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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues
Janello Torriani, known in the Spanish-speaking world as Juanelo
Turriano (Cremona, Italy ca. 1500 - Toledo, Spain 1585), is the
greatest among Renaissance inventors and constructors of machines.
Contemporary literates and mathematicians celebrated Janello
Torriani and his creations in their writings. It is striking how
such fame turned into nearly complete oblivion, leaving only a few
clues of a blurred and distorted memory dispersed here and there.
This book wishes to show the central role that artisans formed in
the Vitruvian tradition played in demonstrating through practical
mathematics an increasing and positive control over Nature, a step
rooted in humanist culture and foundational for the understanding
of those historical processes known as the Scientific and the
Industrial Revolutions.
A new wave of thinkers from across different disciplines within the
analytical tradition in philosophy has recently focused on
critical, societal challenges, such as the silencing and
questioning of the credibility of oppressed groups, the political
polarization that threatens the good functioning of democratic
societies across the globe, or the moral and political significance
of gender, race, or sexual orientation. Appealing to both
well-established and younger international scholars, this volume
delves into some of the most relevant problems and discussions
within the area, bringing together for the first time different
essays within what we deem to be a "political turn in analytic
philosophy." This political turn consists of putting different
conceptual and theoretical tools from epistemology, philosophy of
language, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics at the service of
social and political change. The aim is to ensure a better
understanding of some of the key features of our social
environments in an attempt to achieve a more just and equal
society.
The Outside the Research Lab series is a testament to the fact that
the physics taught to high school and university students IS used
in the real world. This book explores the physics and technology
inherent to a selection of sports which have caught the author's
attention and fascination over the years. Outside the Research Lab,
Volume 3 is a path to discovering how less commonly watched sports
use physics to optimize performance, diagnose injuries, and
increase access to more competitors. It covers Olympic and
Paralympic fencing, show jumping horses, and arguably the most
brutal of motorsports - drag racing. Stunning images throughout the
book and clear, understandable writing are supplemented by offset
detail boxes which take the physics concepts to higher levels.
Outside the Research Lab, Volume 3 is both for the general interest
reader and students in STEM. Lecturers in university physics,
materials science, engineering and other sciences will find this an
excellent basis for teaching undergraduate students the range of
applications for the physics they are learning. There is a vast
range of different areas that require expertise in physics...this
third volume of Outside the Research Lab shows a few with great
detail provided by professionals doing the work.
The ancient kalam cosmological argument maintains that the series
of past events is finite and that therefore the universe began to
exist. Two recent scientific discoveries have yielded plausible
prima facie physical evidence for the beginning of the universe.
The expansion of the universe points to its beginning-to a Big
Bang-as one retraces the universe's expansion in time. And the
second law of thermodynamics, which implies that the universe's
energy is progressively degrading, suggests that the universe began
with an initial low entropy condition. The kalam cosmological
argument-perhaps the most discussed philosophical argument for
God's existence in recent decades-maintains that whatever begins to
exist must have a cause. And since the universe began to exist,
there must be a transcendent cause of its beginning, a conclusion
which is confirmatory of theism. So this medieval argument for the
finitude of the past has received fresh wind in its sails from
recent scientific discoveries. This collection reviews and assesses
the merits of the latest scientific evidences for the universe's
beginning. It ends with the kalam argument's conclusion that the
universe has a cause-a personal cause with properties of
theological significance.
Path-breaking innovations are about instigating fundamental changes
in people, organizations, communities, and economies. They are
complex, continuous, and evolutionary processes that take
considerable time, resources, and the efforts of many individuals
and organizations to be accomplished successfully. Representing
distinct departures from existing practices, they differ from other
types of innovation, such as product extensions and incremental
improvements. By examining path-breaking innovation processes
through in-depth analysis of several large-scale initiatives around
the world, the authors explore how profound changes in product,
process, and service can be explained and managed, and consider the
practical implications for scientific, organizational,
institutional, and political leaders concerned with channeling
innovation toward economic growth. In-depth analysis of science and
technology initiatives at CERN-ATLAS, Airbus, and in stem cell
research, the authors explore and illuminate how profound changes
in product, process, and service can be explained and managed.
Covering such issues as organizational culture, types of knowledge,
and large-scale project management and resource distribution, the
authors consider the practical implications of radical innovation
for scientific, organizational, institutional, and political
leaders concerned with channeling innovation toward economic
growth.
In China, lots of excellent maths students take an active part in
various maths contests and the best six senior high school students
will be selected to form the IMO National Team to compete in the
International Mathematical Olympiad. In the past ten years China's
IMO Team has achieved outstanding results - they won the first
place almost every year.The authors of this book are coaches of the
China national team. They are Xiong Bin, Yao Yijun, Qu Zhenhua, et
al. Those who took part in the translation work are Wang Shanping
and Chen Haoran.The materials of this book come from a series of
two books (in Chinese) on Forward to IMO: A Collection of
Mathematical Olympiad Problems (2017-2018). It is a collection of
problems and solutions of the major mathematical competitions in
China. It provides a glimpse of how the China national team is
selected and formed.
The role of a forensic science defence expert is often referred to
by those working for the police/state/government forensic labs as
being on the 'dark side.'In Joining the Dark Side, author David
Schudel outlines the evolution of a fascinating career that starts
out in the dark side and looks at what problems can appear in
forensic cases. The book delves into the problems inherent to
forensic science, in particular cognitive bias and scientific
philosophy. It also looks at the emotional impact and specific
challenges behind forensic science and provides the reader with
some sage advice on giving evidence in Court.
Schools and universities educate (mostly young) people, to equip
them to deal with the future as it unfolds from the present. The
question - whether these schools and universities are fit for that
purpose - has always been relevant, even in slow-paced times of
relative stability, where the future seems predictable as a simple
extension of the past.Now that the future is not predictable
anymore. Slow-paced times have gone. The relative stability in
which universities developed and educated successive generations is
gone. The question whether universities are fit for purpose is now
more relevant than ever.In this book, ten leading thinkers and
eighteen students from different continents, countries and cultures
present their views on futures of universities and whether
present-day universities are fit for purpose. It is an exploration,
meant to inform, inspire and crystallize discussions.
"What might the futures of practice be like?" is far from a
straightforward question. Emphasising "the" before the word future,
implies one future. But futures thinkers have identified a range of
futures that people think about. In this book we reflect on
possible, probable, and preferable futures in relation to practice
and work. Readers are invited to consider how their own engagement
in shaping possible futures will support ways of working that they
deem preferable, even those they can hardly imagine. Challenging
Future Practice Possibilities also examines influences that are
maintaining the status quo and others that are pushing
interest-driven change. Authors consider the major challenges that
practice and practitioners face today such as wicked problems,
fears for the future and complex demands and opportunities posed by
the digital revolution. A number of examples of future-oriented
work directions such as protean careers and artificial intelligence
enhancing or even replacing human workforces, are considered along
with concerns like the vulnerability of many work situations and
workers. In some cases workers and employers alike are unprepared
for these challenges, while others see adapting to these situations
as yet another pathway of practice futures evolution.
What is consciousness? Does free will exist?There exists a
widespread conviction that the recent scientific discoveries,
especially those related to physics and biology, in particular in
contemporary neurosciences, question the traditional attempts to
give meaning to life and a basis for our moral compass. Current
scientific thinking usually identifies the mind with the mere
exchange of electrical signals among neurons. It claims that
consciousness is an irrelevant epiphenomenon and that introspection
is an unreliable instrument to achieve any form of knowledge. Also,
that the physical universe is causally closed and therefore all
that occurs only has physical causes and all kind of freedom is
excluded. The problem of assigning meaning and purpose to our
lives, to the essential conceptions of the value of human life and
social justice, becomes practically insoluble if one accepts the
predominant notions that supposedly stem from contemporary science.
The clash between the scientific and humanistic conception of human
beings seems to have no option but to abandon the latter.The aim of
this book is to show that, contrary to what is usually considered,
current advances in science allow to re-evaluate the role of
consciousness and human freedom without entering into contradiction
with empirical evidence or scientific theories in place today. The
book starts by analyzing the certainties provided by the scientific
thought and philosophical reflection while discussing the role and
content of physical theories, and in particular, quantum mechanics.
It discusses in detail the nature of quantum objects and the role
they may have in consciousness. In particular, it analyzes models
that allow phenomena of quantum nature to manifest themselves in
the brains of animals and humans, and account for many of the
properties of consciousness. Finally, we analyze how self-conscious
and free entities like persons emerge, making compatible the
scientific view with a renewed and better supported way of
perceiving people, their values and culture.
**The instant Sunday Times bestseller** What if you tried to stop
doing everything, so you could finally get round to what counts?
Rejecting the futile modern obsession with 'getting everything
done,' Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for
constructing a meaningful life by embracing rather than denying
their limitations. Drawing on the insights of both ancient and
contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers,
Oliver Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time -
and in doing so, to liberate us from its tyranny. Embrace your
limits. Change your life. Make your four thousand weeks count.
'Life is finite. You don't have to fit everything in... Read this
book and wake up to a new way of thinking and living' Emma Gannon
'Every sentence is riven with gold' Chris Evans 'Comforting,
fascinating, engaging, inspiring and useful' Marian Keyes
The supernova of 1604 marks a major turning point in the
cosmological crisis of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Capturing the eyes and imagination of Europe, it ignited an
explosion of ideas that forever changed the face of science.
Variously interpreted as a comet or star, the new luminary brought
together a broad network of scholars who debated the nature of the
novelty and its origins in the universe. At the heart of the
interdisciplinary discourse was Johannes Kepler, whose book On the
New Star (1606) assessed the many disputes of the day. Beginning
with several studies about Kepler's book, the authors of the
present volume explore the place of Kepler and the 'new star' in
early modern culture and religion, and how contemporary debate
shaped the course of science down to the present day. Contributors
are: (1) Dario Tessicini, (2) Christopher M. Graney, (3) Javier
Luna, (4) Patrick J. Boner, (5) Jonathan Regier, (6) Aviva Rothman,
(7) Miguel A. Granada, (8) Pietro Daniel Omodeo, (9) Matteo Cosci,
and (10) William P. Blair.
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