Our Final Hour

Author: Martin Rees
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786740698
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
A scientist known for unraveling the complexities of the universe over millions of years, Sir Martin Rees now warns that humankind is potentially the maker of its own demise -- and that of the cosmos. Though the twenty-first century could be the critical era in which life on Earth spreads beyond our solar system, it is just as likely that we have endangered the future of the entire universe. With clarity and precision, Rees maps out the ways technology could destroy our species and thereby foreclose the potential of a living universe whose evolution has just begun. Rees boldly forecasts the startling risks that stem from our accelerating rate of technological advances. We could be wiped out by lethal "engineered" airborne viruses, or by rogue nano-machines that replicate catastrophically. Experiments that crash together atomic nuclei could start a chain reaction that erodes all atoms of Earth, or could even tear the fabric of space itself. Through malign intent or by mistake, a single event could trigger global disaster. Though we can never completely safeguard our future, increased regulation and inspection can help us to prevent catastrophe. Rees's vision of the infinite future that we have put at risk -- a cosmos more vast and diverse than any of us has ever imagined -- is both a work of stunning scientific originality and a humanistic clarion call on behalf of the future of life.

On the Future

Author: Martin Rees
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691231060
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Book Description
A provocative and inspiring look at the future of humanity and science from world-renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes—good and bad—are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow. The future of humanity is bound to the future of science and hinges on how successfully we harness technological advances to address our challenges. If we are to use science to solve our problems while avoiding its dystopian risks, we must think rationally, globally, collectively, and optimistically about the long term. Advances in biotechnology, cybertechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence—if pursued and applied wisely—could empower us to boost the developing and developed world and overcome the threats humanity faces on Earth, from climate change to nuclear war. At the same time, further advances in space science will allow humans to explore the solar system and beyond with robots and AI. But there is no “Plan B” for Earth—no viable alternative within reach if we do not care for our home planet. Rich with fascinating insights into cutting-edge science and technology, this accessible book will captivate anyone who wants to understand the critical issues that will define the future of humanity on Earth and beyond.

Farewell to the Horse

Author: Ulrich Raulff
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241257611
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Book Description
THE SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 'A beautiful and thoughtful exploration of the role of the horse in creating our world' James Rebanks 'Scintillating, exhilarating ... you have never read a book like it ... a new way of considering history' Observer The relationship between horses and humans is an ancient, profound and complex one. For millennia horses provided the strength and speed that humans lacked. How we travelled, farmed and fought was dictated by the needs of this extraordinary animal. And then, suddenly, in the 20th century the links were broken and the millions of horses that shared our existence almost vanished, eking out a marginal existence on race-tracks and pony clubs. Farewell to the Horse is an engaging, brilliantly written and moving discussion of what horses once meant to us. Cities, farmland, entire industries were once shaped as much by the needs of horses as humans. The intervention of horses was fundamental in countless historical events. They were sculpted, painted, cherished, admired; they were thrashed, abused and exposed to terrible danger. From the Roman Empire to the Napoleonic Empire every world-conqueror needed to be shown on a horse. Tolstoy once reckoned that he had cumulatively spent some nine years of his life on horseback. Ulrich Raulff's book, a bestseller in Germany, is a superb monument to the endlessly various creature who has so often shared and shaped our fate.

Our Final Invention

Author: James Barrat
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250032261
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
Elon Musk named Our Final Invention one of five books everyone should read about the future—a Huffington Post Definitive Tech Book of 2013. Artificial Intelligence helps choose what books you buy, what movies you see, and even who you date. It puts the “smart” in your smartphone and soon it will drive your car. It makes most of the trades on Wall Street, and controls vital energy, water, and transportation infrastructure. But Artificial Intelligence can also threaten our existence. In as little as a decade, AI could match and then surpass human intelligence. Corporations and government agencies are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail—human-level intelligence. Once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful, and more alien than we can imagine. Through profiles of tech visionaries, industry watchdogs, and groundbreaking AI systems, Our Final Invention explores the perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? And will they allow us to? “If you read just one book that makes you confront scary high-tech realities that we’ll soon have no choice but to address, make it this one.” —The Washington Post “Science fiction has long explored the implications of humanlike machines (think of Asimov’s I, Robot), but Barrat’s thoughtful treatment adds a dose of reality.” —Science News “A dark new book . . . lays out a strong case for why we should be at least a little worried.” —The New Yorker

The End of the American Century

Author: David Stewart Mason
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742557024
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Book Description
This compelling and persuasive book is the first to explore all of the interrelated aspects of America's decline. Hard-hitting and provocative, yet measured and clearly written, The End of the American Century demonstrates the phases of social, economic, and international decline that mark the end of a period of world dominance that began with World War II. The costs of the war on terror and the Iraq War have exacerbated the already daunting problems of debt, poverty, inequality, and political and social decay. David S. Mason convincingly argues that the United States, like other great powers in the past, is experiencing the dilemma of "imperial overstretch"--bankrupting the home front in pursuit of costly and fruitless foreign ventures. The author shows that elsewhere in the world, the United States is no longer admired as a model for democracy and economic development; indeed, it is often feared or resented. He compares the United States and its accomplishments with other industrialized democracies and potential rivals. The European Union is more stable in economic and social terms, and countries like India and China are more economically dynamic. These and other nations will soon eclipse the United States, signaling a fundamental transformation of the global scene. This transition will require huge adjustments for American citizens and political leaders alike. But in the end, Americans--and the world--will be better off with a less profligate, more interdependent United States. More information is available on the author's website.

Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century

Author: John Smith
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1583675795
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 383

Book Description
Winner of the first Paul A. Baran-Paul M. Sweezy Memorial Award for an original monograph concerned with the political economy of imperialism, John Smith's Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century is a seminal examination of the relationship between the core capitalist countries and the rest of the world in the age of neoliberal globalization.Deploying a sophisticated Marxist methodology, Smith begins by tracing the production of certain iconic commodities-the T-shirt, the cup of coffee, and the iPhone-and demonstrates how these generate enormous outflows of money from the countries of the Global South to transnational corporations headquartered in the core capitalist nations of the Global North. From there, Smith draws on his empirical findings to powerfully theorize the current shape of imperialism. He argues that the core capitalist countries need no longer rely on military force and colonialism (although these still occur) but increasingly are able to extract profits from workers in the Global South through market mechanisms and, by aggressively favoring places with lower wages, the phenomenon of labor arbitrage. Meticulously researched and forcefully argued, Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century is a major contribution to the theorization and critique of global capitalism.

Unpainted to the Last

Author: Elizabeth A. Schultz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 452

Book Description
Endlessly pursued but ever elusive, Moby-Dick roams freely throughout the American imagination. A fathomless source for literary exploration, Melville's masterpiece has also inspired a stunning array of book illustrations, prints, comics, paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and even architectural designs. Innovative and lavishly illustrated, Unpainted to the Last illuminates this impressive body of work and shows how it opens up our understanding of both Moby-Dick and twentieth-century American art. The most continuously, frequently, and diversely illustrated of all American novels, Moby-Dick has attracted some remarkable book illustrators in Rockwell Kent, Boardman Robinson, Garrick Palmer, Barry Moser, and Bill Sienkiewicz, among others represented here. It has also inspired extraordinary creations by such prominent artists as Jackson Pollock, Frank Stella, Sam Francis, Benton Spruance, Leonard Baskin, Theodoros Stamos, Richard Ellis, Ralph Goings, Seymour Lipton, Walter Martin, Tony Rosenthal, Richard Serra, and Theodore Roszak. The artists reflect in equal measure the novel's realistic (plot, character, natural history) and philosophical modes, its visual and visionary dimensions. Some, like the obsessed and haunted Gilbert Wilson, claim Moby-Dick as their "Bible." Still others view the novel as a touchstone for feminist, multicultural, and environmentalist themes, or mock its status as a cultural icon.

Our Final Century

Author: Martin J. Rees
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
Our planet may be insignificant on a cosmic scale, but the evolution of intelligent life here makes it unusual, it is likely to be unique in our galaxy. Yet we may be on the verge of destroying it, of destroying ourselves - over the next century the future of life in the cosmos could be either jeopardised - or safeguarded for perpetuity.Exploring the threats of genetically engineered viruses, nanotechnology, and environmental catastrophe, Martin Rees demonstrates the risks we are taking, as well as the great difficulties of limiting them. Doomsday scenarios are familiar to us all, but rarely are they presented with such authority and knowledge as in this book.

IS THIS OUR FINAL MILLENNIUM?

Author: SURENDRA KUMAR SAGAR
Publisher: Notion Press
ISBN: 1636337309
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
EVIDENCE OF AN AMERICAN DEEP STATE LIES IN THE STATEMENT: “NEWTON’S LAWS CANNOT BE VIOLATED” In 100 Seconds to Midnight, Surendra Kumar Sagar explores grave international concerns that endanger the continued survival and evolution of the human mind. In an imaginary seminar, following deep philosophical discussions, the great scientists presented some ‘out of the box’ suggestions on how to resolve the conflicts on Earth. The seminar was cleverly designed to enable the predominantly Good State of America to finally take care of the Deep State and Switch On the good times for the people of America and the rest of the world. In the real world, it remains to be seen if Good Sense prevails. In his ‘Author’s Note’, Sagar urges the common citizens everywhere to get involved in whatever way they can to help in the continuation of the extraordinary intelligent life on this wonderful planet. “The author makes a valiant attempt to awaken the conscience and common sense of human beings so that we can dismantle these deep states of the world and reach a new stage in our lives where we can look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of our past.” – Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Ex-President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs With Biden in and Trump out (hopefully), the scientists of the BOAS Group may rewind the emblematic clock to 150 Seconds to Midnight.

The History Manifesto

Author: Jo Guldi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316165256
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
How should historians speak truth to power – and why does it matter? Why is five hundred years better than five months or five years as a planning horizon? And why is history – especially long-term history – so essential to understanding the multiple pasts which gave rise to our conflicted present? The History Manifesto is a call to arms to historians and everyone interested in the role of history in contemporary society. Leading historians Jo Guldi and David Armitage identify a recent shift back to longer-term narratives, following many decades of increasing specialisation, which they argue is vital for the future of historical scholarship and how it is communicated. This provocative and thoughtful book makes an important intervention in the debate about the role of history and the humanities in a digital age. It will provoke discussion among policymakers, activists and entrepreneurs as well as ordinary listeners, viewers, readers, students and teachers. This title is also available as Open Access.