Results 1 to 3 of 3
- Invention and innovation : a brief history of hype and failure / by Smil, Vaclav,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark, inventions we still dream about, and lastly, the exaggerations, myths, and wise expectations for innovations we need most"--- Subjects: Errors; Inventions; New products; System failures (Engineering); Technological forecasting.;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
-
unAPI
- Size : how it explains the world / by Smil, Vaclav,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."To answer the most important questions of our age, we must understand size. Neither bacteria nor empires are immune to its laws. Measuring it is challenging, especially where complex systems like economies are concerned, yet mastering it offers rich rewards: the rise of the West, for example, was a direct result of ever more accurate and standardized measurements. Using the interdisciplinary approach that has won him a wide readership, Smil draws upon history, earth science, psychology, art, and more to offer fresh insight into some of our biggest challenges, including income inequality, the spread of infectious disease, and the uneven impacts of climate change. Size explains the regularities--and peculiarities--of the key processes shaping life (from microbes to whales), the Earth (from asteroids to volcanic eruptions), technical advances (from architecture to transportation), and societies and economies (from cities to wages). This book about the big and the small, and the relationship between them, answers the big and small questions of human existence: What makes a human society too big? What about a human being? Which alternative energy sources have the best chance of scaling and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels? Why do tall people make more money? What makes a face beautiful? How about a cathedral? How can changing the size of your plates help you lose weight? The latest masterwork of "an ambitious and astonishing polymath who swings for fences" (Wired) Size is a mind-bending journey that turns the modern world on its head."--- Subjects: Size perception.; Stature.;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
-
unAPI
- How the world really works : the science behind how we got here and where we're going / by Smil, Vaclav,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn't inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future"--- Subjects: Science and civilization.; Technology and civilization.; Science; Technological innovations;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
-
unAPI
Results 1 to 3 of 3