Overview
- First book to offer a systematic, integrated introduction to heuristics for problem solving that reflects the state of the art in both numerical and analytic methods
- Handy reference for addressing real-world problems
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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About this book
'I will tel! you' the hermit said to Lancelot 'the right of the matter.' Anonymous, The Quest of the Holy Grail Gyorgy Polya's How to Solve It [287] stands as one of the most important contributions to the problem-solving literatme in the twentieth century. Even now, as we move into the new millennium, the book continues tobe a favorite among teachers and students for its instructive heuristics. The first edition of the book appeared in 1945, near the end of the Second World War and a few years before the invention of the transistor. The book was a quick success, and a second edition came out in 1957. How to Solve It is a compendium of approaches for tackling problems as we find them in mathematics. That is, the book provides not only examples of techniques and procedures, but also instruction on how to make analogies, use auxiliary devices, work backwards from the goal to the given, and so forth. Es sentially, the book is an encyclopedia of problem-solving methods to be carried out by hand, but more than that, it is a treatise on how to think about framing and attacking problems.
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Table of contents (16 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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What Are the Ages of My Three Sons?
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Front Matter
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How Important Is a Model?
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Front Matter
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What Are the Prices in 7–11?
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Front Matter
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What Are the Numbers?
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Front Matter
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What’s the Color of the Bear?
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Front Matter
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How Good Is Your Intuition?
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Front Matter
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One of These Things Is Not Like the Others
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Front Matter
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What Is the Shortest Way?
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Front Matter
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Who Owns the Zebra?
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Front Matter
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Reviews
The March 2002 issue of ACMs Computing Reviews identifies a review of "How to Solve It" as the best review they published in 2001. The review is then reprinted in its entirety. Reviewer: H. van Dyke Parunak.
Excerpt: Like its predecessor, the new How to Solve It, combines deep mathematical insight with skilled pedagogy. Puzzle lovers will seek out the book for its insightful discussion of many intriguing brain twisters. Students of computational methods will find it an accessible but rigorous introduction to evolutionary algorithms. Teachers will learn from its expositions how to make their own subject matter clearer to their students. Polya would be honored to know that his spirit lives on in the computer age.
From the reviews of the second edition:
"This is an outstanding book. It takes the reader close to the current knowledge frontier … . The book’s writing style is lively and educational, and this makes it extremely interesting … . is intended for students and practitioners. … is an excellent choice for a course on heuristics … . One of the most comprehensive views … is provided in this book. It is written to be read and understood … . is a must-read and must-have for anyone engaged in the art of problem solving." (Dimitrios Katsaros, Computing Reviews, April, 2005)
Authors and Affiliations
Accessibility Information
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics
Authors: Zbigniew Michalewicz, David B. Fogel
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04131-4
Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg
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eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000
eBook ISBN: 978-3-662-04131-4Published: 14 March 2013
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 467
Topics: Algorithm Analysis and Problem Complexity, Complexity, IT in Business, Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control; Optimization, Quantitative Finance, Statistics, general