A Looking-glass Tragedy by Christopher Booker
A basic principle governing the boundary behaviour of holomorphic func- tions (and harmonic functions) is this: Under certain growth conditions, for almost every point in the boundary of the domain, these functions ad- mit a boundary limit, if we approach the bounda-ry point within certain approach regions. For example, for bounded harmonic functions in the open unit disc, the natural approach regions are nontangential triangles with one vertex in the boundary point, and entirely contained in the disc Fat06]. In fact, these natural approach regions are optimal, in the sense that convergence will fail if we approach the boundary inside larger regions, having a higher order of contact with the boundary. The first theorem of this sort is due to J. E. Littlewood Lit27], who proved that if we replace a nontangential region with the rotates of any fixed tangential curve, then convergence fails. In 1984, A. Nagel and E. M. Stein proved that in Euclidean half- spaces (and the unit disc) there are in effect regions of convergence that are not nontangential: These larger approach regions contain tangential sequences (as opposed to tangential curves). The phenomenon discovered by Nagel and Stein indicates that the boundary behaviour of ho)omor- phic functions (and harmonic functions), in theorems of Fatou type, is regulated by a second principle, which predicts the existence of regions of convergence that are sequentially larger than the natural ones.
As a noted commentator on the political, social and psychological history of our time, Christopher Booker has in recent years, through his weekly Sunday Telegraph column, become the most conspicuous 'global warming sceptic' in the British press. He has based his view on exhaustive research into the scientific evidence for and against the theory of 'man-made climate change'.
His professional interest in this issue grew out of research for his previous book Scared To Death, co-written with Dr Richard North, a study of the 'scare phenomenon' which has been such a prominent feature of Western life in recent decades. Booker's other recent books have included The Seven Basic Plots, a best-selling analysis of why we tell stories which has established itself as a standard text (also published by Continuum). He has been an author and journalist for nearly 50 years, and was the founding editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye.
His professional interest in this issue grew out of research for his previous book Scared To Death, co-written with Dr Richard North, a study of the 'scare phenomenon' which has been such a prominent feature of Western life in recent decades. Booker's other recent books have included The Seven Basic Plots, a best-selling analysis of why we tell stories which has established itself as a standard text (also published by Continuum). He has been an author and journalist for nearly 50 years, and was the founding editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780715627389 |
| ISBN 10 | 0715627384 |
| Title | A Looking-glass Tragedy |
| Author | Christopher Booker |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Duckworth Overlook |
| Year published | 1997-11-27 |
| Number of pages | 356 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |