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What to Think About Machines That Think: Today's Leading Thinkers on the Age of Machine Intelligence
by Mr John BrockmanAs the world becomes ever more dominated by technology, John Brockman’s latest addition to the acclaimed and bestselling “Edge Question Series” asks more than 175 leading scientists, philosophers, and artists: What do you think about machines that think? <P><P> The development of artificial intelligence has been a source of fascination and anxiety ever since Alan Turing formalized the concept in 1950. Today, Stephen Hawking believes that AI “could spell the end of the human race.” At the very least, its development raises complicated moral issues with powerful real-world implications—for us and for our machines. <P> In this volume, recording artist Brian Eno proposes that we’re already part of an AI: global civilization, or what TED curator Chris Anderson elsewhere calls the hive mind. And author Pamela McCorduck considers what drives us to pursue AI in the first place. <P> On the existential threat posed by superintelligent machines, Steven Pinker questions the likelihood of a robot uprising. Douglas Coupland traces discomfort with human-programmed AI to deeper fears about what constitutes “humanness.” Martin Rees predicts the end of organic thinking, while Daniel C. Dennett explains why he believes the Singularity might be an urban legend.
What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy
by James Paul GeeJames Paul Gee talks about his experience of learning and using video games. He looks at major specific cognitive activities - to develop a sense of identity, to grasp meanings, to pick a role model and to perceive the world.
What Was It Before It Got Wet? (What Was It?)
by Kristen McCurrySplash! This photo-guessing game challenges pre-readers to guess what something was before it got wet. The soggy, soaked, and soupy answers may be suprising!
What Was It Before It Melted? (What Was It?)
by Kristen McCurryGuess the melting mess! These photo puzzles challenge pre-readers to determine what items were before they melted. Gooey, oozing science mysteries!
What Was It Before It Was Cut? (What Was It?)
by Kristen McCurryChop, slice, snip! Take a guess to determine what each object was before it got cut. These photo puzzles require mental dissection to solve!
What Was It Before It Was Smashed? (What Was It?)
by Kristen McCurryCrush, crash, smash! Photo puzzles featuring mashed and mangled objects give pre-readers a mystery to solve...what was it before it got smashed?
What Was the Age of the Dinosaurs?
by Gregory Copeland Megan StineTravel back to the time when the mighty dinosaurs ruled the earth.The Age of Dinosaurs began about 250 million years ago. In the beginning they were quite small but over time they evolved into the varied and fascinating creatures that captivate our imaginations today. What we know about dinosaurs is evolving, too! We've learned that some dinosaurs were good parents, that dinosaurs could grow new teeth when old ones fell out, and that most dinosaurs walked on two legs. We've even discovered that birds are modern relatives of dinosaurs!From the Trade Paperback edition.
What Was the Hindenburg?
by Janet Pascal Kevin Mcveigh David GroffAt 800-feet long, the Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built--just slightly smaller than the Titanic! Also of a disastrous end, the zeppelin burst into flame as spectators watched it attempt to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937. In under a minute, the Hindenburg was gone, people jumping from windows to escape. However, only 62 of the 97 crew members and passengers onboard survived. The exact cause of the disaster is still unknown and remains a fascinating historical mystery perfect for this series.
What We Are: The Evolutionary Roots of Our Future
by Lonnie AarssenOther animals are driven to spend essentially their whole lives just trying to get fed, stay alive, and get laid. That’s about it. The same was true for our proto-human ancestors. And modern humans of course also require a Survival Drive and a Sex Drive in order to leave descendants. But today we spend most of our lives mainly just trying to convince ourselves that our existence is not absurd. In What We Are, Queen’s University biologist, Lonnie Aarssen, traces how our biocultural evolution has shaped Homo sapiens into the only creature that refuses to be what it is — the only creature preoccupied with a deeply ingrained, and absurd sentiment: I have a distinct ‘mental life’—an ‘inner self’—that exists separately and apart from ‘material life’, and so, unlike the latter, need not come to an end. This delusion conceivably gave our distant ancestors some wishful thinking for finding some measure of relief from the terrifying, uniquely human knowledge of the eventual loss of corporeal survival. But this came with an impulsive, nagging doubt — an obsessive underlying uncertainty: ‘self-impermanence anxiety’. Biocultural evolution, however, was not finished. It also gave us two additional, uniquely human, primal drives, both serving to help quell the burden of this anxiety. Legacy Drive generates delusional cultural domains for ‘extension’ of self; and Leisure Drive generates pleasurable cultural domains for distraction – ‘escape’ – from self. Legacy Drive and Leisure Drive, Aarssen argues, represent two of the most profound consequences of human cognitive and cultural evolution. What We Are advances propositions regarding how a visceral susceptibility to self-impermanence anxiety has — paradoxically — played a pivotal role in rewarding the reproductive success of our ancestors, and has thus been a driving force in shaping fundamental motivations and cultural norms of modern humans. More than any other milestone in the evolution of human minds, self-impermanence anxiety, and its mitigating Drives for Legacy and Leisure, account for not just the advance of civilization over the past many thousands of years, but also now, its impending collapse. Effective management of this crisis, Aarssen insists, will require a deeper and more broadly public understanding of its Darwinian evolutionary roots — as laid out in What We Are.
What We Become
by Jesse KarpTwo years ago, teenagers Mal and Laura destroyed a corporate empire intent on controlling human thinking through technology. For a while, life was good. But now a new force has arisen: the Old Man. He's hungry for power and he knows who holds the key to getting it: Mal. Mal needs his beloved Laura's help to defeat the Old Man, but is he willing to risk her life in another battle to save humanity? What We Become combines mind-bending thrills with the hot immediacy of corporate greed. It will leave readers wondering who is really in control...
What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty
by John BrockmanMore than one hundred of the world's leading thinkers write about things they believe in, despite the absence of concrete proof. Scientific theory, more often than not, is born of bold assumption, disparate bits of unconnected evidence, and educated leaps of faith. Some of the most potent beliefs among brilliant minds are based on supposition alone -- yet that is enough to push those minds toward making the theory viable. Eminent cultural impresario, editor, and publisher of Edge (www.edge.org), John Brockman asked a group of leading scientists and thinkers to answer the question: What do you believe to be true even though you cannot prove it? This book brings together the very best answers from the most distinguished contributors. Thought-provoking and hugely compelling, this collection of bite-size thought-experiments is a fascinating insight into the instinctive beliefs of some of the most brilliant minds today.
What We Believe but Cannot Prove
by Mr John BrockmanMore than one hundred of the world's leading thinkers write about things they believe in, despite the absence of concrete proofScientific theory, more often than not, is born of bold assumption, disparate bits of unconnected evidence, and educated leaps of faith. Some of the most potent beliefs among brilliant minds are based on supposition alone -- yet that is enough to push those minds toward making the theory viable.Eminent cultural impresario, editor, and publisher of Edge (www.edge.org), John Brockman asked a group of leading scientists and thinkers to answer the question: What do you believe to be true even though you cannot prove it? This book brings together the very best answers from the most distinguished contributors.Thought-provoking and hugely compelling, this collection of bite-size thought-experiments is a fascinating insight into the instinctive beliefs of some of the most brilliant minds today.
What We Know About Climate Change
by Kerry EmanuelA renowned climatologist—and political conservative—assesses current scientific understanding of climate change and sounds a call to action. The vast majority of scientists agree that human activity has significantly increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere—most dramatically since the 1970s. Yet global warming skeptics and ill-informed elected officials continue to dismiss this broad scientific consensus. In this new edition of his authoritative book, MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel—a political conservative—outlines the basic science of global warming and how the current consensus has emerged. He also covers two major developments that have occurred since the first edition: the most recent round of updated projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate simulations, and the so-called “climategate” incident that heralded the subsequent collapse of popular and political support in the United States for dealing with climate change.
What We Know About Extraterrestrial Intelligence
by Michael AshkenaziHave you ever wondered what could happen when we discover another communicating species outside the Earth? This book addresses this question in all its complexity. In addition to the physical barriers for communication, such as the enormous distances where a message can take centuries to reach its recipient, the book also examines the biological problems of communicating between species, the problems of identifying a non-Terrestrial intelligence, and the ethical, religious, legal and other problems of conducting discussions across light years. Most of the book is concerned with issues that could impinge on your life: how do we share experiences with ETI? Can we make shared laws? Could we trade? Would they have religion? The book addresses these and related issues, identifying potential barriers to communication and suggesting ways we can overcome them. The book explores this topic through reference to human experience, through analogy and thought experiment, while relying on what is known to-date about ourselves, our world, and the cosmos we live in.
What We Leave Behind
by Derrick Jensen Aric McbayWhat We Leave Behind is a piercing, impassioned guide to living a truly responsible life on earth. Human waste, once considered a gift to the soil, has become toxic material that has broken the essential cycle of decay and regeneration. Here, award-winning author Derrick Jensen and activist Aric McBay weave historical analysis and devastatingly beautiful prose to remind us that life--human and nonhuman--will not go on unless we do everything we can to facilitate the most basic process on earth, the root of sustainability: one being's waste must always become another being's food.
What We Owe The Future: The Sunday Times Bestseller
by William MacAskillThe challenges we face are enormous. But we can still secure a positive future for our planet, and for everyone on it. In What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill persuasively argues for longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the distant future is a moral priority of our time. It isn&’t enough to mitigate climate change or avert the next pandemic. We can ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed; cultivate value pluralism; and prepare for a planet where the most sophisticated beings are digital and not human. 'Unapologetically optimistic and bracingly realistic, this is the most inspiring book on &‘ethical living&’ I&’ve ever read.' Oliver Burkeman, Guardian &‘A monumental event.' Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind &‘A book of great daring, clarity, insight and imagination. To be simultaneously so realistic and so optimistic, and always so damn readable… well that is a miracle for which he should be greatly applauded.&’ Stephen Fry
What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky
by Kelsey OseidA richly illustrated guide to the myths, histories, and science of the celestial bodies of our solar system, with stories and information about constellations, planets, comets, the northern lights, and more. Combining art, mythology, and science, What We See in the Stars gives readers a tour of the night sky through more than 100 magical pieces of original art, all accompanied by text that weaves related legends and lore with scientific facts. This beautifully packaged book covers the night sky's most brilliant features--such as the constellations, the moon, the bright stars, and the visible planets--as well as less familiar celestial phenomena like the outer planets, nebulae, and deep space. Adults seeking to recapture the magic of youthful stargazing, younger readers interested in learning about natural history and outer space, and those who appreciate beautiful, hand-painted art will all delight in this charming book.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Books: The History and Future of Reading
by Leah PriceReports of the death of reading are greatly exaggeratedDo you worry that you've lost patience for anything longer than a tweet? If so, you're not alone. <P><P>Digital-age pundits warn that as our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the curiosity to look beyond the day's news, the willingness to be alone. <P><P>The shelves of the world's great libraries, though, tell a more complicated story. <P><P> Examining the wear and tear on the books that they contain, English professor Leah Price finds scant evidence that a golden age of reading ever existed. From the dawn of mass literacy to the invention of the paperback, most readers already skimmed and multitasked. <P><P>Print-era doctors even forbade the very same silent absorption now recommended as a cure for electronic addictions. The evidence that books are dying proves even scarcer. <P><P>In encounters with librarians, booksellers and activists who are reinventing old ways of reading, Price offers fresh hope to bibliophiles and literature lovers alike.
What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change
by Emily FalkA neuroscientist reveals the hidden calculations that shape our daily decisions—and how to make more fulfilling, impactful choices in our work, relationships, and lives. With so many competing priorities pulling us in different directions every day—family, friends, work, our health—it can feel difficult to make decisions that are aligned with what we care about most. Especially in the moment, we often default to the immediate demand, the path of least resistance, the worn old habit we wanted to change. In What We Value, pioneering scholar Emily Falk reveals how we can transform our relationship with the daily decisions that define our lives—opening pathways to make more purposeful, fulfilling choices; more successfully change our behavior; and influence others to see differently—by thinking like neuroscientists. Drawing on her own award-winning research, Falk introduces readers to a new paradigm for understanding why we, and those around us, do what we do. This is the value calculation: the often-subconscious mechanism by which the brain computes our everyday choices. By learning how it works, Falk shows, we can learn to work more strategically with it—whether we want to embrace new activities and behaviors, connect more meaningfully with others, or become more effective leaders in our organizations and communities. With captivating stories of star comedians, journalists, sports legends, and more, Falk demonstrates how we can change what we think just by changing what we think about; get less defensive by connecting with our core values; and seed innovation by seeking out different perspectives. Whether deciding on something as small as what to eat for lunch or as big as what career to pursue, we can have more agency and flexibility than we might think. What We Value is a groundbreaking guide to finding new possibilities in our choices—and the lives we ultimately make with them.
What Would Animals Say If We Asked the Right Questions? (Posthumanities #38)
by Vinciane Despret&“You are about to enter a new genre, that of scientific fables, by which I don&’t mean science fiction, or false stories about science, but, on the contrary, true ways of understanding how difficult it is to figure out what animals are up to.&” —Bruno Latour, form the ForewordIs it all right to urinate in front of animals? What does it mean when a monkey throws its feces at you? Do apes really know how to ape? Do animals form same-sex relations? Are they the new celebrities of the twenty-first century? This book poses twenty-six such questions that stretch our preconceived ideas about what animals do, what they think about, and what they want.In a delightful abecedarium of twenty-six chapters, Vinciane Despret argues that behaviors we identify as separating humans from animals do not actually properly belong to humans. She does so by exploring incredible and often funny adventures about animals and their involvements with researchers, farmers, zookeepers, handlers, and other human beings. Do animals have a sense of humor? In reading these stories it is evident that they do seem to take perverse pleasure in creating scenarios that unsettle even the greatest of experts, who in turn devise newer and riskier hypotheses that invariably lead them to conclude that animals are not nearly as dumb as previously thought.These deftly translated accounts oblige us, along the way, to engage in both ethology and philosophy. Combining serious scholarship with humor that will resonate with anyone, this book—with a foreword by noted French philosopher, anthropologist, and sociologist of science Bruno Latour—is a must not only for specialists but also for general readers, including dog owners, who will never look at their canine companions the same way again.
What Would It Take to Build a Deflector Shield? (Sci-Fi Tech)
by Roberta BaxterIn science fiction, deflector shields protect ships, bases, and even planets from enemy attack. How could a protective space that absorbs energy from weapons be created? Scientists have some ideas, which include using lasers. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life deflector shield!
What Would It Take to Build a Time Machine? (Sci-Fi Tech)
by Yvette LaPierreIn science fiction, time machines let people travel backward in history and forward to the future. How could one of these time-traveling devices be created? Scientists have some ideas, which include using spaceships and black holes. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life time machine!
What Would It Take to Make a Flying Car? (Sci-Fi Tech)
by Megan Ray DurkinIn science fiction, flying cars let people soar over traffic jams and get to where they're going quickly. How could a vehicle that both flies and drives be created? Scientists' ideas for this involve futuristic materials and technology from drones. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life flying car!
What Would It Take to Make a Hoverboard? (Sci-Fi Tech)
by Anita Nahta AminIn science fiction, hoverboard users glide above sidewalks on machines that look like skateboards with no wheels. How could one of these floating boards be created? Scientists have some ideas, which include using powerful magnets. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life hoverboard!
What Would It Take to Make a Jet Pack? (Sci-Fi Tech)
by Anita Nahta AminIn science fiction, jet packs let people zoom through the air at high speeds. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life jet pack!