Marie, eight months pregnant and grieving the loss of her parter, has fallen from grace in Nirvana. Recently a hardworking, privileged member of society, a chain of events has reduced her to nothing more than an estate rat and a drain on the system. Under the oppressive boot heel of poverty—like all people on the estate—Marie battles the challenges of surviving the expansive gap between the two social classes. But Marie has one advantage ... she has indisputable evidence that could bring down the company controlling the public, and grant a better life to her and her new peers. A daily witness to the corruption and greed that victimise and exploit the poor, she has to decide if she should use her evidence to try to shape a better world for those around her and that of her unborn child. But with just weeks until she’s due to give birth, she will have to deal with unwanted attention from those she proposes to take down ... attention that could end hers and her child’s life. New Reality 3: Fear is a tale of dystopian horror.
A New Reality: Human Evolution for a Sustainable Future provides a startling, fresh new message of understanding, perspective and hope for today’s tense, rapid-fire, kaleidoscopically changing world. A New Reality: Human Evolution for a Sustainable Future provides a startling, fresh new message of understanding, perspective and hope for today’s tense, rapid-fire, kaleidoscopically changing world. Drawn from the writings of visionary scientist Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, extended and developed by his son Jonathan, the message of the book explodes from the past and sheds light on tensions that besiege us and the currents of discord that are raging as these words are written. More importantly, it indicates a way forward out of our current situation. Written by a world-famous doctor and folk hero, based on population data, rich in visual imagery, elegantly designed, and clearly written, A New Reality is unique in the marketplace. Readable in one or two sittings, it is accessible to the general reader while at the same time being of essential value to policy makers and academics. Its brevity and simplicity of design belie the importance and sophistication of its message. “We are at a point in the course of human social evolution when the demands of survival converge with the higher ideals of humankind and the well-being and flourishing of human society. It is up to us to see that we navigate this transition, adapting to and emerging in a new reality.” —A New Reality Our country is divided and polarized. Terrorism is a major threat throughout much of the world. Mass migrations are causing national and international tension. Population growth continues to increase, especially in the developing regions of the world. Controversy rages as to the use of fossil fuels versus the development of alternative forms of energy. Disagreement continues about climate change. Opposing currents of opinion collide as to how much we should help other areas in the world and how much to help ourselves. Basic values are in conflict. More than 40 years ago, Jonas Salk understood that we are at a unique moment in the history of the human species. After centuries of increase, population growth has begun to slow and is trending toward equilibrium. This change is accompanied by an equally significant change in human values—a shift from those based on unlimited availability of resources, unremitting growth, excess, independence, competition and short-term thinking to those based on limits, equilibrium, balance, interdependence, cooperation and long-term thinking. This momentous transition is the source of far-reaching tension and conflict. The way through this difficult era is to understand its basis and to focus on new values that will be of the greatest benefit to humankind. There is an urgency, however, and failure to adapt will result in disaster both for humanity and for the planet as a whole. A New Reality delivers a message of both caution and hope. Readers across the social and political spectrum will find it a reasoned and balanced counterpoint to current social and political trends. Its elegant design and long-range perspective will appeal to general readers, policy makers, millennials, baby boomers, teachers, and students, filling a need in the marketplace for a work of positivity and wisdom in otherwise bleak times.
In this comprehensive, sociorhetorical interpretation of Colossians, Roy R. Jeal explores the letter’s portrayal of the grand vision that extends from the realm of God before the creation of the cosmos to the new reality and new culture of the life of fullness in Christ. The commentary analyzes the pictures the text evokes in the human visual imagination, identifies the persuasive modes of discourse in the letter, and evaluates the range of textures that interweave to produce the dynamic rhetorical argument of Colossians. Demands to conform to “empty deceitful philosophy, human tradition, and the elements of the world” rather than to Christ are irrelevant for believers who have been transferred from darkness to the light of the Son of God’s kingdom. The rhetoric of the letter moves believers to ideologies of living in the body of Christ where orderly behavior guided by love contrasts with the chaotic, self-indulgent, divisive uncertainties of Mediterranean existence.
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought us to the precipice of a new age where we struggle to understand what is real, from advanced CGI in movies to even faking the news. AI that was developed to understand our reality is now being used to create its own reality. In this book we look at the many AI techniques capable of generating new realities. We start with the basics of deep learning. Then we move on to autoencoders and generative adversarial networks (GANs). We explore variations of GAN to generate content. The book ends with an in-depth look at the most popular generator projects. By the end of this book you will understand the AI techniques used to generate different forms of content. You will be able to use these techniques for your own amusement or professional career to both impress and educate others around you and give you the ability to transform your own reality into something new. What You Will Learn Know the fundamentals of content generation from autoencoders to generative adversarial networks (GANs) Explore variations of GAN Understand the basics of other forms of content generation Use advanced projects such as Faceswap, deepfakes, DeOldify, and StyleGAN2 Who This Book Is For Machine learning developers and AI enthusiasts who want to understand AI content generation techniques
This clearly explained layman's introduction to quantum physics is an accessible excursion into metaphysics and the meaning of reality. Herbert exposes the quantum world and the scientific and philosophical controversy about its interpretation.
Nirvana. A city of opportunity and excess; where a person’s rights and freedoms are staunchly protected... unless you’re from the Estate. Those from the estate live in abject poverty and are victimised by all of those around them for entertainment. In Nirvana, having a child out of wedlock is a one way ticket to the Estate. Marie has hidden her pregnancy from those around her where she works for the corporation contracted by justice department to watch criminals logged into New Reality. But something isn’t right about the way the Rixon Corporation is being run. If Marie can uncover the corruption before the justice department does, keeping her mouth shut could be worth the cost of a marriage certificate. But if she gets it wrong, not only will she end up having to raise a child on the Estate, but she’ll face the wrath of one of the most powerful corporations in all of Nirvana... New Reality is a science fiction dystopian novel where the female protagonist does all she can to survive.
The Microsoft interdisciplinary scientist largely credited with popularizing virtual reality reflects on his lifelong relationship with technology, showing VR's ability to illuminate and amplify our understanding of our species and how the brain and body connect to the world. By the author of You Are Not a Gadget. --Publisher.
Clinical musings on the nature of reality and “known experience.” Therapists must rely on their clients’ reporting of experience in order to assess, treat, and offer help. Yet we all experience the world through various filters of one sort or another, and our experiences are transformed through several nonconscious processes before reaching our conscious awareness. Science, philosophy, and wisdom traditions share the belief that our awareness is very restricted. How, then, can anyone accurately report their experience, let alone get help with it? Neuropsychologist Aldrich Chan examines how our experience of reality is assembled and shaped by biological, psychological, sociocultural, and existential processes. Each chapter explores processes within these domains that may act as “veils.” Topics in the book include: the default mode network, cognitive distortions, decision-making heuristics, the interconnected mind, memory, and cultural concepts of distress. By understanding the ways in which reality can be distorted, clinicians can more effectively help their clients reach their personal psychotherapeutic goals.
Named a Best Nonfiction Book of 2022 by Esquire A sociological study of reality TV that explores its rise as a culture-dominating medium—and what the genre reveals about our attitudes toward race, gender, class, and sexuality What do we see when we watch reality television? In True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, the sociologist and TV-lover Danielle J. Lindemann takes a long, hard look in the “funhouse mirror” of this genre. From the first episodes of The Real World to countless rose ceremonies to the White House, reality TV has not just remade our entertainment and cultural landscape (which it undeniably has). Reality TV, Lindemann argues, uniquely reflects our everyday experiences and social topography back to us. Applying scholarly research—including studies of inequality, culture, and deviance—to specific shows, Lindemann layers sharp insights with social theory, humor, pop cultural references, and anecdotes from her own life to show us who we really are. By taking reality TV seriously, True Story argues, we can better understand key institutions (like families, schools, and prisons) and broad social constructs (such as gender, race, class, and sexuality). From The Bachelor to Real Housewives to COPS and more (so much more!), reality programming unveils the major circuits of power that organize our lives—and the extent to which our own realities are, in fact, socially constructed. Whether we’re watching conniving Survivor contestants or three-year-old beauty queens, these “guilty pleasures” underscore how conservative our society remains, and how steadfastly we cling to our notions about who or what counts as legitimate or “real.” At once an entertaining chronicle of reality TV obsession and a pioneering work of sociology, True Story holds up a mirror to our society: the reflection may not always be pretty—but we can’t look away.
