The twin themes of computational complexity and information pervade this
book. It starts with an introduction to information-based complexity,
that is, the computational complexity of continuous mathematical models.
It then moves to a variety of topics, including breaking the curse of
dimensionality, complexity of path integration, solvability of ill-posed
problems, value of information in computation, assigning values to
mathematical hypotheses, and mathematical finance. The style is
informal, and the goal is motivation and insight. Precise statements and
proofs can be found in the monographs and papers included in the
comprehensive bibliography. The book will be essential reading for
researchers in the many disciplines influenced by the computational
complexity of continuous problems.