book announcement--Opper

[Jud Wolfskill]

I thought readers of the Connectionists List might be interested in this 
book.  For more information please visit 
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=5CEC3656-296C-4C48-B6E3-6BDFAC7EBADD&ttype=2&tid=3847

Best,
Jud

Advanced Mean Field Methods
Theory and Practice
edited by Manfred Opper and David Saad

A major problem in modern probabilistic modeling is the huge computational 
complexity involved in typical calculations with multivariate probability 
distributions when the number of random variables is large. Because exact 
computations are infeasible in such cases and Monte Carlo sampling 
techniques may reach their limits, there is a need for methods that allow 
for efficient approximate computations. One of the simplest approximations 
is based on the mean field method, which has a long history in statistical 
physics. The method is widely used, particularly in the growing field of 
graphical models.

Researchers from disciplines such as statistical physics, computer science, 
and mathematical statistics are studying ways to improve this and related 
methods and are exploring novel application areas. Leading approaches 
include the variational approach, which goes beyond factorizable 
distributions to achieve systematic improvements; the TAP 
(Thouless-Anderson-Palmer) approach, which incorporates correlations by 
including effective reaction terms in the mean field theory; and the more 
general methods of graphical models.

Bringing together ideas and techniques from these diverse disciplines, this 
book covers the theoretical foundations of advanced mean field methods, 
explores the relation between the different approaches, examines the 
quality of the approximation obtained, and demonstrates their application 
to various areas of probabilistic modeling.

Manfred Opper is a Reader and David Saad is Professor, the Neural Computing 
Research Group, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston 
University, UK.

7 x 10, 300 pp.
cloth ISBN 0-262-15054-9
Neural Information Processing series

Jud Wolfskill
Associate Publicist
MIT Press
5 Cambridge Center, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA  02142
617.253.2079
617.253.1709 fax
wolfskil at mit.edu