Libros de Biografías y estudios de científicos, página 9 de 25

Machine Readable Me considers how and why data that is gathered about us is increasingly limiting what we can and can t do in our lives and crucially what the alternatives are

In recent decades we have witnessed an explosion in the number of visual images we encounter as our lives have become increasingly saturated with screens From Google Images to Instagram video games to installation art this transformation is confusing liberating and worrying all at once since observing the new visuality of culture is not the same as understanding it Nicholas Mirzoeff is a leading figure in the field of visual culture which aims to make sense of this extraordinary explosion of visual experiences As Mirzoeff reminds us this is not the first visual revolution the 19th century saw the invention of film photography and x rays and the development of maps microscopes and telescopes made the 17th century an era of visual discovery But the sheer quantity of images produced on the internet today has no parallels In the first book to define visual culture for the general reader Mirzoeff draws on art history theory and everyday experience to provide an engaging and accessible overview of how visual materials shape and define our lives

Lucinda Douglas Menzies Photo Researchers

Ray Kurzweil one of the world s leading AI researchers innovators and futurists offers a provocative exploration of the most important project in human machine civilisation reverse engineering the brain to understand precisely how it works and using that knowledge to create even more intelligent machines

A leading philosopher seeks to recover common sense as a meeting place to reconcile science and philosophy With her previous books on Alfred North Whitehead Isabelle Stengers not only secured a reputation as one of the premier philosophers of our times but also inspired a rethinking of critical theory political thought and radical philosophy across a range of disciplines Here Stengers unveils what might well be seen as her definitive reading of Whitehead Making Sense in Common will be greeted eagerly by the growing group of scholars who use Stengers s work on Whitehead as a model for how to think with conceptual precision through diverse domains of inquiry environmentalism and ecology animal studies media and technology studies the history and philosophy of science feminism and capitalism On the other hand the significance of this new book extends beyond Whitehead Instead it lies in Stengers s recovery of the idea of common sense as a meeting place a commons where opposed ideas of science and humanistic inquiry can engage one another and help to move society forward Her reconciliation of science and philosophy is especially urgent today when climate disaster looms all around us when the values of what we thought of as civilization and modernity ar

A critical examination of the figure of the neural network as it mediates neuroscientific and computational discourses and technical practices Neural Networks proposes to reconstruct situated practices social histories mediating techniques and ontological assumptions that inform the computational project of the same name If so called machine learning comprises a statistical approach to pattern extraction then neural networks can be defined as a biologically inspired model that relies on probabilistically weighted neuron like units to identify such patterns Far from signaling the ultimate convergence of human and machine intelligence however neural networks highlight the technologization of neurophysiology that characterizes virtually all strands of neuroscientific and AI research of the past century Taking this traffic as its starting point this volume explores how cognition came to be constructed as essentially computational in nature to the point of underwriting a technologized view of human biology psychology and sociability and how countermovements provide resources for thinking otherwise

A brilliantly original exploration of humanity s intimate relationship with technology from the emergence of our species to the emergence of AI and beyond

It may be surprising to focus on and praise imperfection but in reality perfection is a fiction Every aspect of our technologies is based on understanding and exploiting imperfections in the materials we use Imperfections are key to our use of metals glass electronics computers optical fibres and building materials Catalysis as used throughout chemical industries is dependent on imperfections as are a wide range of modern advances in biology and medicine This book provides examples in each area that are readily understandable to non scientists but also aim to offer a far deeper insight into how the technologies and disciplines advance and operate However once we change our focus from idealised perfection to reality the implications can extend far beyond the realm of the sciences The second part of the book examines the importance of our ability to recognise and adapt to imperfections in such wide ranging areas as cookery successful career development love life and the survival of humanity Using a broad range of accessible examples this book aims to give readers the tools to recognize technological imperfections and apply those lessons to improving several key aspects of our lives crucially enabling them to define a world that will survive curre

We live in the suburban era Well over half of all Americans and two thirds of Canadians live in suburbs Tracts of suburban bungalows ring Sydney and Melbourne Suburban apartments rise on the outskirts of Paris Prague Singapore and Beijing Nearly everyone has a strong opinion about suburbs Folks who love dense cities scorn suburbia while people who like big yards dislike bustling sidewalks and subways Social scientists argue whether contemporary suburbs are losing their luster or if a supposed back to the city trend is a mirage a debate that has been exacerbated by uncertainty over the effects of COVID 19 Suburbs A Very Short Introduction tackles two central questions What is the history behind a suburbanizing world What does the suburban trend mean for society politics and culture Two chapters describe the ways that the new technologies of streetcars trains automobiles and internet have allowed the compact cities of Britain and the United States to grow into sprawling metropolitan regions The following chapters explore the vertical suburbs of Europe and East Asia improvised or do it yourself suburbs in both North America Latin America and suburbs as places of employment The book concludes by exploring criticism and praise of suburbs in popular

fascinating Brian CoxThis is the story of citizen science Where once astronomers sat at the controls of giant telescopes in remote locations praying for clear skies now they have no need to budge from their desks as data arrives in their inbox And what they receive is overwhelming projects now being built provide more data in a few nights than in the whole of humanity s history of observing the Universe It s not just astronomy either dealing with this deluge of data is the major challenge for scientists at CERN and for biologists who use automated cameras to spy on animals in their natural habitats Artificial intelligence is one part of the solution but will it spell the end of human involvement in scientific discovery No argues Chris Lintott We humans still have unique capabilities to bring to bear our curiosity our capacity for wonder and most importantly our capacity for surprise It seems that humans and computers working together do better than computers can on their own But with so much scientific data you need a lot of scientists a crowd in fact Lintott found such a crowd in the Zooniverse the web based project that allows hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic volunteers to contribute to science In this book Lintott describes the exci

M Murphy examines the ways in which efforts at population control since World War II have tied reproduction to neoliberal capitalism showing how data collection practices have been used to quantify the value of a human life in terms of its ability to improve the nation state s gross domestic product

An accessible practical and ultimately inspiring book that not only serves as a much needed call to arms to end the plastic pandemic but gives useful tools on how to make meaningful change in our everyday lives and advice on how to demand long lasting action

Praise for the previous edition A relaxed well written and information packed expedition discovering the history of eclipses The Sky at NightA complete guide to the most stunning of celestial sights a total eclipse of the Sun Totality The Great North American Eclipse of 2024 is the most comprehensive source of information photographs and illustrations to help readers understand and safely enjoy all aspects of solar eclipses It includes information on how best to photograph and video record an eclipse as well as abundant maps diagrams and charts as well as covering the science history mythology and folklore of eclipses This new edition focuses especially on the eclipse of April 8 2024 that passes across Mexico the United States and Canada including detailed maps precise locations and weather prospects

Peter Russell argues that global communications and the internet are helping to link the minds of humanity together to form a single global brain and consciousness with remarkable potential

While the working lives of tech entrepreneurs and delivery platform workers seem far removed both are engaged in digital labor What unites their experience and allows us to speak of their work under the same umbrella Is it even possible to talk about digital labor as if it were a single form of work Digital Labor explores these questions and critically examines the economics politics and experiences of workers in these new modes of employment Using a novel definition of the term digital labor Kylie Jarrett explores unpaid user activity platform mediated gig work and formal employment within the digital media industries mapping the common features of these varied practices Applying a critical Marxian lens the book interrogates the structures of exploitation in this sector the organisation of the labor process the dynamics of alienation associated with this work and the commodification of workers lives It also documents the struggle of digital laborers to resist the iniquities and inequalities of their working environments Ultimately the book identifies what is specific about this form of labor and in doing so offers insight into the nature of work as it is being reconstituted in digital capitalism Synthesising an extensive range of studies and s

Enchanting to the point of escapism Simon Ings Spectator Hugh Aldersey Williams rescues his subject from Newton s shadow where he was been unjustly confined for over three hundred years Literary Review Filled with incident discovery and revelation Dutch Light is a vivid account of Christiaan Huygens s remarkable life and career but it is also nothing less than the story of the birth of modern science as we know it Europe s greatest scientist during the latter half of the seventeenth century Christiaan Huygens was a true polymath A towering figure in the fields of astronomy optics mechanics and mathematics many of his innovations in methodology optics and timekeeping remain in use to this day Among his many achievements he developed the theory of light travelling as a wave invented the mechanism for the pendulum clock and discovered the rings of Saturn via a telescope that he had also invented A man of fashion and culture Christiaan came from a family of multi talented individuals whose circle included not only leading figures of Dutch society but also artists and philosophers such as Rembrandt Locke and Descartes The Huygens family and their contemporaries would become key actors in the Dutch Golden Age a time of unprecedented intelle

A comprehensive overview of developments in augmented reality virtual reality and mixed reality and how they could affect every part of our lives

Is the automobility regime experiencing a transition towards sustainability To answer that question this book investigates stability and change in contemporary transport systems It makes a socio technical analysis of transport systems exploring the strategies and beliefs of crucial actors such as car manufacturers local and national governments citizens car drivers transport planners and civil society Two guiding questions are Will we see a greening of cars based on technological innovations that sustain the existing car based system Or is something more radical desirable and likely such as the development of travel regimes in which car use is less dominant

Discover the future of cybersecurity through the eyes of the world s first augmented ethical hacker In Human Hacked My Life and Lessons as the World s First Augmented Ethical Hacker by Len Noe a pioneering cyborg with ten microchips implanted in his body you ll find a startlingly insightful take on the fusion of biology and technology The author provides a groundbreaking discussion of bio implants cybersecurity threats and defenses Human Hacked offers a comprehensive guide to understanding an existing threat that is virtually unknown How to implement personal and enterprise cybersecurity measures in an age where technology transcends human limits and any person you meet might be augmented The book provides Exposure of a subculture of augmented humans hiding in plain sight Explorations of the frontier of bio Implants showing you the latest advancements in the tech and how it paves the way for access to highly restricted technology areas Discussions of cybersecurity tactics allowing you to gain in depth knowledge of phishing social engineering MDM restrictions endpoint management and more to shield yourself and your organization from unseen threats A deep understanding of the legal and ethical landscape of bio implants as it dives into the complexities

A global energy revolution is unfolding before our eyes ever growing numbers of electric vehicles on our roads laptops that last all day on a single charge and solar panels on our roofs all reliant on lithium ion batteries This revolution is happening at breath taking speed with the potential to completely transform key industries and the way we live For the first time in history we can now actually store this green energy we talk so much about Often referred to as the new oil lithium allows large amounts of energy to be squeezed into a very small space Demand is soaring and the lithium business is full of drama bitter rivalries shady deals and exceptionally talented visionaries such as Elon Musk who is building lithium battery giga factories across the world This book travels from the salt lakes of the Tibetan plateau where Chinese government linked companies extract lithium to Argentina Chile and Bolivia which hold the world s biggest resources of the mineral It reveals superpowers struggle to secure strategic supplies and the astonishing efforts of lone wolf inventors and entrepreneurs Lithium also explores the environmental impact of lithium extraction the limits to battery electrification and lithium battery recycling as the way forward