Computers are the foundation of the information age, but communication technology is the foundation of the foundation. Without the theories and practical applications of theory brought to us by the pioneers of communication, the computer age would perhaps have remained in the back office, hidden away as infrastructure like electricity or running water - critical to modern life, but not as transforming as the combination of communications and computing. The information age exploded once machines were endowed with the ability to talk among themselves. The Signal connects everything to everything else, in both communication, and in the metaphorical sense as the link between and among people. Features Identifies the key ideas underlying modern communications technology, and documents the contributions of its inventors Explores the signal in communication, and also in the metaphorical sense as the link between and among people Leads the reader through a journey from ancient number systems to Voyager II to radio and MP3s to quantum cryptography Includes coverage of "Signals from Hell," including memes and "fake news" on the Internet Looks to the future of communication, with emergent 5G

What makes the 21st century different from the 20th century? This century is the century of extremes -- political, economic, social, and global black-swan events happening with increasing frequency and severity. Book of Extremes is a tour of the current reality as seen through the lens of complexity theory the only theory capable of explaining why the Arab Spring happened and why it will happen again; why social networks in the virtual world behave like flashmobs in the physical world; why financial bubbles blow up in our faces and will grow and burst again; why the rich get richer and will continue to get richer regardless of governmental policies; why the future of economic wealth and national power lies in comparative advantage and global trade; why natural disasters will continue to get bigger and happen more frequently; and why the Internet invented by the US -- is headed for a global monopoly controlled by a non-US corporation. It is also about the extreme innovations and heroic innovators yet to be discovered and recognized over the next 100 years.Complexity theory combines the predictable with the unpredictable. It assumes a nonlinear world of long-tailed distributions instead of the classical linear world of normal distributions. In the complex 21st century, almost nothing is linear or normal. Instead, the world is highly connected, conditional, nonlinear, fractal, and punctuated. Life in the 21st century is a long-tailed random walk Levy walks -- through extreme events of unprecedented impact. It is an exciting time to be alive.
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Computers are the foundation of the information age, but communication technology is the foundation of the foundation. Without the theories and practical applications of theory brought to us by the pioneers of communication, the computer age would perhaps have remained in the back office, hidden away as infrastructure like electricity or running water - critical to modern life, but not as transforming as the combination of communications and computing. The information age exploded once machines were endowed with the ability to talk among themselves. The Signal connects everything to everything else, in both communication, and in the metaphorical sense as the link between and among people. Features Identifies the key ideas underlying modern communications technology, and documents the contributions of its inventors Explores the signal in communication, and also in the metaphorical sense as the link between and among people Leads the reader through a journey from ancient number systems to Voyager II to radio and MP3s to quantum cryptography Includes coverage of "Signals from Hell," including memes and "fake news" on the Internet Looks to the future of communication, with emergent 5G

Identify and protect critical infrastructure from a wide variety of threats In Critical Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Reader, Ted G. Lewis delivers a clear and compelling discussion of what infrastructure requires protection, how to protect it, and the consequences of failure. Through the book, you’ll examine the intersection of cybersecurity, climate change, and sustainability as you reconsider and reexamine the resilience of your infrastructure systems. The author walks you through how to conduct accurate risk assessments, make sound investment decisions, and justify your actions to senior executives. You’ll learn how to protect water supplies, energy pipelines, telecommunication stations, power grids, and a wide variety of computer networks, without getting into the weeds of highly technical mathematical models. Critical Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Reader also includes: A thorough introduction to the daunting challenges facing infrastructure and the professionals tasked with protecting it Comprehensive explorations of the proliferation of cyber threats, terrorism in the global West, climate change, and financial market volatility Practical discussions of a variety of infrastructure sectors, including how they work, how they’re regulated, and the threats they face Clear graphics, narrative guides, and a conversational style that makes the material easily accessible to non-technical readers Perfect for infrastructure security professionals and security engineering firms, Critical Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Reader will also benefit corporate security managers and directors, government actors and regulators, and policing agencies, emergency services, and first responders.

Did the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, the massive power blackout of 2003, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Gulf oil spill of 2010 'just happen'-or were these shattering events foreseeable? Do such calamities in fact follow a predictable pattern? Can we plan for the unforeseen by thinking about the unthinkable?Ted Lewis explains the pattern of catastrophes and their underlying cause. In a provocative tour of a volatile world, he guides the reader through mega-fires, fragile power grids, mismanaged telecommunication systems, global terrorist movements, migrating viruses, volatile markets and Internet storms. Modern societies want to avert catastrophes, but the drive to make things faster, cheaper, and more efficient leads to self-organized criticality-the condition of systems on the verge of disaster. This is a double-edged sword. Everything from biological evolution to political revolution is driven by some collapse, calamity or crisis. To avoid annihilation but allow for progress, we must change the ways in which we understand the patterns and manage systems. Bak's Sand Pile explains how.