Ariel Amir is a Professor at Harvard University, Massachusetts. His research centers on the theory of complex systems.
'A remarkable demonstration that advanced topics need not be esoteric. Amir takes us through random walks on networks, extreme value statistics, Kramers theory, anomalous diffusion and other topics generally omitted from introductory texts, always rooting every discussion in applications of terrific current interest. I found the discussion of Levy-stable distributions especially insightful as a principled approach to the nonstandard walks that abound in contexts from biophysics to finance.' Philip C. Nelson, University of Pennsylvania