An account of the universal patterns that science now reveals. Patterns that can be traced from the formation of the stars, the evolution of minerals and of biological life on our planet, right through to the development of technology. It also looks at the strong directionality evidenced by our current understanding of the sciences. As well as the way that this may, very soon, have a profound and possibly catastrophic impact on our daily lives.
Captain Robert Cowley walked a deserted Pacific beach; it was pre-dawn, dark, and chilly. Suddenly, he heard a voice: "Robert, look up." He looked up and observed the faint glow of Mars and billions of stars. The voice spoke again: "Why anything. Why not nothing." Cowley, an archetypal on-and-off believer, wrote Why Anything-Why Not Nothing for atheists, theists, scientists, evolutionists, and more. He asks: are humans the remnants of a natural big bang that coalesced into a universe, or might we be the creation of a supernatural God? Asking difficult questions and challenging the bounds of human reason, logic and intelligence, he reviews Biblical science against modern science and the limitations inherent in matter; he seeks to understand how and why we are here. Cowley searches for answers in the cosmos and in the supernatural philosophy of two monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianity. He ponders with amazing intelligible lucidity: is evolution or God responsible for life.
How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognize and then deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous "smart" house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies? In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the keys to quashing a robot mutiny. From treating laser wounds to fooling face and speech recognition, besting robot logic to engaging in hand-to-pincer combat, How to Survive a Robot Uprising covers every possible doomsday scenario facing the newest endangered species: humans. And with its thorough overview of current robot prototypes-including giant walkers, insect, gecko, and snake robots-How to Survive a Robot Uprising is also a witty yet legitimate introduction to contemporary robotics. Full of charming illustrations, and referencing some of the most famous robots in pop-culture, How to Survive a Robot Uprising is a one-of-a-kind book that is sure to be a hit with all ages. How to Survive a Robot Uprising was named as an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Daniel H. Wilson is a Ph.D. candidate at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, where he has received master's degrees in Robotics and Data Mining. He has worked in top research laboratories, including Microsoft Research, the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and Intel Research Seattle. Daniel currently lives with several unsuspecting roommates in a fully wired smart house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is his first book. Two-color illustrations throughout. Click here to listen to an audio sample and to purchase the audiobook version of the title.
A book for nonbelievers who embrace the reality-driven life. We can't avoid the persistent questions about the meaning of life-and the nature of reality. Philosopher Alex Rosenberg maintains that science is the only thing that can really answer them—all of them. His bracing and ultimately upbeat book takes physics seriously as the complete description of reality and accepts all its consequences. He shows how physics makes Darwinian natural selection the only way life can emerge, and how that deprives nature of purpose, and human action of meaning, while it exposes conscious illusions such as free will and the self. The science that makes us nonbelievers provides the insight into the real difference between right and wrong, the nature of the mind, even the direction of human history. The Atheist's Guide to Reality draws powerful implications for the ethical and political issues that roil contemporary life. The result is nice nihilism, a surprisingly sanguine perspective atheists can happily embrace.
This is a text book for all doctors but especially GPs, appraisers and registrars. It is written by a 40 year plus front line NHS doctor who for most of his career worked twice to three times the current doctors’ Working Time Directive limited week. Chris Heath has been a Paediatric Lecturer in a teaching hospital, an Anaesthetist, various junior specialists and a GP over 30 years in 3 different practices. He has been a GP Trainer and Appraiser and has seen politics and political correctness harm patients’ interests constantly over the last half of his career. From the way it selects young doctors to the way they are educated and assessed, the best interests of the patient are largely ignored. This is a text book but it also contains home truths, insights and a warts and all appraisal of how to be a good doctor as well as an unbiased assessment of what is wrong with today’s NHS. It also explains why today’s politicians, medical schools and doctors will resist the changes that are needed to put the patients’ needs first again.
Good Practice: What it means to put the patient first, not politics, posturing, pretentiousness, protocols or process. This is a text book for all doctors but especially GPs, Appraisers and Registrars. It is written by a 40 year plus front line NHS doctor who for most of his career worked twice to three times the current doctors’ Working Time Directive limited week. Chris Heath has been a Paediatric Lecturer in a teaching hospital, an Anaesthetist, various junior specialists and a GP for over 30 years in 3 different practices. He has been a GP Trainer and Appraiser and has seen politics and political correctness harm patients’ interests constantly over the last half of his career. From the way the NHS selects young doctors to the way they are educated and assessed, the best interests of the patient are largely ignored. This is a text book but it also contains home truths, advice, insights and original, honest guidance on being a safe, effective doctor. As well as giving an assessment of what has gone wrong with the NHS over the last 20 years, the author explains why today’s politicians, medical schools, Royal Colleges and many doctors will resist the changes essential to put the patients’ needs first again. 1 Politics, Who we are, The CQC etc 2 Administration, Training, The Consultation and Teaching 3 Basic Biology 4 Acute Medicine in General Practice 5 Alcohol 6 Allergy 7 Analgesics 8 Anticoagulants, Clotting 9 The Breast 10 Cancer and Terminal Care 11 Cardiology 12 Useful Clinical Signs, Eponymous diseases 13 Dermatology 14 Diabetes, Metabolism 15 Diet, Vitamins and Nutrition 16 Driving 17 Odd drugs 18 Ear, Nose and Throat 19 Gastroenterology 20 Geriatrics 21 Haematology 22 Hormones 23 Immunisation and Vaccines 24 Infections, Antibiotics, Microbiota 25 Legal Issues 26 Liver 27 Miscellaneous 28 Musculoskeletal, Orthopaedics, Sports, NSAIDs 29 Neurology 30 Ophthalmology 31 Paediatrics 32 Pathology 33 Pregnancy, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Contraception 34 Psychiatry and Controlled Drugs 35 Respiratory 36 Sex and STDs 37 Sleep 38 Travel 39 Urology 40 Work References
Now with a new introduction for the Tor Essentials line, A Fire Upon the Deep is sure to bring a new generation of SF fans to Vinge's award-winning works. A Hugo Award-winning Novel! “Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today.”-David Brin Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures, and technology, can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence. Fleeing this galactic threat, Ravna crash lands on a strange world with a ship-hold full of cryogenically frozen children, the only survivors from a destroyed space-lab. They are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. Tor books by Vernor Vinge Zones of Thought Series A Fire Upon The Deep A Deepness In The Sky The Children of The Sky Realtime/Bobble Series The Peace War Marooned in Realtime Other Novels The Witling Tatja Grimm's World Rainbows End Collections Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge True Names At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A number of authors have noted that if some physical parameters were slightly changed, the universe could no longer support life, as we know it. This implies that life depends sensitively on the physics of our universe. Does this "fine-tuning" of the universe suggest that a creator god intentionally calibrated the initial conditions of the universe such that life on earth and the evolution of humanity would eventually emerge? In his in-depth and highly accessible discussion of this fascinating and controversial topic, the author looks at the evidence and comes to the opposite conclusion. He finds that the observations of science and our naked senses not only show no evidence for God, they provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that God does not exist.
A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of the Year A Guardian “Best Book about Ideas” of the Year No one likes to be bored. Two leading psychologists explain what causes boredom and how to listen to what it is telling you, so you can live a more engaged life. We avoid boredom at all costs. It makes us feel restless and agitated. Desperate for something to do, we play games on our phones, retie our shoes, or even count ceiling tiles. And if we escape it this time, eventually it will strike again. But what if we listened to boredom instead of banishing it? Psychologists James Danckert and John Eastwood contend that boredom isn’t bad for us. It’s just that we do a bad job of heeding its guidance. When we’re bored, our minds are telling us that whatever we are doing isn’t working—we’re failing to satisfy our basic psychological need to be engaged and effective. Too many of us respond poorly. We become prone to accidents, risky activities, loneliness, and ennui, and we waste ever more time on technological distractions. But, Danckert and Eastwood argue, we can let boredom have the opposite effect, motivating the change we need. The latest research suggests that an adaptive approach to boredom will help us avoid its troubling effects and, through its reminder to become aware and involved, might lead us to live fuller lives. Out of My Skull combines scientific findings with everyday observations to explain an experience we’d like to ignore, but from which we have a lot to learn. Boredom evolved to help us. It’s time we gave it a chance.
