Quite apart from the fact that percolation theory had its ongm in an honest applied problem, it is a source of fascinating problems of the best kind for which a mathematician can wish: problems which are easy to state with a minimum of preparation, but whose solutions are apparently difficult and require new methods. At the same time, many of the prob- lems are of interest to or proposed by statistical physicists and not dreamed up merely to demonstrate ingenuity. Much progress has been made in recent years, and many of the open problems of ten years aga have been solved. With such solutions we have seen the evolution of new techniques and questions; the consequent knowledge has shifted the ground under percolation, and it is time to examine afresh the mathematics of the subject. The quantity of literature related to percolation seems to grow hour by hour, mostly in the physics journals. It is becoming increasingly diffi- cult to get to know the subject from scratch, and one of the principal purposes of this book is to remedy this. This book is about the mathematics of percolation theory, with the emphasis upon presenting the shortest rigorous proofs of the main facts.
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