Dr. Yakov Isaevich Khurgin (Russian: Яков Исаевич Хургин) is professor of mathematics at the Chair of Applied Mathematics at the Gubkin Institute of the Petrolium and Gas Industry. He has written over a hundred scientific papers in pure and applied mathematics and has been particularly productive in the fields of radioengineering, radiophysics, cybernetics, neurophysiology and psychiatry. At the present time, Professor Khurgin heads the laboratory of applied mathematics. He is also a member of the USSR National Committee of Automatic Control. His extensive knowledge and wide range of activitieshave helped to make his popular-science book a great success