Description
Book Synopsis
The discrepancy method is the most fruitful line of attack on the pivotal question: what is the computational power of random bits? This book includes such topics as communication complexity, pseudo-randomness, rapidly mixing Markov chains, derandomization, convex hulls and Voronoi diagrams, linear programming, geometric sampling and VC-dimension theory, and multidimensional searching.
Trade Review
'Bernard Chazelle's book The Discrepancy Method is a technical tour de force … this is an eminently readable book.' Prabhakar Raghavan, SIAM Review
' … the main point is that by presenting the discrepancy method in such an impressive way as this book does, the author helps us to imagine the fantastic possibilities that randomization opens up to everybody, and he shows that current research in theoretical computer science has an astonishing impact on common fundamentals of all sciences. I believe that any reader interested in principal questions will enjoy this book.' The Computer Journal
Table of Contents
1. Combinatorial discrepancy; 2. Upper bounds in geometric discrepancy; 3. Lower bounds in geometric discrepancy; 4. Sampling; 5. Geometric searching; 6. Complexity lower bounds; 7. Convex hulls and Voronoi diagrams; 8. Linear programming and extensions; 9. Pseudo-randomness; 10. Communication complexity; 11. Minimum spanning trees; A. Probability theory; B. Harmonic analysis; C. Convex geometry.
