Geometric Algebra for Computer Science (Revised Edition): An Object-Oriented Approach to Geometry (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

Geometric Algebra for Computer Science (Revised Edition): An Object-Oriented Approach to Geometry (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

Until recently, all of the interactions between objects in virtual 3D worlds have been based on calculations performed using linear algebra. Linear algebra relies heavily on coordinates, however, which can make many geometric programming tasks very specific and complex-often a lot of effort is required to bring about even modest performance enhancements. Although linear algebra is an efficient way to specify low-level computations, it is not a suitable high-level language for geometric programming. Geometric Algebra for Computer Science presents a compelling alternative to the limitations of linear algebra. Geometric algebra, or GA, is a compact, time-effective, and performance-enhancing way to represent the geometry of 3D objects in computer programs. In this book you will find an introduction to GA that will give you a strong grasp of its relationship to linear algebra and its significance for your work. You will learn how to use GA to represent objects and perform geometric operations on them. And you will begin mastering proven techniques for making GA an integral part of your applications in a way that simplifies your code without slowing it down.

• Explains GA as a natural extension of linear algebra and conveys its significance for 3D programming of geometry in graphics, vision, and robotics.


• Systematically explores the concepts and techniques that are key to representing elementary objects and geometric operators using GA.


• Covers in detail the conformal model, a convenient way to implement 3D geometry using a 5D representation space.


• Presents effective approaches to making GA an integral part of your programming.


• Includes numerous drills and programming exercises helpful for both students and practitioners.


• Companion web site includes links to GAViewer, a program that will allow you to interact with many of the 3D figures in the book, and Gaigen 2, the platform for the instructive programming exercises that conclude each chapter.
  
  

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High Society: The Central Role of Mind-Altering Drugs in History, Science, and Culture





An illustrated cultural history of drug use from its roots in animal intoxication to its future in designer neurochemicals

• Featuring artwork from the upcoming High Society exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London, one of the world’s greatest medical history collections

• Explores the roles drugs play in different cultures as medicines, religious sacraments, status symbols, and coveted trade goods

• Reveals how drugs drove the global trade and cultural exchange that made the modern world

• Examines the causes of drug prohibitions a century ago and the current “war on drugs”

Every society is a high society. Every day people drink coffee on European terraces and kava in Pacific villages; chew betel nut in Indonesian markets and coca leaf on Andean mountainsides; swallow ecstasy tablets in the clubs of Amsterdam and opium pills in the deserts of Rajastan; smoke hashish in Himalayan temples and tobacco and marijuana in every nation on earth.

Exploring the spectrum of drug use throughout history--from its roots in animal intoxication to its future in designer neurochemicals--High Society paints vivid portraits of the roles drugs play in different cultures as medicines, religious sacraments, status symbols, and coveted trade goods. From the botanicals of the classical world through the mind-bending self-experiments of 18th- and 19th-century scientists to the synthetic molecules that have transformed our understanding of the brain, Mike Jay reveals how drugs such as tobacco, tea, and opium drove the global trade and cultural exchange that created the modern world and examines the forces that led to the prohibition of opium and cocaine a century ago and the “war on drugs” that rages today.










List Price: $ 19.95



Price: $ 12.33