Preface to the Special Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Preface to the First Edition

First Edition “We are to admit no more causes of natural things” (as we are told by Newton) than “such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.” This central theme is basic to the pursuit of science, and goes back to the principle known as Occam’s razor: “if presented with a choice between indifferent alternatives, then one ought to select the simplest one.” Unconsciously o...

Preface to the Third Edition

While the first edition of this textbook was based on a one-year course in computational physics with a rather limited scope, its extent has been increased substantially in the third edition, offering the possibility to select from a broader range of computer experiments and to deepen the understanding of the important numerical methods. The computer experiments have always been a central part ...

Preface to the First Edition

First Edition “We are to admit no more causes of natural things” (as we are told by Newton) than “such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.” This central theme is basic to the pursuit of science, and goes back to the principle known as Occam’s razor: “if presented with a choice between indifferent alternatives, then one ought to select the simplest one.” Unconsciously o...

Preface to the 4th Edition