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Magical Mathematics reveals the secrets of amazing, fun-to-perform card tricks--and the profound mathematical ideas behind them--that will astound even the most accomplished magician. Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham provide easy, step-by-step instructions for each trick, explaining how to set up the effect and offering tips on what to say and do while performing it. Each card trick introduces a new mathematical idea, and varying the tricks in turn takes readers to the very threshold of today's mathematical knowledge. For example, the Gilbreath Principle--a fantastic effect where the cards remain in control despite being shuffled--is found to share an intimate connection with the Mandelbrot set. Other card tricks link to the mathematical secrets of combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, topology, the Riemann hypothesis, and even Fermat's last theorem.

The visual arts are rapidly changing as media moves into the web, mobile devices, and architecture. When designers and artists learn the basics of writing software, they develop a new form of literacy that enables them to create new media for the present, and to imagine future media that are beyond the capacities of current software tools. This book introduces this new literacy by teaching computer programming within the context of the visual arts. It offers a comprehensive reference and text for Processing (www.processing.org), an open-source programming language that can be used by students, artists, designers, architects, researchers, and anyone who wants to program images, animation, and interactivity. Written by Processing's cofounders, the book offers a definitive reference for students and professionals. Tutorial chapters make up the bulk of the book; advanced professional projects from such domains as animation, performance, and installation are discussed in interviews with their creators.This second edition has been thoroughly updated. It is the first book to offer in-depth coverage of Processing 2.0 and 3.0, and all examples have been updated for the new syntax. Every chapter has been revised, and new chapters introduce new ways to work with data and geometry. New \"synthesis\" chapters offer discussion and worked examples of such topics as sketching with code, modularity, and algorithms. New interviews have been added that cover a wider range of projects. \"Extension\" chapters are now offered online so they can be updated to keep pace with technological developments in such fields as computer vision and electronics.InterviewsSUE.C, Larry Cuba, Mark Hansen, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Jürg Lehni, LettError, Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman, Benjamin Maus, Manfred Mohr, Ash Nehru, Josh On, Bob Sabiston, Jennifer Steinkamp, Jared Tarbell, Steph Thirion, Robert Winter

This book is designed to show readers the concepts of Python 3 programming and the art of data visualization. It also explores cutting-edge techniques using ChatGPT/GPT-4 in harmony with Python for generating visuals that tell more compelling data stories. Chapter 1 introduces the essentials of Python, covering a vast array of topics from basic data types, loops, and functions to more advanced constructs like dictionaries, sets, and matrices. In Chapter 2, the focus shifts to NumPy and its powerful array operations, leading into data visualization using prominent libraries such as Matplotlib. Chapter 6 includes Seaborn's rich visualization tools, offering insights into datasets like Iris and Titanic. Further, the book covers other visualization tools and techniques, including SVG graphics, D3 for dynamic visualizations, and more. Chapter 7 covers information about the main features of ChatGPT and GPT-4, as well as some of their competitors. Chapter 8 contains examples of using ChatGPT in order to perform data visualization, such as charts and graphs that are based on datasets (e.g., the Titanic dataset). Companion files with code, datasets, and figures are available for downloading. From foundational Python concepts to the intricacies of data visualization, this book is ideal for Python practitioners, data scientists, and anyone in the field of data analytics looking to enhance their storytelling with data through visuals. It's also perfect for educators seeking material for teaching advanced data visualization techniques.

It has been ten years since video game giant Electronic Arts first releasedThe Sims, the best-selling game that allows its players to create a household and then manage every aspect of daily life within it. And since its debut, gamers young and old have found ways to \"mod\"The Sims, a practice in which gamers manipulate the computer code of a game, and thereby alter it to add new content and scenarios. InPlayers Unleashed!-the first study of its kind-Tanja Sihvonen provides a fascinating examination of modding, tracing its evolution and detailing its impact onThe Simsand the game industry as a whole. Along the way, Sihvonen shares insights into specific modifications and the cultural contexts from which they emerge.

As a convex relaxation of the rank minimization model, the nuclear norm minimization (NNM) problem has been attracting significant research interest in recent years. The standard NNM regularizes each singular value equally, composing an easily calculated convex norm. However, this restricts its capability and flexibility in dealing with many practical problems, where the singular values have clear physical meanings and should be treated differently. In this paper we study the weighted nuclear norm minimization (WNNM) problem, which adaptively assigns weights on different singular values. As the key step of solving general WNNM models, the theoretical properties of the weighted nuclear norm proximal (WNNP) operator are investigated. Albeit nonconvex, we prove that WNNP is equivalent to a standard quadratic programming problem with linear constrains, which facilitates solving the original problem with off-the-shelf convex optimization solvers. In particular, when the weights are sorted in a non-descending order, its optimal solution can be easily obtained in closed-form. With WNNP, the solving strategies for multiple extensions of WNNM, including robust PCA and matrix completion, can be readily constructed under the alternating direction method of multipliers paradigm. Furthermore, inspired by the reweighted sparse coding scheme, we present an automatic weight setting method, which greatly facilitates the practical implementation of WNNM. The proposed WNNM methods achieve state-of-the-art performance in typical low level vision tasks, including image denoising, background subtraction and image inpainting.

More than a decade ago, the research topic models@run.time was coined. Since then, the research area has received increasing attention. Given the prolific results during these years, the current outcomes need to be sorted and classified. Furthermore, many gaps need to be categorized in order to further develop the research topic by experts of the research area but also newcomers. Accordingly, the paper discusses the principles and requirements of models@run.time and the state of the art of the research line. To make the discussion more concrete, a taxonomy is defined and used to compare the main approaches and research outcomes in the area during the last decade and including ancestor research initiatives. We identified and classified 275 papers on models@run.time, which allowed us to identify the underlying research gaps and to elaborate on the corresponding research challenges. Finally, we also facilitate sustainability of the survey over time by offering tool support to add, correct and visualize data.

Costume Design for Video Games: An Exploration of Historical and Fantastical Skins explores the rich and colorful history of fashion throughout the ages. Each page goes into detail concerning the social significance of Iconic period pieces. From the real and the imagined, Costume Design for Video Games highlights the development of costumes and characters that pertain to plots, scenarios, and visionary goals, while also exploring silhouettes and the aesthetics of various eras. This survey of costume design for the video game market includes an exploration of the aesthetics of historical, fantasy, and futuristic influences.

Swendly Benilia shares with us simple and tangible tips and tricks to understanding and drawing FORCE across hundreds of drawings full of dunamism and energy! This book is an expellant companion to the FORCE brand since it delivers hundreds of FORCE drawings with succinct notations, filtered and approved by Mike Mattesi, about how to improve your FORCE drawing skills Key Features: Hundreds of dynamic FORCE drawing that inspire the reader to see and draw FORCE Succinct tips and tricks keep it light and educational The tips and tricks not only explain how but also why the drawings are successful. This is unique to the FORCE Drawing method Each page shares numerous drawing around a FORCE idea with a short paragraph to further clarify the FORCE tip or trick. Explaining to the reader why the drawings work increases their ability of achieving the same level of excellence Swendly Benilia is a professional character designer and illustrator. During his five years in the field he contributed with artwork for various game and publishing projects. Swendly also instructs FORCE Drawing. Michael Mattesi has authored four FORCE books, published in numerous languages, utilized around the world to inspire and educate artists on the concept of FORCE. He has instructed FORCE Drawing for over twenty years and inspired thousands of artists. Simultaneously, Michael has been contributing his skills as a professional artists on numerous award-winning projects in varied capacities and has collaborated with Pixar, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Consumer Products, Marvel Comics, Hasbro Toys, ABC, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, DreamWorks/PDI, Zynga, The School of Visual Arts, Beijing University, Art Center, Scuola Internazionale di Comics, San Jose State University. The Academy of Art University, Nickelodeoan, LeapFrog and many others. Micael’s students occupy all fields of the art industry and have themselves gained prestige for their abilities. Michael lives in northern California with his wife and two daughters. Visit him at: DrawingFORCE.com and connect with Michael on Facebook at: DrawingFORCE.com with Mike Mattesi or email him directly: mike@drawingforce.com Key Features Hundreds of dynamic FORCE drawings that inspire the reader to see and draw FORCE. Compact tips and tricks keep it light and educational. The tips and tricks explain how and why the drawings are successful. Explaining to the you why the drawings work increases your ability of achieving the same level of excellence. Chapter 1: FORCE Basics. Chapter 2: FORCE Form. Chapter 3: FORCE Shape. Learn from Mike Mattesi and Swendly Benilia at DrawingFORCE.com Swendly Benilia is a professional character designer and illustrator. During his five years in the field he contributed with artwork for various game and publishing projects. Swendly also instructs FORCE Drawing. Michael Mattesi has authored four FORCE books, published in numerous languages, utilized around the world to inspire and educate artists on the concept of FORCE. He has instructed FORCE Drawing for over twenty years. Simultaneously, Michael has been contributing his skills as a professional artist on numerous award-winning projects in Gaming, Animation and Advertising industries. Here is a short list of clients: Pixar, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Consumer Products, Marvel Comics, Hasbro Toys, ABC, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, DreamWorks/PDI, Zynga, Michael lives in northern California with his wife and two daughters. Visit him at: DrawingFORCE.com and connect with Michael on Facebook at: DrawingFORCE.com with Mike Mattesi or email him directly : mike@drawingforce.com

To maintain and understand large applications, it is important to know their architecture. The first problem is that unlike classes and packages, architecture is not explicitly represented in the code. The second problem is that successful applications evolve over time, so their architecture inevitably drifts. Reconstructing the architecture and checking whether it is still valid is therefore an important aid. While there is a plethora of approaches and techniques supporting architecture reconstruction, there is no comprehensive software architecture reconstruction state of the art and it is often difficult to compare the approaches. This paper presents a state of the art in software architecture reconstruction approaches.

We define perceived diversity as the diversity factors that individuals are born with. Perceived diversity in Software Engineering has been recognized as a high-value team property and companies are willing to increase their efforts to create more diverse work teams. The current diversity state-of-the-art shows that gender diversity studies have been growing during the past decade, and they have shown the benefits of including women in software teams. However, less is known about how other perceived diversity factors such as race, nationality, disability, and age of developers are related to Software Engineering. Through a systematic literature review, we aim to clarify the research area concerned with perceived diversity in Software Engineering. Our goal is to identify (1) what issues have been studied and what results have been reported; (2) what methods, tools, models, and processes have been proposed to help perceived diversity issues; and (3) what limitations have been reported when studying perceived diversity in Software Engineering. Furthermore, our ultimate goal is to identify gaps in the current literature and create a call for future action in perceived diversity in Software Engineering. Our results indicate that the individual studies have typically had a gender diversity perspective focusing on showing gender bias or gender differences instead of developing methods and tools to mitigate the gender diversity issues faced in SE. Moreover, perceived diversity aspects related to SE participants’ race, age, and disability need to be further analyzed in Software Engineering research. From our systematic literature review, we conclude that researchers need to consider a wider set of perceived diversity aspects for future research.