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Homo deus : a brief history of tomorrow / by Harari, Yuval N.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Civilization, Modern; Science and civilization.; Technology and civilization.; Future, The.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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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
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The longbow, the schooner & the violin : wood and human achievement / by De Villiers, Marq,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.The English longbow, made of rare yew wood, unmatched for accuracy, speed of fire, and deadliness, shifted Europe's balance of power in the Middle Ages. Schooners, those "able handsome ladies" of the sea, inaugurated a new era of global trade, carrying high-value cargoes of tea and spice to Europe and America with unmatched speed and reliability. The violin, individual examples of which have personalities and histories as brilliant as the performers who play them, brought Western music to the pinnacle of expressiveness. These three iconic artifacts exemplify the inventive ways human ingenuity has employed wood - one of our most extraordinary natural substances - to change its culture and history. In this sweeping and beautifully-written history, award-winning author Marq de Villiers explores our relationship with wood, from ancient times to the present, from the forest to the workshop. Wood, he writes, has always been an essential companion to human development, and its most remarkable applications may still be ahead.
Subjects: Material culture.; Technology and civilization.; Technology; Wood; Woodwork;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sapiens : a brief history of humankind / by Harari, Yuval N.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Civilization; Human beings; World history.; Chronology, Historical.; Technology and civilization;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Will AI replace us? : a primer for the 21st century : over 160 illustrations / by Fan, Shelly,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Technology and civilization.; Human-computer interaction.; Artificial intelligence;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Survival of the richest : escape fantasies of the tech billionaires / by Rushkoff, Douglas,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."The tech elite have a plan to survive the apocalypse: they want to leave us all behind. Five mysterious billionaires summoned theorist Douglas Rushkoff to a desert resort for a private talk. The topic? How to survive the "Event": the societal catastrophe they know is coming. Rushkoff came to understand that these men were under the influence of The Mindset, a Silicon Valley-style certainty that they and their cohort can break the laws of physics, economics, and morality to escape a disaster of their own making-as long as they have enough money and the right technology. In Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. In a dozen urgent, electrifying chapters, he confronts tech utopianism, the datafication of all human interaction, and the exploitation of that data by corporations. Through fascinating characters-master programmers who want to remake the world from scratch as if redesigning a video game and bankers who return from Burning Man convinced that incentivized capitalism is the solution to environmental disasters-Rushkoff explains why those with the most power to change our current trajectory have no interest in doing so. And he shows how recent forms of anti-mainstream rebellion-QAnon, for example, or meme stocks-reinforce the same destructive order. This mind-blowing work of social analysis shows us how to transcend the landscape The Mindset created-a world alive with algorithms and intelligences actively rewarding our most selfish tendencies-and rediscover community, mutual aid, and human interdependency. In a thundering conclusion, Survival of the Richest argues that the only way to survive the coming catastrophe is to ensure it doesn't happen in the first place"--
Subjects: Billionaires; Survivalism; Technology and civilization;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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WTF : what's the future and why it's up to us / by O'Reilly, Tim,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.In this book, Silicon Valley's leading intellectual and the founder of O'Reilly Media explores the upside and the potential downsides of our future - what he calls the 'next economy.'.
Subjects: Technology; Artificial intelligence.; Industries; Technological forecasting.; Technological innovations; Technology and civilization.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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What's the big idea? : inventions that changed life on earth forever / by Becker, Helaine,1961-; Attoe, Steve.;
LSC
Subjects: Inventions; Inventions; Technological innovations; Technology; Technology and civilization;
© c2009., Owlkids Books,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Falter : has the human game begun to play itself out? / by McKibben, Bill,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Civilization, Modern; Nature; Technology and civilization.; Human ecology.; Climatic changes.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Thank you for being late : an optimist's guide to thriving in the age of accelerations / by Friedman, Thomas L.,author.;
Subjects: Civilization, Modern; Climatic changes; Geopolitics.; Globalization.; Political participation.; Technological innovations; Technology and civilization.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 1 to 10 of 59 |