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The author of this book invites the reader to explore the science of computing. He is convinced that a good explanation of even the most basic techniques can demonstrate the power and magic of the underlying principles. His book is a fascinating read.

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The ?rst and foremost goal of this lecture series was to show the beauty, depth and usefulness of the key ideas in computer science. While working on the lecture notes, we came to understand that one can recognize the true spirit of a scienti?c discipline only by viewing its contributions in the framework of science as a whole. We present computer science here as a fundamental science that, interacting with other scienti?c disciplines, changed and changes our view on the world, that contributes to our understanding of the fundamental concepts of science and that sheds new light on and brings new meaning to several of these concepts. We show that computer science is a discipline that discovers spectacular, unexpected facts, that ?nds ways out in seemingly unsolvable s- uations, and that can do true wonders. The message of this book is that computer science is a fascinating research area with a big impact on the real world, full of spectacular ideas and great ch- lenges. It is an integral part of science and engineering with an above-average dynamic over the last 30 years and a high degree of interdisciplinarity. The goal of this book is not typical for popular science writing, whichoftenrestrictsitselftooutliningtheimportanceofaresearch area. Whenever possible we strive to bring full understanding of the concepts and results presented.

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The Development of Computer Science: Not Just a Driving Licence.- Algorithmics: What Programming and Baking Have in Common.- Infinity Is Not Infinity: Why Infinity Is Infinitely Important in Computer Science.- The Limits of Computability: Why There Exist Tasks That Cannot Be Automatically Solved Using Computers.- Complexity Theory: What to Do When the Energy of the Universe Isn´t Enough to Perform a Computation.- Randomness in Nature: A Source of Efficiency in Algorithmics.- Cryptography: How to Transform Drawbacks into Advantages.- Computing Using DNA Molecules: A Biological Computer on the Horizon.- Quantum Computers: Computing in the Wonderland of Particles.- How to Make a Good Decision for an Unknown Future: How to Foil an Adversary

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Prof. Dr. Juraj Hromkovic war 1997 - 2003 Professor für Algorithmen und Komplexität an der RWTH Aachen. Seit Januar 2004 ist er Professor für Informatik an der ETH Zürich. Seit 2010 ist er Mitglied der Academia Europaea.

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