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A young theoretical physicist's guide to how the radical new science of counterfactuals can reveal the full scope of our universe There is a vast class of properties that science has so far almost entirely neglected. These properties are central to an understanding of physical reality both at an everyday level and at the level of fundamental phenomena, yet they have traditionally been thought of as impossible to incorporate into fundamental explanations. They relate not only to what is true - the actual - but to what could be true - the counterfactual. This is the science of can and can't. Chiara Marletto, a pioneer in this field, explores the promise that this fascinating, far-reaching appr...
This book tackles the most difficult and profound open questions about life and its origins from an information-based perspective.
This book was written for anyone wishing to understand how sustainable scenarios emerge from current innovations. It complements current sustainability transition research by providing a “socio-technical map,” an analytical and operational tool that can be used to explain the current positioning of innovators and their networks; to form alternative transition pathways and scenarios; and to design policies for a sustainability transition. Drawing on multiple disciplinary approaches to the study of “green” innovations and focusing specifically on operational directives, it examines and assesses multiple transition pathways (and supporting networks). Lastly, it presents three sectorial case studies (urban mobility, agri-food, and lighting) to demonstrate how the “socio-technical map” can be concretely put into practice.
An incisive history of the changing relationship between democracy and capitalism The twentieth century witnessed the triumph of democratic capitalism in the industrialized West, with widespread popular support for both free markets and representative elections. Today, that political consensus appears to be breaking down, disrupted by polarization and income inequality, widespread dissatisfaction with democratic institutions, and insurgent populism. Tracing the history of democratic capitalism over the past two centuries, Carles Boix explains how we got here—and where we could be headed. Boix looks at three defining stages of capitalism, each originating in a distinct time and place with i...
This volume presents essays by pioneering thinkers including Tyler Burge, Gregory Chaitin, Daniel Dennett, Barry Mazur, Nicholas Humphrey, John Searle and Ian Stewart. Together they illuminate the Map/Territory Distinction that underlies at the foundation of the scientific method, thought and the very reality itself. It is imperative to distinguish Map from the Territory while analyzing any subject but we often mistake map for the territory. Meaning for the Reference. Computational tool for what it computes. Representations are handy and tempting that we often end up committing the category error of over-marrying the representation with what is represented, so much so that the distinction be...
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2019 'A near miracle' Ha-Joon Chang, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism According to the economy, we have never been wealthier or happier. So why doesn't it feel that way? The Growth Delusion explores how we prioritise growth maximisation without stopping to think about the costs. So much of what is important to our well-being, from safe streets to sound minds, lies outside the purview of statistics. In a book that is both thought-provoking and entertaining, David Pilling argues that our steadfast loyalty to growth is informing misguided policies, and proposes different criteria for measuring our success.
“A brilliant travel guide to the coming world of AI.” —Jeanette Winterson What does it mean to be creative? Can creativity be trained? Is it uniquely human, or could AI be considered creative? Mathematical genius and exuberant polymath Marcus du Sautoy plunges us into the world of artificial intelligence and algorithmic learning in this essential guide to the future of creativity. He considers the role of pattern and imitation in the creative process and sets out to investigate the programs and programmers—from Deep Mind and the Flow Machine to Botnik and WHIM—who are seeking to rival or surpass human innovation in gaming, music, art, and language. A thrilling tour of the landscape...
Physicists argue from different perspectives for and against the idea of the existence of multiple universes.
The first truly global history of work, an upbeat assessment from the age of the hunter-gatherer to the present day We work because we have to, but also because we like it: from hunting-gathering over 700,000 years ago to the present era of zoom meetings, humans have always worked to make the world around them serve their needs. Jan Lucassen provides an inclusive history of humanity’s busy labor throughout the ages. Spanning China, India, Africa, the Americas, and Europe, Lucassen looks at the ways in which humanity organizes work: in the household, the tribe, the city, and the state. He examines how labor is split between men, women, and children; the watershed moment of the invention of money; the collective action of workers; and at the impact of migration, slavery, and the idea of leisure. From peasant farmers in the first agrarian societies to the precarious existence of today’s gig workers, this surprising account of both cooperation and subordination at work throws essential light on the opportunities we face today.
Was there really no alternative to bailing out the banks? Is it right that we should now all have to suffer such deep cuts in jobs and services to pay for it? From the very beginning of the crisis, acclaimed science documentary-maker and BBC presenter, David Malone, believed dissenting opinions and debate had been closed down. Not believing what he was being told he began to question the official story. Passionate, angry, funny and full of insight, The Debt Generation is both a compelling account of the crisis as it happened and a devastating critique of the financial system and of our political leaders who bowed down to it. Pulling no punches, and written with an engaging, direct clarity, t...