Books with category 📱 Technology
Displaying 7 books

Rationality

2021

by Steven Pinker

Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much irrationality in the world? Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now, answers these questions in Rationality. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing?

Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply irrational--cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies, and illusions. Instead, he explains that we think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning our best thinkers have discovered over the millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and optimal ways to update beliefs and commit to choices individually and with others.

These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book--until now. Rationality also explores its opposite: how the rational pursuit of self-interest, sectarian solidarity, and uplifting mythology by individuals can add up to crippling irrationality in a society. Collective rationality depends on norms that are explicitly designed to promote objectivity and truth.

Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humor, Rationality will enlighten, inspire, and empower.

Ask Iwata

"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." —Satoru Iwata

Satoru Iwata was the former Global President and CEO of Nintendo and a gifted programmer who played a key role in the creation of many of the world's best-known games. He led the production of innovative platforms such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii, and laid the groundwork for the development of the wildly successful Pokémon Go game and the Nintendo Switch. Known for his analytical and imaginative mind, but even more for his humility and people-first approach to leadership, Satoru Iwata was beloved by game fans and developers worldwide.

In this motivational collection, Iwata addresses diverse subjects such as locating bottlenecks, how success breeds resistance to change, and why programmers should never say no. Drawn from the "Iwata Asks" series of interviews with key contributors to Nintendo games and hardware, and featuring conversations with renowned Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of EarthBound Shigesato Itoi, Ask Iwata offers game fans and business leaders an insight into the leadership, development and design philosophies of one of the most beloved figures in gaming history.

The Soulmate Equation

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn't “father material” before her daughter was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close but working constantly to stay afloat is hard...and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that's predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98 percent compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly's founder, Dr. River Peña. This is one number she can't wrap her head around because she already knows Dr. Peña. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate.

But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we'll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could launch GeneticAlly's valuation sky-high, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Death's End

2021

by Ken Liu, Cixin Liu

Death's End, the third installment of the Remembrance of Earth's Past series, marks the thrilling conclusion to Cixin Liu's highly acclaimed near-future science fiction saga. This epic narrative, which has captured the imagination of readers worldwide, is soon to be adapted into a Netflix Original Series.

Set half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the story unfolds in a future where the principle of Dark Forest Deterrence has maintained a fragile peace, keeping the Trisolaran invaders at bay. The Earth basks in prosperity, enriched by Trisolaran knowledge, leading to rapid advancements in human science and a cultural exchange that suggests the two civilizations might finally coexist without the looming threat of annihilation.

However, this era of peace has rendered humanity complacent. Enter Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early 21st century, who emerges from hibernation into this newfound utopia. Her reawakening and the knowledge she carries of a long-forgotten program from the dawn of the Trisolar Crisis could destabilize the delicate equilibrium between Earth and the Trisolarans.

As the narrative explores the complexities of interstellar politics and the human condition, readers are left to wonder: Will humanity seize the opportunity to expand to the stars, or will it succumb to a premature end?

Klara and the Sun

2021

by Kazuo Ishiguro

From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.

Klara and the Sun, the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

In its award citation in 2017, the Nobel committee described Ishiguro's books as "novels of great emotional force" and said he has "uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

Silicon Values

2021

by Jillian C. York

How Google, Facebook and Amazon threaten our Democracy.

What is the impact of surveillance capitalism on our right to free speech? The internet once promised to be a place of extraordinary freedom beyond the control of money or politics, but today corporations and platforms exercise more control over our ability to access information and share knowledge to a greater extent than any state. 

From the online calls to arms in the thick of the Arab Spring to the contemporary front line of misinformation, Jillian C. York charts the war over our digital rights. She looks at both how the big corporations have become unaccountable censors, and the devastating impact it has had on those who have been censored. 

Who decides the difference between political debate and hate speech? How does this impact on our identity, our ability to create communities and to protest? Who regulates the censors? In response to this threat to our democracy, York proposes a user-powered movement against the platforms that demands change and a new form of ownership over our own data.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

2021

by Bill Gates

In How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical, and accessible plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in various fields, he focuses on what must be done to stop the planet's slide toward environmental disaster.

Gates gathers all the information we need to understand the importance of working toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases and details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He provides a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face and describes the areas where technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where current technology can be made more effective, and where breakthrough technologies are needed.

Finally, he offers a concrete plan for achieving zero emissions, suggesting policies for governments to adopt and actions individuals can take to hold governments, employers, and themselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. Achieving zero emissions will not be simple, but Gates is optimistic that by following the guidelines he sets out, it is a goal within our reach.

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