematics at Pace University, is a recipient of Pace's Outstanding Teacher Award. He was Chairman of the Pace N.Y. Mathematics Department from 1976 through 1991. Professor Adams is author or co-author of over twenty books on mathematics, its applications, and history, including Elements of Linear Programming (1969), Calculus for Business and Social Science (1975), Fundamentals of Mathematics for Business, Social and Life Sciences (1979), Elements of Complex Analysis (1987), Get a Grip on Your Math (1996), Slippery Math in Public Affairs: Price Tag and Defense (2002) ; Think First, Apply MATH, Think Further: Food for Thought (2005), The Life and Times of the Central Limit Theorem Second Edition(2009), and Alarming! The Chasm Separating Basic Statistics Education from its Necessities (2013). His concern with the slippery side of math and what math can do for us and its limitations is a prominent feature of his writings on applications. Concerning higher education in general, he is the author of The Nitty-Gritty in the Life of a University (2007).