How can theology and science engage in dialogue in a postmodern world which is characterized by a great deal of fragmentation and pluralism? Is there ground to which they can move from their traditional duel to engage in a rewarding and friendly duet? Those are the questions discussed in this fascinating book, originally given as the John Albert Hall lectures for 1998. Dr Wentzel van Huyssteen first argues that many of the stereotyped ways of relating theology to science are overly simplistic generalizations about the complex relationship between the two disciplines. Moreover the postmodern mood challenges the very terms 'religion' and 'science'. He then goes on to discuss at length the very different views of Stephen Hawking and Paul Davies, in search of an epistemology which could be of use in an interdisciplinary discussion. This he finds in evolutionary epistemology, the significance that the theory of evolution by natural selection may have for philosophical epistemology, our theories of knowledge, and for the origin and development of human cognitive structures, maps and abilities. Before this final discussion there is an examination of Darwin and responses to him and an argument with Richard Dawkins.

A journey into the most secret place in America
A story of secrecy, suspicion, and conspiracy
A history of a place that does not legally exist


Dreamland zooms in on Area 51--the nearly four million acres of Nevada airspace that has been a base for experimental military aircraft, the fount of UFO rumors, and the alleged site of alien insurrection.
        How this real-life legend came to exist is Phil Patton's tale. He explores the mystery and fantasy surrounding the place, peeks over the edge of paranoia, and tracks strange objects in the air above this country of the mind. He visits spies and counterspies, test pilots and secret agents, and tunnels into the subcultures of true believers and conspiracy buffs.
        Reviewers have applauded Dreamland as "brilliant," "fascinating," "weird, wonderful, sometimes spooky," "curiously epic, frequently humorous, and always entertaining." Dreamland is a novelistic tour de force that makes us all rethink our convictions about American know-how--and alien inventiveness.

In this timely work, Russell, philosopher, agnostic, mathematician, and renowned peace advocate, offers a brief yet insightful study of the conflicts between science and traditional religion during the last four centuries. Examining accounts in which scientific advances clashed with Christian doctrine or biblical interpretations of the day, from Galileo and the Copernican Revolution, to the medical breakthroughs of anesthesia and inoculation, Russell points to the constant upheaval and reevaluation of our systems of belief throughout history. In turn, he identifies where similar debates between modern science and the Church still exist today. Michael Ruse's new introduction brings these conflicts between science and theology up to date, focusing on issues arising after World War II.

This classic is sure to interest all readers of philosophy and religion, as well as those interested in Russell's thought and writings.

In 1910 young Loren Eiseley watched the passage of Halley's Comet with his father. The boy who became a famous naturalist was never again to see the spectacle except in his imagination. That childhood event contributed to the profound sense of time and space that marks "The Invisible Pyramid." This collection of essays, first published shortly after Americans landed on the moon, explores inner and outer space, the vastness of the cosmos, and the limits of what can be known. Bringing poetic insight to scientific discipline, Eiseley makes connections between civilizations past and present, multiple universes, humankind, and nature.

Margaret Rossiter's widely hailed "Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940" marked the beginning of a pioneering effort to interpret the history of American women scientists. That effort continues in this provocative sequel that covers the crucial years of World War II and beyond. Rossiter begins by showing how the acute labor shortage brought on by the war seemed to hold out new hope for women professionals, especially in the sciences. But the public posture of welcoming women into the scientific professions masked a deep-seated opposition to change. Rossiter proves that despite frustrating obstacles created by the patriarchal structure and values of universities, government, and industry, women scientists made genuine contributions to their fields, grew in professional stature, and laid the foundation for the breakthroughs that followed 1972.

"A critically important book that forces us to ask new questions about the synthetic chemicals that we have spread across this earth."—Al Gore.

A New York Times bestseller when it appeared in 1989, Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind was universally hailed as a marvelous survey of modern physics as well as a brilliant reflection on the human mind, offering a new perspective on the scientific landscape and a visionary glimpse of the possible future of science. Now, in Shadows of the Mind, Penrose offers another exhilarating look at modern science as he mounts an even more powerful attack on artificial intelligence. But perhaps more important, in this volume he points the way to a new science, one that may eventually explain the physical basis of the human mind.

Penrose contends that some aspects of the human mind lie beyond computation. This is not a religious argument (that the mind is something other than physical) nor is it based on the brain's vast complexity (the weather is immensely complex, says Penrose, but it is still a computable thing, at least in theory). Instead, he provides powerful arguments to support his conclusion that there is something in the conscious activity of the brain that transcends computation--and will find no explanation in terms of present-day science. To illuminate what he believes this "something" might be, and to suggest where a new physics must proceed so that we may understand it, Penrose cuts a wide swathe through modern science, providing penetrating looks at everything from Turing machines (computers programmed for artificial intelligence) to the implications of Godel's theorem maintaining that conscious thinking must indeed involve ingredients that cannot adequately be simulated by mere computation. Of particular interest is Penrose's extensive examination of quantum mechanics, which introduces some new ideas that differ markedly from those advanced in The Emperor's New Mind, especially concerning the mysterious interface where classical and quantum physics meet. But perhaps the most interesting wrinkle in Shadows of the Mind is Penrose's excursion into microbiology, where he examines cytoskeletons and microtubules, minute substructures lying deep within the brain's neurons. (He argues that microtubules--not neurons--may indeed be the basic units of the brain, which, if nothing else, would dramatically increase the brain's computational power.)

For physics to accommodate something that is as foreign to our current physical picture as the phenomenon of consciousness, we must expect a profound change--one that alters the very underpinnings of our philosophical viewpoint as to the nature of reality. Shadows of the Mind provides an illuminating look at where these changes may take place and what our future understanding of the world may be.

Now available in paperback, "Images of the Human" addresses the questions human beings have been asking for centuries. Each chapter focuses on the writings of a different philosopher--from Plato to Nietzsche, St. Augustine to Simone de Beauvior. As a distinctive feature, commentaries explore the unique relationship between what philosophers say and what religion teaches.

There are many how-to books on scientific and technical writing, and most of them devote a chapter or two to the subject of gathering information. The Elements of Information Gathering is the first to describe in detail the necessary steps in gathering scientific and technical information.Created as a working reference for scientific and technical professionals, as well as a textbook for technical communication courses, the book is organized into four main sections that lead the reader from the basic principles of information gathering to the more sophisticated methods of locating and organizing scientific data.

"Thoughtfully compiled, current, and reasonably priced.... Recommended as a 'one-stop-shopping' source..". -- Library Journal

"This work is an essential purchase for libraries with collections in the four designated areas". -- ARBA

Both print and nonprint sci-tech information sources can be quickly located, and their uses evaluated, with this new resource -- the only sourcebook to cover all four major branches of science. More than 2,400 entries of complete bibliographic information are accompanied by a brief description of each work.

Every source is indexed by author, subject, and title. Special chapters cover how technology is changing the way scientists communicate, and how to build a viable collection in specific disciplines.

In this dramatic reconstruction of the daily lives of the earliest tool-making humans, two leading anthropologists reveal how the first technologies-- stone, wood, and bone tools-- forever changed the course of human evolution.

Drawing on two decades of fieldwork around the world, authors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth take readers on an eye-opening journey into humankind's distant past-- traveling from the savannahs of East Africa to the plains of northern China and the mountains of New Guinea-- offering a behind-the-scenes look at the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of early prehistoric sites.

Based on the authors' unique mix of archaeology and practical experiments, ranging from making their own stone tools to theorizing about the origins of human intelligence, "Making Silent Stones Speak" brings the latest ideas about human evolution to life.

EARLY GIANTS.

Johann Gutenberg.

William Caxton.

Aldus Manutius.

Claude Garamond.

William Caslon.

John Baskerville.

Giambattista Bodoni.

MODERN PIONEERS.

Frederic W. Goudy.

Morris Fuller Benton.

Rudolf Koch.

Oswald Cooper.

William Addison Dwiggins.

Eric Gill.

Stanley Morison.

Jan Van Krimpen.

Robert Hunter Middleton.

Beatrice Warde.

Jan Tschichold.

Designers and Their Typefaces.

America's governing system is unique in the extent to which scientists and other outside experts participate in the policy process. No other nation uses these experts so extensively, not merely for advice on the allocation of resources to science but also in broad policy issues. This wide-ranging study traces the rise of scientists in the policy process and shows how outside experts interrelate with politicians and administrators to produce a unique and dynamic policy process. It also shows how the very openness of American government creates the potential for unusual conflicts of interest. Bruce Smith focuses on the experience of agency and presidential-level advisory systems over the past several decades. He chronicles the special complexities and challenges resulting from the Federal Advisory Committee Act--the "open meeting" law--to provide a better understanding of the role of advisory committees and offers valuable lessons to guide their future use. He looks at science advice in the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and then examines how science advisory mechanisms have worked at the White House. Rather than simply providing a description of structures and institutions, Smith shows the advisory systems in action--how advisory systems work or fail to work in practice. He analyzes how the advisers influence the policymaking process and affect the life of the agencies they serve. Smith concludes with an assessment of the relationship between science advice and American democracy. He explains that the widespread use of outside advisers clearly reflects America's preference forpluralism. By scrutinizing agency plans, goals, and operations, advisers and advisory committees serve a variety of functions and attempt to strike a balance between openness and citizen access to government and the need for discipline and sophisticated expertise in policymaking. At the root of the advisory process is a paradox: scientists are called on because of their special expertise, but they are useful only if they learn to play by the rules of the political game. The challenge to the nation is to reconcile the integrity of science with the norms of democracy.

Even as you read these words, a tiny portion of your brain is physically changing. New connections are being sprouted--a circuit that will create a jab of recognition if you encounter the words again. That is one of the theories of memory presented in this intriguing and splendidly readable book, which distills three researchers' inquiries into the processes that enable us to recognize a face that has aged ten years or remember a melody for decades.

In this book, Cuban scholar, journalist and author Gonzalez-Manet demystifies the information age. With his unique vision on technology, global politics, and social change, he provides readers with a critical analysis of new communications technologies and their largely unavoidable consequences. Whether the dazzling array of high-tech hardware and software are to benefit humanity or serve the needs of transnational corporations depends upon the social character of their application and the adoption of coherent policies concerning communications, culture and education. The author forcefully argues that much of the Third World lacks such policies and the results are devastating. Among other areas of exploration, he outlines the major characteristics of informatics in an age of global markets and transnational networks and, in the process, reflects on the politics of data flows, cultural integrity, and national sovereignty. Special attention is paid to the impact of computers on teaching and learning, as well as related trends in worldwide publishing. Several chapters focus specifically on Cuba's policies with regard to new communications technologies such as video and trends in Cuban film. This book builds on the author's previous work, expands the scope of reflection, and provides the reader with a lucid Third World perspective enriched by the urgency of the analysis and the substantial documentation of the argument.

In the vein of The Soul of a New Machine, a dramatic chronicle of a new revolution in brain-mind science comes this accessible book on the scientists who are creating startling new theories of how the mind works as the forge a new kind of artificial intelligence called neural networks--or, the first thinking machines

From the author of "Perceiving Ordinary Magic, " this book proposes that both science and Buddhism offer powerful insights into human nature that can help to bring about profound changes in our lives and our society.
Jeremy Hayward argues that a radical uprooting of our beliefs about reality is necessary if we are to resolve our confusion about our world and ourselves. Only a profound examination of human perception--a process by which worlds and selves are created and re-created ever moment--will provide the clarity and confidence we seek.
"Shifting Worlds, Changing Minds " is an in-depth, non-technical analysis of the perceptual process, drawing on the latest data from cognitive science--the "new science of mind." Added to these are insights gained from the Buddhist practice of mindfulness-awareness meditation. The results of this analysis and practice can free us from dependence on belief systems. We are presented with a genuine revolution in the understanding of consciousness, and the possibilities for awareness and compassion are revealed.

Shared knowledge is indispensable to the practice of science, and the scientific paper-whether published in a journal or collation volume-is the chief means by which scientists communicate ideas and results to their colleagues. Mastering the genre is thus an essential element in every scientist's training. Using a published paper as a guide, Michael J. Katz takes the reader through every step of the writing process, including the use of standard formats (abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgments, and references), language (style and word usage), and publication (choosing the appropriate journal, the review process, and revising). Other chapters discuss figures (photographs, schematic diagrams, and graphs), writing with a computer, and numbers (algorithms and statistics). Nine appendices provide a handy reference to commonly needed information such as scientific abbreviations, non-technical words, and mathematic formulae. While recognizing that the scientific paper is constrained within a well-defined form, the book also stresses that the genre is narrative prose requiring a lucid, precise, and careful style. The elements of composition-gestation, diction, revision, and rewriting-are discussed in detail. Elements of the Scientific Paper is a useful handbook for young scientists and graduate students beginning their publishing careers, as well as for anyone wishing a review of or introduction to the elements of scientific style.

Tries to combine the biblical and scientific views of the universe's creation, and looks at how perception of the world has changed from biblical times to the present.