Catastrophe Theory

Date: 11/20/95 at 21:46:54
From: Anonymous
Subject: Catastrophe Theory

Hey guys.  I'm in a precarious situation.  For a math/science
research paper, my topic of choice is Catastrophe Theory. 
It would be appreciated if you would help me find references on
the subject that would be available to me through the Internet.
My only references so far are two books by A.E.R. Woodcock, one of the
pioneers of the field.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

                            Thomas Walsh - Cocco155@aol.com

Date: 11/20/95 at 22:25:42
From: Doctor Sarah
Subject: Re: Catastrophe Theory

Hi there -

Check out Rene Thom (Sept 2 1923 - ) on the Web at

  http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Thom.html   

"Thom is known for his development of catastrophe theory, a mathematical 
treatment of continuous action producing a discontinuous result. 

Thom's theory is an attempt to describe, in a way that is impossible 
using differential calculus, those situations in which gradually 
changing forces lead to so-called catastrophes, or abrupt changes.  The 
theory has widespread application in the physical and biological 
sciences and in the social sciences. 

Presented by Thom in Structural Stability and Morphogenesis (1972), the 
theory has been developed by many mathematicians. 

His earlier work had made him well known before he worked on catastrophe 
theory.  His work on topology, in particular as one of the early 
developers of cobordism, was very important."

Also:

Catastrophe Theory Semantics
   http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/gasser/Grounding/port_comments.txt   

Peter Bogh Andersen's Homepage 
   http://imv.aau.dk/~pba/   

An Introduction to Catastrophe Theory (Saunders)
    http://www.cup.org/Titles/23/052123042X.html   

Abstract: The Discontinuity of Human Existence. Parts I & II.  
   http://www.psl.ku.dk:80/~ccrc/ole_elstrup_abstract_1.html   
   http://www.psl.ku.dk:80/~ccrc/ole_elstrup_abstract_2.html   

To find more sites, search the WWW using MetaCrawler at
   http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/index.html   

-Doctor Sarah,  The Geometry Forum