Science & Nature - Books

Why Democracies Need Science

Science & Nature

We live in times of increasing public distrust of the main institutions of modern society. Experts, including scientists, are suspected of working to hidden agendas or serving vested interests. The solution is usually seen as more public scrutiny and more control by democratic institutions – experts must be subservient to social and political life. In this book, Harry Collins and Robert Evans take a radically different view. They argue that, rather than democracies needing to be protected from science, democratic societies need to learn how to value science in this new age of uncertainty. By emphasizing that science is a moral enterprise, guided by values that should matter to all, they show how science can support democracy without destroying it and propose a new institution – The Owls – that can mediate between science and society and improve technological decision-making for the benefit of all.

Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 1

Science & Nature

Nationally known science educator Page Keeley— principal author of the hugely popular, four-volume NSTA Press series Uncovering Students Ideas in Science— has teamed up with physicist and science educator Rand Harrington to write this first volume in their new series on physical science. They begin with one of the most challenging topics in physical science: force and motion. The 45 assessment probes in this book enable teachers to find out what students really think about key ideas in force and motion. The Teacher Notes, which can be used before and after administering the probe, provide background information on • the purpose of the probe; • related concepts; • an explanation— for the teacher— of the force and motion idea being taught;• related ideas in Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the National Science Education Standards;• research on typical student misconceptions related to the force and motion concept; and• suggestions for instruction and assessment.The book specifies grade spans— K-4, 5– 8, 9– 12— for each probe, based on state and national standards, and suggests ways to adapt a probe for a different grade span or context.

Writing Science in Plain English, Second Edition

Science & Nature

An updated edition of the essential guide for all scientists—from undergraduates to senior scholars—who want to produce prose that anyone can understand. Scientific writing is often dry, wordy, and difficult to understand. But, as biologist and experienced teacher of scientific writing Anne E. Greene shows in Writing Science in Plain English, writers from all scientific disciplines can learn to produce clear, concise prose by mastering just a few simple principles. This short, focused guide presents roughly a dozen such principles based on what readers need to understand complex information, including concrete subjects, strong verbs, consistent terms, organized paragraphs, and correct sentence structure. Greene illustrates each principle with real-life examples of both good and bad writing and shows how bad writing might be improved. She ends each chapter with revision exercises (and provides suggested answers in a separate key) so that readers can come away with new writing skills after just one sitting. To help readers understand the grammatical terms used in the book, an appendix offers a refresher course on basic grammar. For this second edition, Greene has incorporated the latest research on what makes writing effective and engaging and has revised or replaced exercises and exercise keys where needed. She has also added new features that make it easier to navigate the book. A new resource for instructors who use Writing Science in Plain English in their classes is a free, online teacher’s guide. Drawn from Greene’s long experience teaching students how to write science clearly, the teacher’s guide provides additional lectures, assignments, and activities that will inform and enliven any class.

InterPlanetary Transmissions: Genesis

Science & Nature

This volume is a record of the proceedings of the first InterPlanetary Festival, held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in June of 2018 by the Santa Fe Institute, birthplace of complexity science. An annual free public event, the InterPlanetary Festival combines an exploration of complexity science and technological innovation with a summer festival full of music, film, art, food, drinks, and more. The Festival is just one aspect of the broader InterPlanetary Project, which is equal parts conference, festival, and research program. The first project of its kind to combine celebration with experimentation, and conversation with analysis, the InterPlanetary Project seeks to be nothing less than a whole-planet project—beyond borders, beyond politics, beyond economics—to activate the collective intelligence of our first planet: Earth.

The Collapse of Western Civilization

Science & Nature

The year is 2393, and the world is almost unrecognizable. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe went ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, widespread drought and—finally—the disaster now known as the Great Collapse of 2093, when the disintegration of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet led to mass migration and a complete reshuffling of the global order. Writing from the Second People's Republic of China on the 300th anniversary of the Great Collapse, a senior scholar presents a gripping and deeply disturbing account of how the children of the Enlightenment—the political and economic elites of the so-called advanced industrial societies—failed to act, and so brought about the collapse of Western civilization. In this haunting, provocative work of science-based fiction, Naomi Oreskes and Eric M. Conway imagine a world devastated by climate change. Dramatizing the science in ways traditional nonfiction cannot, the book reasserts the importance of scientists and the work they do and reveals the self-serving interests of the so called "carbon combustion complex" that have turned the practice of science into political fodder. Based on sound scholarship and yet unafraid to speak boldly, this book provides a welcome moment of clarity amid the cacophony of climate change literature.

Suntem indeajuns de inteligenti pentru a intelege inteligenta animalelor?

Science & Nature

Cu ilustrațiile autoruluiTraducere de Carmen Strungaru Bestseller New York Times Suntem îndeajuns de inteligenți pentru a înțelege inteligența animalelor? ne poartă într-o călătorie fascinantă prin lumea surprinzătoare a cogniției animalelor, care nu sunt niște simple mașinării ce răspund la stimuli și reacționează mânate numai de instinct. Autorul ne arată felul în care cercetările din ultimele decenii au descoperit că primatele își pot face planuri pentru viitor și pot folosi unelte, că delfinii sunt capabili de empatie și se pot striga pe nume, că unele păsări au o memorie vizuală uimitoare și chiar se pot recunoaște în oglindă, sau că elefanții își pot da seama ce sex au oamenii cu care interacționează. Cartea lui Frans de Waal ne va face astfel să reexaminăm tot ceea ce credeam că știm atât despre inteligența animalelor, cât și despre a oamenilor. „De ce e omenirea atât de înclinată să subestimeze inteligența animalelor? Le negăm în mod con-stant capacități pe care le considerăm de la sine înțelese în ceea ce ne privește. Ce se ascunde în spatele acestei atitudini? În încercarea de a înțelege la ce nivel mental operează celelalte specii, trebuie să admitem că adevăratele provocări nu vin numai din partea animalelor, ci și din partea noastră. [...] Înainte de a ne întreba dacă animalele posedă un anumit tip de inteligență, în special una de care suntem atât de atașați, trebuie să depășim măcar rezistența internă de a recunoaște această posibilitate. De aici și întrebarea centrală a acestei cărți: «Suntem îndeajuns de inteligenți pentru a înțelege inteligența animalelor?»“ – FRANS DE WAAL „Pe lângă faptul că este plină de informații și provocatoare, cartea lui Frans de Waal se dovedește o lectură cât se poate de plăcută.“ – The Washington Post

Race for Space 5: Fly Me to the Moon

Science & Nature

In May 1961, seven months before America had even sent an astronaut into orbit, President John F. Kennedy boldly announced to Congress that the nation would land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. Book 5 in the Race for Space series describes how NASA rose to the challenge of embarking on the biggest technological and engineering challenge since the development of the atomic bomb.

Storage and Hybridization of Nuclear Energy

Science & Nature

Storage and Hybridization of Nuclear Energy: Techno-economic Integration of Renewable and Nuclear Energy provides a unique analysis of the storage and hybridization of nuclear and renewable energy. Editor Bindra and his team of expert contributors present various global methodologies to obtain the techno-economic feasibility of the integration of storage or hybrid cycles in nuclear power plants. Aimed at those studying, researching and working in the nuclear engineering field, this book offers nuclear reactor technology vendors, nuclear utilities workers and regulatory commissioners a very unique resource on how to access reliable, flexible and clean energy from variable-generation. - Presents a unique view on the technologies and systems available to integrate renewables and nuclear energy - Provides insights into the different methodologies and technologies currently available for the storage of energy - Includes case studies from well-known experts working on specific integration concepts around the world

The Triune Brain, Hypnosis and the Evolution of Consciousness

Science & Nature

The only person who has produced a cogent understanding of the extraordinary phenomenon of hypnosis is Julian Jaynes, one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, but tragically overlooked. Jaynes linked hypnosis to the bicameral (two-hemisphered) structure of the brain, and inferred that consciousness arose from the breakdown of a prior "master-slave" mode of functioning that he called the "bicameral mind". The architecture of consciousness is the opposite of the architecture of bicameralism. The former hasn’t replaced the latter. It simply sits on top of it, and in certain circumstances the old architecture can reassert itself. This is what happens with hypnosis. All of human behavior may be understood in terms of the ongoing conflict between these two architectures. Although most people seem conscious, they are often in a thinly-disguised bicameral mode that reflects the master-slave paradigm. This book is one of a series by the Pythagorean Illuminati.

Scrisori de la un astrofizician

Science & Nature

O carte ce vine să completeze magistral bestsellerul absolut Astrofizica pentru cei grăbiți.Astrofizicianul Neil deGrasse Tyson se bucură de una dintre cele mai mari comunități online de urmăritori datorită abordărilor sale inedite privind știința și universul nostru, abordări totodată extrem de accesibile publicului larg. Acum, Tyson ne invită să pătrundem în culisele faimei lui mondiale, făcându-ne cunoscută corespondența sa cu oameni din toată lumea, care i-au scris căutând răspunsuri. În acest volum, ce adună 101 de scrisori atent selectate, Tyson apelează la perspectivele cosmice pentru a răspunde celor mai diverse întrebări despre știință, credință, viață și, desigur, despre planeta Pluto. Răspunsurile sale concise, avizate, pasionate și adesea amuzante oglindesc popularitatea și reputația lui de excelent profesor formator.Bestsellerul lui Tyson din 2017, Astrofizica pentru cei grăbiți, a ajutat peste un milion de cititori, într-o manieră deopotrivă profundă și accesibilă, să înțeleagă din ce este alcătuit universul nostru.Cartea cea mai plină de sinceritate și de emoție de până acum a lui Tyson, Scrisori de la un astrofizician, ne face cunoștință cu o latură nouă, personală a strădaniei lui Tyson de a explora locul nostru în cosmos.„Megastarul american al astrofizicii, Neil deGrasse Tyson își confirmă, prin această carte ce reunește o parte importantă din corespondența sa cu cititorii, rolul de educator al publicului larg." - The Times„Oamenii care îi scriu nu sunt interesați doar de astronomie. Întrebările și frământările lor sunt legate de religie, filosofie, Nostradamus – de viață, în general. Iar Tyson le răspunde tuturor cu umor, compasiune și, uneori, cu o fermitate de pedagog." - Amazon Book Review„O carte sclipitoare! Alături de Astrofizica pentru cei grăbiți, ale cărei idei le completează strălucit, Scrisori de la un astrofizician îi va ajuta și pe cititorii circumspecți față de știință să descopere și să înțeleagă acest domeniu fascinant." – Booklist

The Concept of Nature. Illustrated

Science & Nature

The Concept of Nature by Alfred North Whitehead is a foundational work in the philosophy of science, offering a profound examination of how nature is understood and experienced. Published in 1920, this influential text challenges traditional notions of time, space, and perception, presenting a fresh and dynamic framework for understanding the natural world. Whitehead critiques the mechanistic view of nature, proposing instead that nature is a complex interplay of processes and events. He explores the relationship between scientific observation and philosophical interpretation, emphasizing the importance of integrating scientific knowledge with a broader metaphysical perspective. Through his innovative ideas on time, relativity, and the interconnectedness of phenomena, Whitehead’s The Concept of Nature invites readers to reconsider their assumptions about the physical universe and its underlying principles. This work remains essential reading for those interested in the philosophy of science, metaphysics, and the nature of reality.

The Math Gene

Science & Nature

If people are endowed with a "number instinct" similar to the "language instinct" -- as recent research suggests -- then why can't everyone do math? In The Math Gene, mathematician and popular writer Keith Devlin attacks both sides of this question. Devlin offers a breathtakingly new theory of language development that describes how language evolved in two stages and how its main purpose was not communication. Devlin goes on to show that the ability to think mathematically arose out of the same symbol-manipulating ability that was so crucial to the very first emergence of true language. Why, then, can't we do math as well as we speak? The answer, says Devlin, is that we can and do -- we just don't recognize when we're using mathematical reasoning.

Computational Chemistry Methodology in Structural Biology and Materials Sciences

Science & Nature

Computational Chemistry Methodology in Structural Biology and Materials Sciences provides a selection of new research in theoretical and experimental chemistry, focusing on topics in the materials science and biological activity. Part 1, on Computational Chemistry Methodology in Biological Activity, of the book emphasizes presents new developments in the domain of theoretical and computational chemistry and its applications to bioactive molecules. It looks at various aspects of density functional theory and other issues. Part 2, on Computational Chemistry Methodology in Materials Science, presents informative new research on computational chemistry as applied to materials science. The wide range of topics regarding the application of theoretical and experimental chemistry and materials science and biological domain will be valuable in the context of addressing contemporary research problems.

Methods and Applications of Algorithmic Complexity

Science & Nature

This book explores a different pragmatic approach to algorithmic complexity rooted or motivated by the theoretical foundations of algorithmic probability and explores the relaxation of necessary and sufficient conditions in the pursuit of numerical applicability, with some of these approaches entailing greater risks than others in exchange for greater relevance and applicability.Some established and also novel techniques in the field of applications of algorithmic (Kolmogorov) complexity currently coexist for the first time, ranging from the dominant ones based upon popular statistical lossless compression algorithms (such as LZW) to newer approaches that advance, complement, and also pose their own limitations. Evidence suggesting that these different methods complement each other for different regimes is presented, and despite their many challenges, some of these methods are better grounded in or motivated by the principles of algorithmic information. The authors propose that the field can make greater contributions to science, causation, scientific discovery, networks, and cognition, to mention a few among many fields, instead of remaining either as a technical curiosity of mathematical interest only or as a statistical tool when collapsed into an application of popular lossless compression algorithms. This book goes, thus, beyond popular statistical lossless compression and introduces a different methodological approach to dealing with algorithmic complexity.For example, graph theory and network science are classic subjects in mathematics widely investigated in the twentieth century, transforming research in many fields of science from economy to medicine. However, it has become increasingly clear that the challenge of analyzing these networks cannot be addressed by tools relying solely on statistical methods. Therefore, model-driven approaches are needed. Recent advances in network science suggest that algorithmic information theory could play an increasingly important role in breaking those limits imposed by traditional statistical analysis (entropy or statistical compression) in modeling evolving complex networks or interacting networks. Further progress on this front calls for new techniques for an improved mechanistic understanding of complex systems, thereby calling out for increased interaction between systems science, network theory, and algorithmic information theory, to which this book contributes.

Project Mercury Volume I: History In Text, Drawings, Photographs and Film

Science & Nature

Project Mercury Goals Initiated in 1958, completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963, were specific: To orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth; To investigate man's ability to function in space; To recover both man and spacecraft safely. BOOK SUBJECTS By CHAPTER: 1. TEXT - PROJECT MERCURY OVERVIEW, MISSION SUMMARIES AND ASTRONAUT BIOGRAPHIES 2. SPACECRAFT DRAWINGS 3. PHOTOGRAPHS - PROJECT EARLY DEVELOPMENT 4. VIDEO - The History of Mercury Mission Control (2013) 5. VIDEO - Astronauts: United States Project Mercury, ca. 1960 6. VIDEO - The John Glenn Story (1963)

Summary of Donald D. Hoffman's The Case Against Reality

Science & Nature

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Our eyes and all of our other senses are reliable guides because they were created by evolution to reveal the truth about the world. But the truth is not what we think it is. Our perceptions of snakes and apples, and even space and time, do not reveal objective reality. #2 The purpose of a desktop interface is to show you the truth of the computer, but this metaphor is wrong. The purpose of an interface is to hide the truth and show simple graphics that help you perform useful tasks. #3 Our sense of beauty is a clear example of how our perceptions evolved to report truths about objective reality. Our senses do not simply report that this or that perception is wrong; they cannot be right, because they are couched in the language of our perceptions. #4 The game of life is played by using our senses to report the fitness payoffs and errors in these reports. Our senses use error-correcting codes to detect and correct errors. Spacetime is just a format our senses use to report fitness payoffs and to correct errors in these reports.

Spectroscopic Methods in Food Analysis

Science & Nature

Given the inherent complexity of food products, most instrumental techniques employed for quality and authenticity evaluation (e.g., chromatographic methods) are time demanding, expensive, and involve a considerable amount of manual labor. Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in simpler, faster, and reliable analytical methods for assessing food quality attributes. Spectroscopic Methods in Food Analysis presents the basic concepts of spectroscopic methods, together with a discussion on the most important applications in food analysis.The determination of product quality and authenticity and the detection of adulteration are major issues in the food industry, causing concern among consumers and special attention among food manufacturers. As such, this book explains why spectroscopic methods have been extensively employed to the analysis of food products as they often require minimal or no sample preparation, provide rapid and on-line analysis, and have the potential to run multiple tests on a single sample (i.e., non-destructive). This book consists of concepts related to food quality and authenticity, that are quite broad, given the different demands of the manufacturer, the consumer, the surveillance and the legislative bodies that ultimately provide healthy and safe products.

The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments

Science & Nature

A dazzling, irresistible collection of the ten most groundbreaking and beautiful experiments in scientific history. With the attention to detail of a historian and the storytelling ability of a novelist, New York Times science writer George Johnson celebrates these groundbreaking experiments and re-creates a time when the world seemed filled with mysterious forces and scientists were in awe of light, electricity, and the human body. Here, we see Galileo staring down gravity, Newton breaking apart light, and Pavlov studying his now famous dogs. This is science in its most creative, hands-on form, when ingenuity of the mind is the most useful tool in the lab and the rewards of a well-considered experiment are on exquisite display.

Fundamentals and Applications of Nanobiotechnology

Science & Nature

Fundamentals and Applications of Nanobiotechnology offers a discussion on the integration of nanotechnology and biotechnology research and the industrial potential of nanobiotechnology across diverse sectors, such as the medical sciences, agriculture, cosmetics, and food sciences. Topics include the significance of biological nanoparticles, the different types of bionanoparticles, their structural interactions with biological systems, mechanisms of nanoparticle entry, and their applications in drug development, food sciences, agriculture, and cosmetics. Additionally, the book addresses the challenges, perspectives, and ethical considerations surrounding nanobiotechnology, offering a holistic view of the field's potential impact on society and the environment.Through detailed discussions and practical insights, this book serves as a resource for researchers, industry professionals, and students seeking to navigate the complexities of designing, commercializing, and utilizing nanobiotechnology-based products across various industries. - Offers an introduction to the brief history and fundamentals of nanobiotechnology - Discusses the structure, interaction, and mechanisms of entry of nanoparticles in biological systems - Examines specific types of bionanoparticles and offers practical insights into product development, method of production, and commercial applications - Explores the challenges of nanobiotechnology which includes legal aspect of implementation, ethical considerations, environmental regulation, and responsible development

Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment in Rural America

Science & Nature

Throughout much of its history, the United States was predominantly a rural society. The need to provide sustenance resulted in many people settling in areas where food could be raised for their families. Over the past century, however, a quiet shift from a rural to an urban society occurred, such that by 1920, for the first time, more members of our society lived in urban regions than in rural ones. This was made possible by changing agricultural practices. No longer must individuals raise their own food, and the number of person-hours and acreage required to produce food has steadily been decreasing because of technological advances, according to Roundtable member James Merchant of the University of Iowa. The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Science, Research, and Medicine held a regional workshop at the University of Iowa on November 29 and 30, 2004, to look at rural environmental health issues. Iowa, with its expanse of rural land area, growing agribusiness, aging population, and increasing immigrant population, provided an opportunity to explore environmental health in a region of the country that is not as densely populated. As many workshop participants agreed, the shifting agricultural practices as the country progresses from family operations to large-scale corporate farms will have impacts on environmental health. This report describes and summarizes the participants' presentations to the Roundtable members and the discussions that the members had with the presenters and participants at the workshop.

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