The principles of symmetry and self-similarity structure nature's most beautiful creations. For example, they are expressed in fractals, famous for their beautiful but complicated geometric structure, which is the subject of study in dimension theory. And in dynamics the presence of invariant fractals often results in unstable "turbulent-like" motions and is associated with "chaotic" behavior.

In this book, Yakov Pesin introduces a new area of research that has recently appeared in the interface between dimension theory and the theory of dynamical systems. Focusing on invariant fractals and their influence on stochastic properties of systems, Pesin provides a comprehensive and systematic treatment of modern dimension theory in dynamical systems, summarizes the current state of research, and describes the most important accomplishments of this field.

Pesin's synthesis of these subjects of broad current research interest will be appreciated both by advanced mathematicians and by a wide range of scientists who depend upon mathematical modeling of dynamical processes.

Chaos theory has captured scientific and popular attention. What began as the discovery of randomness in simple physical systems has become a widespread fascination with "chaotic" models of everything from business cycles to brainwaves to heart attacks. But what exactly does this explosion of new research into chaotic phenomena mean for our understanding of the world? In this timely book, Stephen Kellert takes the first sustained look at the broad intellectual and philosophical questions raised by recent advances in chaos theory—its implications for science as a source of knowledge and for the very meaning of that knowledge itself.