Some comments on the Slater number

Some Comments on C. S. Wallace's Random Number Generators

We outline some of Chris Wallace’s contributions to pseudo-random number generation. In particular, we consider his recent idea for generating normally distributed variates without relying on a source of uniform random numbers, and compare it with more conventional methods for generating normal random numbers. Implementations of Wallace’s idea can be very fast (approximately as fast as good uni...

Some comments on the cuff.

This issue of RESPIRATORY CARE includes a detailed study of a novel device to maintain a stable pressure within the cuff of an endotracheal tube (ETT).1 Why all the bother? Why do ETTs need cuffs anyway? These seem like silly questions on the surface. A certain level of occlusion between the tracheal wall and the ETT is necessary for positive-pressure ventilation. But what level of occlusion is...

Some Comments on Qis3

Some Comments on Professor

In a recent issue, this journal published an article by Professor Robert S. Summers reviewing and commenting critically upon a recent book by Professor H. L. A. Hart of Oxford entitled The Concept of Law. Among other things, Professor Summers criticized Professor Hart for stressing rules to the neglect of other elements of a legal system and for succumbing to reductionist tendencies in the anal...

Some Comments on Physical Mathematics

These are some thoughts that accompany a talk delivered at the APS Savannah meeting, April 5, 2014. I have serious doubts about whether I deserve to be awarded the 2014 Heineman Prize. Nevertheless, I thank the APS and the selection committee for their recognition of the work I have been involved in, as well as the Heineman Foundation for its continued support of Mathematical Physics. Above all...