Robert Shaw (physicist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Stetson Shaw is an American
physicist
who was part of Eudaemonic Enterprises
in Santa Cruz
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1988 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his work in Chaos theory.
on the subject was among the first research into the relationship between predictable motion and chaos in a landmark PhD thesis.
As Part of the Dynamical Systems Collective with J. Doyne Farmer
, Norman Packard
, and James Crutchfield. The Collective, a.k.a. the Santa Cruz Chaos Cabal, was best known for its work in probing chaotic systems for signs of order.
, a group of maverick physicists who were attempting to create a computer
capable of predicting the outcome of a game of roulette
.
Rob's younger brother Chris, an artist and film maker, is also responsible for illustrations in his brother Rob's papers and thesis and also Rob's PhD adviser William Burke
. One cosmological painting of parallel universes exploding and imploding in alternating Big Bang
s and Big Crunch
es in Burke's cosmology textbook hangs on a wall at the American Center for Physics.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
who was part of Eudaemonic Enterprises
Eudaemons
The Eudaemons were a small group headed by graduate physics students J. Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard at the University of California Santa Cruz in the late 1970s. The group's immediate objective was to find a way to beat roulette, but a loftier objective was to use the money made from roulette...
in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1988 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his work in Chaos theory.
Chaos theory
He was one of the pioneers of chaos theory and his work at University of California, Santa CruzUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
on the subject was among the first research into the relationship between predictable motion and chaos in a landmark PhD thesis.
As Part of the Dynamical Systems Collective with J. Doyne Farmer
J. Doyne Farmer
J. Doyne Farmer is an American physicist and entrepreneur, with interest in chaos theory and complexity. He is a professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He was also a member of Eudaemonic Enterprises.-Biography:...
, Norman Packard
Norman Packard
Norman Harry Packard is a chaos theory physicist and one of the founders of the Prediction Company and ProtoLife. He is an alumnus of Reed College and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Packard is known for his contributions to both chaos theory and cellular automata...
, and James Crutchfield. The Collective, a.k.a. the Santa Cruz Chaos Cabal, was best known for its work in probing chaotic systems for signs of order.
Roulette
Rob Shaw, while studying at University of California, Santa Cruz worked briefly with the EudaemonsEudaemons
The Eudaemons were a small group headed by graduate physics students J. Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard at the University of California Santa Cruz in the late 1970s. The group's immediate objective was to find a way to beat roulette, but a loftier objective was to use the money made from roulette...
, a group of maverick physicists who were attempting to create a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
capable of predicting the outcome of a game of roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
.
Rob's younger brother Chris, an artist and film maker, is also responsible for illustrations in his brother Rob's papers and thesis and also Rob's PhD adviser William Burke
William L. Burke
William Lionel Burke was an astronomy, astrophysics, and physics professor at UC Santa Cruz. He is also the author of Spacetime, Geometry, Cosmology , and of Applied differential geometry , a text expounding the virtues of differential forms over vector calculus for theoretical physics.Born in...
. One cosmological painting of parallel universes exploding and imploding in alternating Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
s and Big Crunch
Big Crunch
In physical cosmology, the Big Crunch is one possible scenario for the ultimate fate of the universe, in which the metric expansion of space eventually reverses and the universe recollapses, ultimately ending as a black hole singularity.- Overview :...
es in Burke's cosmology textbook hangs on a wall at the American Center for Physics.
See also
- Strange attractor