He begins with Copernicus, during the Renaissance, when science replaced mysticism as a means of explaining the workings of the world, and he continues through the centuries, creating an unbroken genealogy of not only the greatest but also the more obscure names of Western science, a dot-to-dot line linking amateur to genius, and accidental discovery to brilliant deduction.By focusing on the scientists themselves, Gribbin has written an anecdotal narrative enlivened with stories of personal drama, success and failure. A bestselling science writer with an international reputation, Gribbin is among the few authors who could even attempt a work of this magnitude. Praised as “a sequence of witty, information-packed tales” and “a terrifi c read” by The Times upon its recent British publication, The Scientists breathes new life into such venerable icons as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Linus Pauling, as well as lesser lights whose stories have been undeservedly neglected. Filled with pioneers, visionaries, eccentrics and madmen, this is the history of science as it has never been told before.From the Hardcover edition.

    Here is an altogether new, refreshing, alternative history of math revealing how simple questions anyone might ask about space -- in the living room or in some other galaxy -- have been the hidden engine of the highest achievements in science and technology. Based on Mlodinow's extensive historical research; his studies alongside colleagues such as Richard Feynman and Kip Thorne; and interviews with leading physicists and mathematicians such as Murray Gell-Mann, Edward Witten, and Brian Greene, Euclid's Window is an extraordinary blend of rigorous, authoritative investigation and accessible, good-humored storytelling that makes a stunningly original argument asserting the primacy of geometry. For those who have looked through Euclid's Window, no space, no thing, and no time will ever be quite the same.

    AI is all the rage, and the buzziest AI buzz surrounds adaptive machine learning computer systems that learn intelligent behavior from massive amounts of data. This is what powers a driverless car, for example. In this book, Hector Levesque shifts the conversation to -good old fashioned artificial intelligence, - which is based not on heaps of data but on understanding commonsense intelligence. This kind of artificial intelligence is equipped to handle situations that depart from previous patterns -- as we do in real life, when, for example, we encounter a washed-out bridge or when the barista informs us there's no more soy milk.Levesque considers the role of language in learning. He argues that a computer program that passes the famous Turing Test could be a mindless zombie, and he proposes another way to test for intelligence -- the Winograd Schema Test, developed by Levesque and his colleagues. -If our goal is to understand intelligent behavior, we had better understand the difference between making it and faking it, - he observes. He identifies a possible mechanism behind common sense and the capacity to call on background knowledge: the ability to represent objects of thought symbolically. As AI migrates more and more into everyday life, we should worry if systems without common sense are making decisions where common sense is needed.

    The story of Stephen Hawking's relentless quest for the secret of the origins of the universe will change forever the way you look at the stars . . . and your place among them.

    To understand algebra is to possess the power to grow your skills and knowledge so you can ace your courses and possibly pursue further study in math. Algebra II For Dummies is the fun and easy way to get a handle on this subject and solve even the trickiest algebra problems. This friendly guide shows you how to get up to speed on exponential functions, laws of logarithms, conic sections, matrices, and other advanced algebra concepts. In no time you'll have the tools you need to:Interpret quadratic functions Find the roots of a polynomial Reason with rational functions Expose exponential and logarithmic functions Cut up conic sections Solve linear and non linear systems of equations Equate inequalities Simplifyy complex numbers Make moves with matrices Sort out sequences and sets This straightforward guide offers plenty of multiplication tricks that only math teachers know. It also profiles special types of numbers, making it easy for you to categorize them and solve any problems without breaking a sweat. When it comes to understanding and working out algebraic equations, Algebra II For Dummies is all you need to succeed!

    We need a brand new way to take it all in. 'Information is Beautiful' transforms the ideas surrounding and swamping us into graphs and maps that anyone can follow at a single glance.

    The author presents her groundbreaking research on adaptive and maladaptive cognitive-motivational patterns and shows: * How these patterns originate in people's self-theories* Their consequences for the person -- for achievement, social relationships, and emotional well-being* Their consequences for society, from issues of human potential to stereotyping and intergroup relations* The experiences that create themThis outstanding text is a must-read for researchers in social psychology, child development, and education, and is appropriate for both graduate and senior undergraduate students in these areas.

    The book also provides a balanced presentation of time-varying and static fields, preparingstudents for employment in today's industrial and manufacturing sectors. Streamlined to facilitate student understanding, this edition features worked examples in every chapter that explain how to use the theory presented in the text to solve different kinds of problems. Numerical methods, including MATLAB and vector analysis, are also included to help students analyzesituations that they are likely to encounter in industry practice. Elements of Electromagnetics, Fifth Edition, is designed for introductory undergraduate courses in electromagnetics.

    Geared to the layperson, a clear, concise, non-mathematical explanation of the Theory of Everything and its profound implications is followed by transcripts of interviews with most of the physicists involved in its development.

    Edward de Bono coined the phrase "lateral thinking" to describe a process of thinking that is different from normal, vertical or forward thinking. Here are nearly a hundred mind-benders, from easy to fiendishly hard, that make you think laterally in order to explain the set of circumstances surrounding a seemingly inexplicable situation. 96 pages, 18 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

    It has been used in all of the courses mentioned above as well as introductory biology, introductory physics, and introductory chemistry courses. It could also serve as a main text for courses in evaluation of the paranormal, philosophical implications of the paranormal, occult beliefs, and pseudoscience.

    The core issue at the heart of strategy, the author notes, is whether it is possible to manipulate and shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one's control. Time and again, Freedman demonstrates that the inherent unpredictability of this environment-subject to chance events, the efforts of opponents, the missteps of friends-provides strategy with its challenge and its drama. Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another, but instead feel their way through a series of states, each one not quite what was anticipated, requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy, including its ultimate objective. Thus the picture of strategy that emerges in this book is one that is fluid and flexible, governed by the starting point, not the end point.A brilliant overview of the most prominent strategic theories in history, from David's use of deception against Goliath, to the modern use of game theory in economics, this masterful volume sums up a lifetime of reflection on strategy.

    Even after more than three centuries and the revolutions of Einsteinian relativity and quantum mechanics, Newtonian physics continues to account for many of the phenomena of the observed world, and Newtonian celestial dynamics is used to determine the orbits of our space vehicles.This completely new translation, the first in 270 years, is based on the third (1726) edition, the final revised version approved by Newton; it includes extracts from the earlier editions, corrects errors found in earlier versions, and replaces archaic English with contemporary prose and up-to-date mathematical forms. Newton's principles describe acceleration, deceleration, and inertial movement; fluid dynamics; and the motions of the earth, moon, planets, and comets. A great work in itself, the Principia also revolutionized the methods of scientific investigation. It set forth the fundamental three laws of motion and the law of universal gravity, the physical principles that account for the Copernican system of the world as emended by Kepler, thus effectively ending controversy concerning the Copernican planetary system.The illuminating Guide to the Principia by I. Bernard Cohen, along with his and Anne Whitman's translation, will make this preeminent work truly accessible for today's scientists, scholars, and students.

    The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time. Sartre asserted that existentialism was essentially a doctrine for philosophers, though, ironically, he was about to make it accessible to a general audience. The published text of his lecture quickly became one of the bibles of existentialism and made Sartre an international celebrity.The idea of freedom occupies the center of Sartre’s doctrine. Man, born into an empty, godless universe, is nothing to begin with. He creates his essence—his self, his being—through the choices he freely makes (“existence precedes essence”). Were it not for the contingency of his death, he would never end. Choosing to be this or that is to affirm the value of what we choose. In choosing, therefore, we commit not only ourselves but all of mankind.This book presents a new English translation of Sartre’s 1945 lecture and his analysis of Camus’s The Stranger, along with a discussion of these works by acclaimed Sartre biographer Annie Cohen-Solal. This edition is a translation of the 1996 French edition, which includes Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre’s introduction and a Q&A with Sartre about his lecture.

    Book 1 of "Rationality: From AI to Zombies"