The Terran Cycle Box Set: Intrinsic, Tempest, Heretic, Legacy


Philip C. Quaintrell - 2019
    He looks like us, he lives like us... but he is not one of us. Kalian knows nothing outside of his mundane life teaching history on 30th century Earth, until a day like any other triggers a series of events, which will tie his fate to that of humanity. A human hand print, embedded into a rock with alien script, is discovered on a moon that mankind has never set foot on. This discovery holds a secret, which will sweep Kalian into the heart of a conspiracy that has corrupted the galaxy for two hundred thousand years.

On Numbers and Games


John H. Conway - 1976
    Originally written to define the relation between the theories of transfinite numbers and mathematical games, the resulting work is a mathematically sophisticated but eminently enjoyable guide to game theory. By defining numbers as the strengths of positions in certain games, the author arrives at a new class, the surreal numbers, that includes both real numbers and ordinal numbers. These surreal numbers are applied in the author's mathematical analysis of game strategies. The additions to the Second Edition present recent developments in the area of mathematical game theory, with a concentration on surreal numbers and the additive theory of partizan games.

Solutions to exercises in Introduction to logic


Irving M. Copi - 1978
    

How to Think Clearly: A Guide to Critical Thinking


Doug Erlandson - 2012
    Dr. Doug Erlandson draws on concrete examples of good and bad reasoning from the political and social realm and everyday life to make his points in a sometimes lighthearted but always meaningful way. Here's a Preview of What's in the Book Identifying the differences between good and bad arguments Avoiding fallacies Creating good explanations Assessing probabilities Recognizing that statistics and numbers can lie ˃˃˃ Here's How You Benefit How to Think Clearly gives you the tools you need to critically assess the claims and counterclaims with which you are bombarded by politicians, pundits, commentators and editors, as well as coworkers, friends and family, and will aid you in developing skills to present your view in ways that are clear, coherent, sensible and persuasive. ˃˃˃ Suitable as a classroom text and for independent study How to Think Clearly is easy to understand and suitable for independent study. At the same time it offers the content and intellectual rigor that you would expect in a text for an introductory college-level course in critical thinking. ˃˃˃ What Others Are Saying About How to Think Clearly: A Guide to Critical Thinking Dr. Erlandson has given a wonderful introduction to good critical thinking: how to recognize good and bad arguments, helpful and non-helpful explanations, the ways that numbers can be manipulated. You can tell that he must be a good teacher. (G. Feltner)The author offers a refuge of reason within our culture of disregard for open-mindedness and rational discourse where the popular debate of serious issues or ideas is often a shouting match from the margins. (Cubs Fan)A great read for anyone who is new to logic and critical thinking, or someone who just wants to review and refresh their knowledge. (Paul D.) Scroll up and grab a copy today.

To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist


Björn Türoque - 2006
     The true story of how mildly successful guitarist and New York Times writer Dan Crane relinquished his instrument and became Björn Türoque (pronounced "b-yorn too-RAWK"), the second greatest air guitarist in the nation. This exploration of the international air guitar sub-culture addresses the issue of dedicating oneself to an invisible art in order to achieve the ultimate goal of "airness"-that is, when air guitar transcends the "real" art that it imitates and becomes an art form in and of itself.

Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems


N.P. Padhy - 2005
    The focus of this text is to solve real-world problems using the latest AI techniques. Intelligent systems like expert systems, fuzzy systems, artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms and ant colony systems are discussed in detail with case studies to facilitate in- depth understanding. Since the ultimate goal of AI is the construction of programs to solve problems, an entire chapter has been devoted to the programming languages used in AI problem solving. The theory is well supported by a large number of illustrations and end-chapter exercises. With its comprehensive coverage of the subject in a clear and concise manner this text would be extremely useful not only for undergraduate students, but also to postgraduate students.

The Contact Episode Three


Albert Sartison - 2014
    The recently discovered technology of remote manipulation gave people the capability of altering the orbit of celestial bodies of planetary size, which laid the foundation of a new era for the human race: the terraforming age. The colonization of space beyond the limits of the Solar System became only a matter of time. Soon after the first successful test, changing the orbit of Mercury, a strange object moving from the depths of space towards the centre of the Solar System entered the field of vision of a telescope at an observatory in Chile…

The Lifebox, the Seashell, and the Soul: What Gnarly Computation Taught Me About Ultimate Reality, the Meaning of Life, and How to Be Happy


Rudy Rucker - 2005
    This concept is at the root of the computational worldview, which basically says that very complex systems — the world we live in — have their beginnings in simple mathematical equations. We've lately come to understand that such an algorithm is only the start of a never-ending story — the real action occurs in the unfolding consequences of the rules. The chip-in-a-box computers so popular in our time have acted as a kind of microscope, letting us see into the secret machinery of the world. In Lifebox, Rucker uses whimsical drawings, fables, and humor to demonstrate that everything is a computation — that thoughts, computations, and physical processes are all the same. Rucker discusses the linguistic and computational advances that make this kind of "digital philosophy" possible, and explains how, like every great new principle, the computational world view contains the seeds of a next step.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid


Douglas R. Hofstadter - 1979
    However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more.

A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning


R.S. Aggarwal - 2007
    Nowadays success in every single competitive examinations lime bank clerical,bank PO,LIC,GIC,MBA Assistant grade,excise & income tax,IAS,IFS,AAO,Railway hotel management and others depend much on the candiate's performance in the reasoning paper.so much comprehensive and intelligent approach to it is the need of the day.This book serves the purpose

The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium Book 1)


Travis Starnes - 2021
    

Chess: How to Play Chess: For (Absolute) Beginners: The Journey to Your Empire Begins Here


Maxen Tarafa - 2015
     Many Chess books for beginners will overload you with information about openings, tactics, forks, history, notation, and lot of other things beginners don’t need to know and don’t understand. That might work for some people. But in this highly anticipated prequel to the Conquer your Friends series, I’m going to SHOW you how you can play the game of Chess AND WIN in a heinously short amount of time. Hi, my name is Maxen Tarafa, and I’m a Skill Artist. Most teachers struggle to show beginners how to play Chess because they forget what it’s like to start from the beginning. I specialize in working with beginners, post-beginners, and casual players, and now I’ve broken down the specific needs of the (absolute) beginner. You see, I believe Chess belongs to regular people who enjoy playing Chess with their friends or at home, not in the hands of “experts” who use incomprehensible terminology and notation. After working with several beginners, I realized their greatest struggle is not just remembering how the pieces move, but seeing the board beyond where the pieces physically sit. I’m going to show you how to play Chess using step-by-step images with arrows and interactive exercises Who is this book for? Perhaps, you’ve never played Chess but you’ve always wanted to learn and never had the chance. Or maybe, you’ve already learned how to move the pieces, but you need an easy, straight-forward refresher. Or perhaps, it’s time to show your son or younger brother how to play Chess and you want to review the basics, so you can make sure you nail the questions beginners commonly miss. Whether you’re brand new to Chess or you just want to pass the tradition down, this book is for you. In this book, you’ll learn how to: Quickly and confidently move each piece from Pawn to King Set up the board from memory quickly and correctly every…single…time Use my step-by-step method for commanding the puzzling Knight Harness the power of your own mind to visualize the board and gain an edge over your opponent Learn the little-known reason why most beginners lose and how to use it to your advantage Employ a three-question checklist to ensure you don’t lose your pieces for no good reason Blow your opponent’s mind! Predict your opponent’s strategy three moves ahead and stop their plan before they’ve even tried it I’ve taught beginner Chess players from age 5 to age 35 and beyond, anyone can learn and now’s your chance to finally learn the ancient game of Kings and Conquerors! Don’t miss your chance! Join the casual Chess revolution today!

Scimitar's Glory (Swordships Odyssey)


Dietmar Arthur Wehr - 2018
    7th Fleet discovers that one of those races is moving to attack. In a moment of panic, the commanding admiral orders the fleet to attempt a risky jump through hyperspace. They miss hitting their target star’s gravity well and end up deep in unexplored space with a shockingly long trip home and not nearly enough food to last that long. With war now raging in their home systems, the officers of 7th Fleet must find a way to put aside their egos, ambitions and fears in order to make it back, and they know that not all of them will. Scimitar’s Glory is the first book in a new, fast-paced, action-packed military SF series: Swordships Odyssey. The second book, Excalibur's Quest, is already available for pre-order. Excerpt: With a long, risky jump like this, Dejanus would have expected Corregidor’s astrogational AI to take at least ten minutes to aim the ship as precisely as possible to the distant star’s center. She was therefore surprised and somewhat alarmed when the flagship signaled to the rest of the fleet that they could start to match her trajectory after only half that time. “Goddammit, what’s the rush?” she said to Koenig who was the only other human on the Bridge. “There’s no possible way the Jab fleet can catch us before we jump, even if we take another hour to do it. Why not take a few extra minutes to get the most accurate trajectory possible?” When it became clear that Koenig had nothing to say, she continued. “Astro, I want you to check the flagship’s alignment with Alpha9 while we match vectors. Let me know if you think the flagship’s vector could be better.” That extra task delayed Excalibur’s alignment, and therefore she became the last ship in the fleet to signal her readiness for the jump. “Fleet Commander on Tac2, Commander,” said the com AI. Dejanus switched channels to her Command Pod. “Excalibur Actual speaking,” said Dejanus in the formal form of address that ship COs normally didn’t bother with. “What’s taking your Astro so long to get aligned, Commander?” Rostov didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Just double-checking the overall jump trajectory, Admiral.” Dejanus thought she heard Rostov swear under his breath, but it could have been her imagination. “You tell your Astro that if Excalibur isn’t aligned in the next two minutes, I’ll order him replaced and transferred to a cargo hauler. FC out!” The astro AI managed to get the ship aligned within the deadline to no one’s surprise. With all ships in the fleet now aligned perfectly with the flagship and jump velocity attained, the order was given to enter hyperspace. It was 131.3 hours later when both Koenig and Dejanus were on the Bridge again watching the jump chronometer countdown to the second when the ship should drop back down into normal space. Koenig watched the countdown clock hit zero and then start counting up again. After ten more seconds, Dejanus began shaking her head. She had a horrified expression on her face. “We’ve missed. That bastard has killed us all.” Genre categories: space fleet, military SF, space opera, galactic empire, alien invasion, first contact, space exploration.

Rationality: From AI to Zombies


Eliezer Yudkowsky - 2015
    Real rationality, of the sort studied by psychologists, social scientists, and mathematicians. The kind of rationality where you make good decisions, even when it's hard; where you reason well, even in the face of massive uncertainty; where you recognize and make full use of your fuzzy intuitions and emotions, rather than trying to discard them. In "Rationality: From AI to Zombies," Eliezer Yudkowsky explains the science underlying human irrationality with a mix of fables, argumentative essays, and personal vignettes. These eye-opening accounts of how the mind works (and how, all too often, it doesn't!) are then put to the test through some genuinely difficult puzzles: computer scientists' debates about the future of artificial intelligence (AI), physicists' debates about the relationship between the quantum and classical worlds, philosophers' debates about the metaphysics of zombies and the nature of morality, and many more. In the process, "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" delves into the human significance of correct reasoning more deeply than you'll find in any conventional textbook on cognitive science or philosophy of mind. A decision theorist and researcher at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Yudkowsky published earlier drafts of his writings to the websites Overcoming Bias and Less Wrong. "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" compiles six volumes of Yudkowsky's essays into a single electronic tome. Collectively, these sequences of linked essays serve as a rich and lively introduction to the science—and the art—of human rationality.

Gödel's Proof


Ernest Nagel - 1958
    Gödel received public recognition of his work in 1951 when he was awarded the first Albert Einstein Award for achievement in the natural sciences--perhaps the highest award of its kind in the United States. The award committee described his work in mathematical logic as "one of the greatest contributions to the sciences in recent times."However, few mathematicians of the time were equipped to understand the young scholar's complex proof. Ernest Nagel and James Newman provide a readable and accessible explanation to both scholars and non-specialists of the main ideas and broad implications of Gödel's discovery. It offers every educated person with a taste for logic and philosophy the chance to understand a previously difficult and inaccessible subject.New York University Press is proud to publish this special edition of one of its bestselling books. With a new introduction by Douglas R. Hofstadter, this book will appeal students, scholars, and professionals in the fields of mathematics, computer science, logic and philosophy, and science.