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One Two Three . . . Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science

June 1, 2011

One Two Three Infinity book cover

Author:
George Gamow
Publisher:
Dover Publications (1988)

Goodreads | One of the world’s foremost nuclear physicists (celebrated for his theory of radioactive decay, among other accomplishments), George Gamow possesses the unique ability of making the world of science accessible to the general reader.

He brings that ability to bear in this delightful expedition through the problems, pleasures and puzzles of modern science. Among the topics scrutinized with the author’s celebrated good humor and pedagogical… read more

Topics: Physics/Cosmology | Space

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The Last Pictures

November 19, 2012

lastpictures_publication_cover

Author:
Trevor Paglen
Publisher:
University of California Press (2012)

Human civilizations’ longest lasting artifacts are not the great Pyramids of Giza, nor the cave paintings at Lascaux, but the communications satellites that circle our planet. In a stationary orbit above the equator, the satellites that broadcast our TV signals, route our phone calls, and process our credit card transactions experience no atmospheric drag. Their inert hulls will continue to drift around Earth until the Sun expands into a red… read more

Topics: Singularity/Futures | Social/Ethical/Legal | Space

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33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking

March 7, 2011

33 Million People in the Room book cover

Author:
Juliette Powell
Publisher:
FT Press (2012)

Google | Social networks aren’t just a trend anymore: they’re a permanent reality — and they offer immense opportunities to businesspeople who are innovative and committed enough to take advantage of them. In this book, leading social networking consultant Juliette Powell reveals how dozens of innovators are driving real ROI through social networks. Powell’s wide-ranging case studies include technology, media and gaming companies, leaders in fashion, beauty, publishing,… read more

Topics: Internet/Telecom | Social Networking/Web/Education

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You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself

December 14, 2011

You-Are-Not-So-Smart-199x300

Author:
David McRaney
Publisher:
Gotham (2011)

Amazon | An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise.

You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you’re as deluded as the rest of us. But that’s OK- delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It’s like a… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World

July 9, 2012

automate_this

Author:
Christopher Steiner
Publisher:
Portfolio Hardcover (2012)

The routing story of the last gasp of human agency and how today’s best and brightest minds are endeavoring to put an end to it.

It used to be that to diagnose an illness, interpret legal documents, analyze foreign policy, or write a newspaper article you needed a human being with specific skills — and maybe an advanced degree or two. These days, high-level tasks are… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

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Turning the Future Into Revenue: What Business and Individuals Need to Know to Shape Their Futures

July 16, 2010

Turning the Future Into Revenue: What Business and Individuals Need to Know to Shape Their Futures

Author:
Glen Hiemstra
Publisher:
Wiley (2006)

Amazon | In Turning the Future into Revenue, Glen Hiemstra, founder of Futurist.com and noted expert on emerging business opportunities, explores how our changing world will transform private enterprise and public policy. From shifting demographics to global warming to new energy policies, change is coming. Turning the Future into Revenue shows how these new realities can be turned into profitable new ventures.

Some of the topics Hiemstra discusses… read more

Topics: Energy | Environment/Climate | Singularity/Futures

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The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive

March 8, 2011

The Most Human Human book cover

Author:
Brian Christian
Publisher:
Doubleday (2011)

Amazon | The Most Human Human is a provocative, exuberant, and profound exploration of the ways in which computers are reshaping our ideas of what it means to be human. Its starting point is the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against people to determine if computers can “think.”

Named for computer pioneer Alan Turing, the Tur­ing Test convenes a panel of judges who… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Cognitive Science/Neuroscience | Computers/Infotech/UI

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The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values

September 10, 2010

morallandscape

Author:
Sam Harris
Publisher:
Free Press (2010)

Amazon | Sam Harris’s first book, The End of Faith, ignited a worldwide debate about the validity of religion. In the aftermath, Harris discovered that most people—from religious fundamentalists to nonbelieving scientists—agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values.

Indeed, our failure to address questions of meaning and morality through science has now become the most common justification for religious… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience | Social/Ethical/Legal

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Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets

January 15, 2013

Mining the Sky

Author:
John S. Lewis
Publisher:
Helix Books (1996)

What would it be like if entrepreneurs could literally “mine the sky” to solve Earth’s three major fulfillment problems: energy, mineral resources, and food? That is the engaging premise of John S. Lewis’s visionary new book. What if we could chemically break down the atmosphere of Mars for substances that can be used as spacecraft propellants; hollow out asteroids to transform them into livable habitats for billions of space-bound… read more

Topics: Environment/Climate | Social/Ethical/Legal | Space

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Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality

July 8, 2010

Apocalyptic AI cover

Author:
Robert Geraci
Publisher:
Oxford University Press (2010)

Amazon | Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea, affecting everything from the world view of online gamers to government research funding and philosophical thought. In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this “cyber-theology” and the people who promote it.

Drawing on interviews with roboticists… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Singularity/Futures | Social/Ethical/Legal

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I Am a Strange Loop

May 4, 2011

I am a Strange Loop book cover

Author:
Douglas R. Hofstadter
Publisher:
Basic Books (2008)

Amazon | Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, soul, consciousness, “I” arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here?

I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the “strange loop” — a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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The Blue Zones, Second Edition: 9 Power Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest

October 26, 2012

The Blue Zones Second Edition

Author:
Dan Buettner
Publisher:
National Geographic (2012)

Since publishing his bestselling The Blue Zones, longevity expert and National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has discovered a new Blue Zone and launched a major public health initiative to transform cities based on principles from this book. The Blue Zones, Second Edition is completely updated and expands his bestselling classic on longevity, drawing on his research from extraordinarily long-lived communities–Blue Zones–around the globe to highlight the lifestyle, diet, outlook, and stress-coping practices… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity

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Brainsteering: A Better Approach to Breakthrough Ideas

March 30, 2011

Brainsteering book cover

Author:
Kevin P. Coyne, Shawn T. Coyne
Publisher:
HarperBusiness (2011)

Amazon | Change the way you think about new ideas by steering your creativity in new and more productive directions.

Ideas. Whether the goal is to create a billion-dollar business, fix a broken process, reduce expenses, or simply find the perfect gift for that special someone, we all need a steady stream of breakthrough ideas — and we’ve all learned from experience that traditional brainstorming doesn’t generate… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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Living Architecture: How Synthetic Biology Can Remake Our Cities and Reshape Our Lives

February 24, 2012

livingarchitecture

Author:
Rachel Armstrong
Publisher:
TED Books

What will the city of the future look like? More like an ever-changing and vibrant garden than a static set of buildings and blocks. In ‘Living Architecture,’ British scientist and architect Rachel Armstrong re-imagines the world’s extensive urban areas and argues that in order to achieve sustainable development of the built environment — and help countries like Japan recover from natural disasters — we need to start… read more

Topics: Environment/Climate | Singularity/Futures

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Explorations in Quantum Computing

May 24, 2012

explorationsinquantumcomputing

Author:
Colin P. Williams
Publisher:
Springer (2011)

Amazon | By the year 2020, the basic memory components of a computer will be the size of individual atoms. At such scales, the current theory of computation will become invalid. “Quantum computing” is reinventing the foundations of computer science and information theory in a way that is consistent with quantum physics — the most accurate model of reality currently known. Remarkably, this theory predicts that quantum computers can perform certain… read more

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI | Quantum

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