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- The knowledge : how to rebuild our world from scratch / by Dartnell, Lewis.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."How would you go about rebuilding a technological society from scratch? If our technological society collapsed tomorrow, perhaps from a viral pandemic or catastrophic asteroid impact, what would be the one book you would want to press into the hands of the postapocalyptic survivors? What crucial knowledge would they need to survive in the immediate aftermath and to rebuild civilization as quickly as possible-a guide for rebooting the world? Human knowledge is collective, distributed across the population. It has built on itself for centuries, becoming vast and increasingly specialized. Most of us are ignorant about the fundamental principles of the civilization that supports us, happily utilizing the latest-or even the most basic-technology without having the slightest idea of why it works or how it came to be. If you had to go back to absolute basics, like some sort of postcataclysmic Robinson Crusoe, would you know how to re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, accurately tell time, weave fibers into clothing, or even how to produce food for yourself? Regarded as one of the brightest young scientists of his generation, Lewis Dartnell proposes that the key to preserving civilization in an apocalyptic scenario is to provide a quickstart guide, adapted to cataclysmic circumstances. The Knowledge describes many of the modern technologies we employ, but first it explains the fundamentals upon which they are built. Every piece of technology rests on an enormous support network of other technologies, all interlinked and mutually dependent. You can't hope to build a radio, for example, without understanding how to acquire the raw materials it requires, as well as generate the electricity needed to run it. But Dartnell doesn't just provide specific information for starting over; he also reveals the greatest invention of them all-the phenomenal knowledge-generating machine that is the scientific method itself. This would allow survivors to learn technological advances not explicitly explored in The Knowledge as well as things we have yet to discover. The Knowledge is a brilliantly original guide to the fundamentals of science and how it built our modern world as well as a thought experiment about the very idea of scientific knowledge itself"--Provided by publisher.- Subjects: Discoveries in science; Knowledge, Theory of; Survival; Technology;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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- The battle for your brain : defending the right to think freely in the age of neurotechnology / by Farahany, Nita A.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A rock star academic explores the final frontier of personal privacy: your mind. Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, thought crimes are punishable by law, and your own feelings can be used against you. Where perfumers create customized fragrances to perfectly suit your emotions, and social media titans bypass your conscious mind to hook you to their products. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions. Neuroscience has already made all of the above possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the "universal controller" for all of our interactions with technology. This can benefit humanity immensely, but without safeguards, it can severely threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination. Companies, governments, and militaries are all in: from contemplative neuroscience to consumer-based EEG technology, there have never been more ways to hack and track our brains. But access is just the beginning. Our brains can be changed with performance-boosting drugs, electrical stimulation, and even surgical interventions. Soon neuro-cinema, neuro-monitoring, and even cognitive warfare will be commonplace-the brain is the next battleground for humanity. The Battle for Your Brain by Nita A. Farahany dives deeply into the promises and perils of the coming dawn of brain access and alteration. Written by one of the world's foremost experts on neuroscience as it intersects with law and ethics, this highly original book offers a pathway forward to navigate the complex ethical dilemmas that neurotechnology presents, which will fundamentally impact our freedom to understand, shape, and define ourselves"--- Subjects: Neurosciences; Neurotechnology (Bioengineering);
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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- Indigenous rights in one minute : what you need to know to talk reconciliation / by McIvor, Bruce,author.;
"Internationally renowned as an expert in Aboriginal law and an advocate for Indigenous rights, Bruce McIvor delivers concise, essential information for Canadians committed to truth and reconciliation. A shortage of trustworthy information continues to frustrate Canadians with best intentions to fulfill Canada's commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. To meet this demand, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor provides concise, plain answers to 100 essential questions being asked by Canadians across the country. During his nearly three decades advocating for Indigenous rights and teaching Aboriginal law, McIvor has recorded the fundamental questions that Canadians from all corners of society have asked to advance reconciliation: Why do Indigenous people have special rights? What is the Doctrine of Discovery? Who are the Métis? Why was the Calder decision important? What is reconciliation? McIvor supplies the answers Canadians are looking for by scrapping the technical language that confuses the issues, and speaks directly to everyone looking for straight answers. Throughout, McIvor shares his perspective on why reconciliation as envisioned by the courts and Canadian governments frustrates Indigenous people and what needs to change to overcome the impasse. McIvor's explanations of complex legal issues demonstrate a unique mix of a deep knowledge of the law, the ability to write clearly and concisely, practical experience from the frontlines of advocating for First Nations in courtrooms and at negotiation tables across the country, and a profound passion for justice rooted in his work and personal history. To ensure the country's reconciliation project progresses from rhetoric to reality, ordinary Canadians need straightforward answers to fundamental questions. McIvor provides the answers and context to support a thoughtful and respectful national conversation about reconciliation and the fulfillment of Canada's commitment to a better future for Indigenous people."--- Subjects: Law for laypersons.; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous peoples; Métis; Métis; Métis; First Nations; First Nations; First Nations; Indigenous title;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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- This is your mind on plants / by Pollan, Michael,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan, a radical challenge to how we think about drugs, and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants -- and the equally powerful taboos Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance, beauty, fragrance, flavor, fiber--surely the most curious is our use of them is to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: people around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. We don't usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable. So then what is a "drug?" And why, for example, is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable, but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime? In THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS, Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs -- opium, caffeine, and mescaline -- and throws the fundamental strangeness, and arbitrariness, of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs, while consuming (or in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants, and the equally powerful taboos with which we surround them. Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness, and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and such fraught feelings? A unique blend of history, science, memoir, as well as participatory journalism, Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts, and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively -- as a drug, whether licit or illicit. But that's one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants, Pollan shows, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. Based in part on an essay written more than 25 years ago, this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants, and our attraction to them through time, holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds, and our entanglement with the natural world"--- Subjects: Psychotropic plants.; Opium.; Mescaline.; Caffeine.;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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- Blockchain revolution : how the technology behind Bitcoin is changing money, business, and the world / by Tapscott, Don,author.; Tapscott, Alex,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The first book to explain why blockchain technology will fundamentally change the Internet, what it does, and how we use it. Over the past 30 years, no theorist of the digital age has better explained the next big thing than Don Tapscott. For example, in Wikinomics, Tapscott was the first to show how the Internet provides the first global platform for mass collaboration. Now, he writes about a profound technological shift that will change how the world does business--and everything else--using blockchain technology, which powers the digital currency Bitcoin. The Internet as we know it is great for collaboration and communication, but is deeply flawed when it comes to commerce and privacy. The new blockchain technology facilitates peer-to-peer transactions without any intermediary such as a bank or governing body. Keeping the user's information anonymous, the blockchain validates and keeps a permanent public record of all transactions. That means that your personal information is private and secure, while all activity is transparent and incorruptible--reconciled by mass collaboration and stored in code on a digital ledger. With its advent, we will not need to trust each other in the traditional sense, because trust is built into the system itself. Although many opportunities for the blockchain require a digital currency, Bitcoin is only one application of this great innovation in computer science. The blockchain can hold any legal document, from deeds and marriage licences to educational degrees and birth certificates. Call it the World Wide Ledger. It enables smart contracts, decentralized autonomous organizations, decentralized government services, and transactions among things. The Internet of Everything needs a Ledger of Everything: the blockchain is a truly open, distributed, global platform that fundamentally changes what we can do online, how we do it, and who can participate. Tapscott, writing with his son Alex, a financial analyst and technologist, argues that the blockchain will shape the next era of prosperity--in finance, business, healthcare, education, governance, and beyond."--Provided by publisher.- Subjects: Data encryption (Computer science); Electronic commerce.; Electronic funds transfers;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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- Alicia y el corazón maravilloso : un cuento para aprender a respetar todos los corazones / by Castellanos, Nazareth.; Lag, Luna.;
¿Sabías que cada vez que el corazón late envía señales a nuestro cerebro? Juntos trabajan para ayudarnos a expresar nuestras emociones, comprender a los demás e interpretar lo que nos rodea. Acompaña a Alicia y la coneja Cajal en un fantástico viaje al interior del corazón y descubre por qué cada persona ve las cosas según sus sentimientos. A través de sencillas metáforas y coloridas ilustraciones,la neurocientífica Nazareth Castellanos nos explica la implicación del cerebro y el corazón en nuestras emociones y nos muestra el camino para aprender a respetar todos los corazones. Incluye una actividad de teatro para trabajar la empatía, que es un mecanismo básico y fundamental del comportamiento social que nos caracteriza. = Did you know that every time the heart beats, it sends signals to our brain? They work together to help us express our emotions, understand others, and interpret our surroundings. Join Alicia and Cajal the rabbit on a fantastic journey inside the heart and discover why each person sees things based on their feelings. Through simple metaphors and colorful illustrations, neuroscientist Nazareth Castellanos explains the parts the brain and the heart play in our emotions and shows us how to learn to respect all hearts. It includes an activity of a play to work on our empathy, which is a basic and fundamental mechanism of social behavior that characterizes us.- Subjects: Picture books.; Heart; Emotions; Brain; Spanish language materials.;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 191 to 196 of 196 | « previous