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Books > Science & Mathematics > General
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.
"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.
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.
In this timely and provocative book, Nancey Murphy sets out to
dispel skepticism regarding Christian belief. She argues for the
rationality of Christian belief by showing that theological
reasoning is similar to scientific reasoning as described by
contemporary philosophy of science. Murphy draws on new historicist
accounts of science, particularly that of lmre Lakatos. According
to Lakatos, scientists work within a "research program" consisting
of a fixed core theory and a series of changing auxiliary
hypotheses that allow for prediction and explanation of novel
facts: Murphy argues that strikingly similar patterns of reasoning
can be used to justify theological assertions. She provides an
original characterization of theological data and explores the
consequences for theology and philosophy of religion of adopting
such an approach.
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.
In 1925 the geological connection between Flint Ridge and Mammoth
Cave was proved when dye placed in a Flint Ridge spring showed up
in Echo River at Mammoth Cave. That tantalizing swirl of dye
confirmed specula-tions that were""to tempt more than 650""cavers
over half a century with the thrill of being the first to make
human passage of the cave connection. Roger Brucker and Richard
Watson tell not only of their own twenty-year effort to complete
the link but the stories of many others who worked their way
through mud-choked crawlways less than a foot high only to find
impenetrable blockages. Floyd Collins died a grisly death in nearby
Sand Cave in""1925, after being trapped there for 15 days. The wide
press coverage of the rescue efforts stirred the imagination of the
public and his body was on macabre display in a glass-topped coffin
in Crystal Cave into the 1940s. Agents of a rival cave owner once
even stole his corpse, which was re-covered and still is in a
coffin in the cave. Modern cavers still have a word with Floyd as
they start their downward treks. Brucker and Watson joined the
parade of cavers who propelled themselves by wiggling kneecaps,
elbows, and toes through quarter-mile long crawlways, clinging by
fingertips and boot toes across mud-slick walls, over bottomless
pits, into gur-gling streams beneath stone ceilings that descend to
water level, down crumbling crevices and up mountainous rockfalls,
into wondrous domed halls, and straight ahead into a blackness
inten-sified rather than dispelled by the carbide lamps on their
helmets. Over two decades they explored the passages with others
who sought the final connection as vigorously as themselves. Pat
Crowther, a young mother of two, joined them and because of her
thinness became the member of the crew to go first into places no
human had ever gone before. In that role, in July 1972, she wiggled
her way through the Tight Spot and found the route that would link
the Flint Ridge and Mammoth Cave systems into one cave extending
144.4 miles through the Kentucky limestone. In a new afterword to
this edition the authors summarize the subsequent explorations that
have more than doubled the established length of the cave system.
Based upon geological evidence, the authors predict that new
discoveries will add an-other 200 miles to the length of the
world's longest cave, making it over 500 miles long.
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.
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