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Artie Shaw, King of the Clarinet: His Life and Times
by Tom Nolan"The two sides of Shaw . . . are at the center of . . . [this] compulsively readable biography."--Daniel Akst, Wall Street Journal During America's Swing Era, no musician was more successful or controversial than Artie Shaw: the charismatic and opinionated clarinetist-bandleader whose dozens of hits became anthems for "the greatest generation." But some of his most beautiful recordings were not issued until decades after he'd left the scene. He broke racial barriers by hiring African American musicians. His frequent "retirements" earned him a reputation as the Hamlet of jazz. And he quit playing for good at the height of his powers. The handsome Shaw had seven wives (including Lana Turner and Ava Gardner). Inveterate reader and author of three books, he befriended the best-known writers of his time. Tom Nolan, who interviewed Shaw between 1990 and his death in 2004 and spoke with one hundred of his colleagues and contemporaries, captures Shaw and his era with candor and sympathy, bringing the master to vivid life and restoring him to his rightful place in jazz history. Originally published in hardcover under the title Three Chords for Beauty's Sake.
Artifact & Artifice: Classical Archaeology and the Ancient Historian
by Jonathan M. HallIs it possible to trace the footprints of the historical Sokrates in Athens? Was there really an individual named Romulus, and if so, when did he found Rome? Is the tomb beneath the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica home to the apostle Peter? To answer these questions, we need both dirt and words—that is, archaeology and history. Bringing the two fields into conversation, Artifact and Artifice offers an exciting excursion into the relationship between ancient history and archaeology and reveals the possibilities and limitations of using archaeological evidence in writing about the past. Jonathan M. Hall employs a series of well-known cases to investigate how historians may ignore or minimize material evidence that contributes to our knowledge of antiquity unless it correlates with information gleaned from texts. Dismantling the myth that archaeological evidence cannot impart information on its own, he illuminates the methodological and political principles at stake in using such evidence and describes how the disciplines of history and classical archaeology may be enlisted to work together. He also provides a brief sketch of how the discipline of classical archaeology evolved and considers its present and future role in historical approaches to antiquity. Written in clear prose and packed with maps, photos, and drawings, Artifact and Artifice will be an essential book for undergraduates in the humanities.
Artifact Classification: A Conceptual and Methodological Approach
by Dwight W ReadArchaeologists have been developing artifact typologies to understand cultural categories for as long as the discipline has existed. Dwight Read examines these attempts to systematize the cultural domains in premodern societies through a historical study of pottery typologies. He then offers a methodology for producing classifications that are both salient to the cultural groups that produced them and relevant for establishing cultural categories and timelines for the archaeologist attempting to understand the relationship between material culture and ideational culture of ancient societies. This volume is valuable to upper level students and professional archaeologists across the discipline.
Artifacts: How We Think and Write about Found Objects
by Crystal B. LakeA literary history of the old, broken, rusty, dusty, and moldy stuff that people dug up in England during the long eighteenth century.In the eighteenth century, antiquaries—wary of the biases of philosophers, scientists, politicians, and historians—used old objects to establish what they claimed was a true account of history. But just what could these small, fragmentary, frequently unidentifiable things, whose origins were unknown and whose worth or meaning was not self-evident, tell people about the past?In Artifacts, Crystal B. Lake unearths the four kinds of old objects that were most frequently found and cataloged in Enlightenment-era England: coins, manuscripts, weapons, and grave goods. Following these prized objects as they made their way into popular culture, Lake develops new interpretations of works by Joseph Addison, John Dryden, Horace Walpole, Jonathan Swift, Tobias Smollett, Lord Byron, and Percy Bysshe Shelley, among others. Rereading these authors with the artifact in mind uncovers previously unrecognized allusions that unravel works we thought we knew well. In this new history of antiquarianism and, by extension, historiography, Lake reveals that artifacts rarely acted as agents of fact, as those who studied them would have claimed. Instead, she explains, artifacts are objects unlike any other. Fragmented and from another time or place, artifacts invite us to fill in their shapes and complete their histories with our imaginations. Composed of body as well as spirit and located in the present as well as the past, artifacts inspire speculative reconstructions that frequently contradict one another. Lake's history and theory of the artifact will be of particular importance to scholars of material culture and forms. This fascinating book provides curious readers with new ways of evaluating the relationships that exist between texts and objects.
Artifacts and Ideas: Essays in Archaeology
by Bruce G. TriggerPrehistoric archaeologists cannot observe their human subjects nor can they directly access their subjects' ideas. Both must be inferred from the remnants of the material objects they made and used. In recent decades this incontrovertible fact has encouraged partisan approaches to the history and method of archaeology. An empirical discipline emphasizing data, classification, and chronology has given way to a behaviorist approach that interprets finds as products of ecologically adaptive strategies, and to a postmodern alternative that relies on an idealist, cultural-relativist epistemology based on belief and cultural traditions.In Artifacts and Ideas, Bruce G. Trigger challenges all partisan versions of recent developments in archaeology, while remaining committed to understanding the past from a social science perspective. Over 30 years, Trigger has addressed fundamental epistemological issues, and opposed the influence of narrow theoretical and ideological commitments on archaeological interpretation since the 1960s. Trigger encourages a relativistic understanding of archaeological interpretation. Yet as post-processual archaeology, influenced by postmodernism, became increasingly influential, Trigger countered nihilistic subjectivism by laying greater emphasis on how in the long run the constraints of evidence could be expected to produce a more comprehensive and objective understanding of the past.In recent years Trigger has argued that while all human behavior is culturally mediated, the capacity for such mediation has evolved as a flexible and highly efficient means by which humans adapt to a world that exists independently of their will. Trigger agrees that a complete understanding of what has shaped the archaeological record requires knowledge both of past beliefs and of human behavior. He knows also that one must understand humans as organisms with biologically grounded drives, emotions, and means of understanding. Likewise, even in the absence of data supplied in a linguistic format by texts and oral traditions, at least some of the more ecologically adaptive forms of human behavior and some general patterns of belief that display cross-cultural uniformity will be susceptible to archaeological analysis.Advocating a realist epistemology and a materialist ontology, Artifacts and Ideas offers an illuminating guide to the present state of the discipline as well as to how archaeology can best achieve its goals.
Artifacts and Organizations: Beyond Mere Symbolism (Organization and Management Series)
by Anat Rafaeli Michael G. PrattArtifacts in organizations are ubiquitous but often overlooked. The chapters in this book illustrate that artifacts are everywhere in organizational life. They prevail in how offices are decorated, language is used, business cards are designed, and office cartoons are displayed. In addition, artifacts can be seen in the name of an organization and its employees, products, buildings, processes, and contracts, and they represent people, organizations, and professions.Artifacts and Organizations suggests that artifacts are neither superficial nor pertinent only to organizational culture. They are relevant to a rich and diverse set of organizational processes within and across multiple levels of analysis. Artifacts are shown to be integral to identity, sense-giving and sense-making processes, interpretation and negotiation, legitimacy, and branding. The book seeks to communicate that artifacts are often much more than what is currently recognized in organizational research. The four sections of this edited volume address various aspects of what is known about and known through artifacts. Together, the full set of chapters challenge the field to move beyond a narrow conceptualization and understanding of artifacts in organizations.This book leads students to embrace the full complexity and richness of artifacts. In addition, the text seeks to inspire those who focus on artifacts as symbols to delve deeper into the complexities of artifacts-in-use, for individuals, organizations, and institutions.
Artifacts of a '90s Kid: Humorous Musings and Observations for Every Millennial
by Alana HitchellShe reminds you what it was like to grow up during an era that consisted of playing countless hours of Nintendo, reading Lurlene McDaniel books, and wearing Esprit T-shirts and Yoyo jeans. With no real responsibilities to worry about, a typical day involved playing board games, eating junk food, and obsessing over the latest Lisa Frank stickers.Artifacts of a ’90s Kid is a candid, coming-of-age, humorous account of Alana’s experiences as a millennial growing up in Central Illinois. It focuses on her elementary and junior high school years (1992–1999) and includes present-day commentary. Alana offers up a hilarious compilation of diary entries, homework fails, notes, artwork, poetry, and awkward photos from her childhood—all that and a bag of chips!Although the handwriting and spelling can be atrocious at times, millennials will relate to Alana’s diary entries describing a very innocent, honest, and naive time when life was simple and carefree. Featuring many milestones of growing up—from making friends, to crushes, to being overly dramatic—along with some totally dope nineties references that every millennial is sure to enjoy.
Artifacts of Thinking: Reading Hannah Arendt's Denktagebuch
by Roger Berkowitz Ian StoreyArtifacts of Thinking: Reading Arendt’s “Denktagebuch” offers a path through Hannah Arendt’s recently published Denktagebuch, or “Book of Thoughts.” In this book a number of innovative Arendt scholars come together to ask how we should think about these remarkable writings in the context of Arendt’s published writing and broader political thinking. Unique in its form, the Denktagebuch offers brilliant insights into Arendt’s practice of thinking and writing. Artifacts of Thinking provides an introduction to the Denktagebuch as well as a glimpse of these fascinating but untranslated fragments that reveal not only Arendt’s understanding of “the life of the mind” but her true lived experience of it.
Artifacts Versus Nature Body: A Wealth-Additive Scheme of Enterprise, Economics, and Nature Managing
by Masayuki MatsuiThis book proposes a wealth-additive scheme of managing and maximizing (win–win and sharing) the marginal value (eco-entropy) of artifacts by humanizing the artifacts’ enterprise and their economics with nature. This type of clockwork would be achieved on a base of the science of nature versus artifacts and the body of science in my Springer books since 2008. My books are advancing factory science, economics, and the science of artifacts and play their role in the sandwich theory and its pair-map microcosm of the 3D-type, toward the development of body science. Then, the wealth-additive goal of the “body” is not only similar to the marginal profit, GDP, and value in economics, but also means the marginal diversity (eco-entropy) and its wealth of economics versus reliability (sustainability) in the body of the world. The modern world, for example, is faced with deadlocked negotiations over the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) bodies at the United Nations. Thus, the forthcoming world of SDGs would be much better and more constructive at transforming traditional bodies of the 3M&I class (human, material, money, and information) as some nano (gene/therblig)-transformation toward eco-entropy(marginal value/diversity) on earth. This semi-visible world is traditionally limited to a molecular size and is too rough at the practical rig-level. Thus, any unsolved and invisible contradictions left behind on earth are subject to SDGs in the practical world. This approach proposes a visible method that could find and solve these contradictions (angles) by transforming the artifact's body, consisting of the 3M&I gene. The pair-map microcosm and its Matsui's M-equation have been designed mainly based on nature and science books on artifacts (in 2016 and 2019). Following these visible methods, our well-being subject might be able to make a breakthrough or make such unsolved contradictions or stalemates subside as any SDGs society of individuals in the near future.Finally, the book will explore and construct a new academic discipline involving 3M&I body science versus cybernetics. And, the study introduces validation cases of convenience stores, self-driving cars, and robotization (individualization) of artificial objects as the realization of the supply–demand system and the ideal form of artificial and natural bodies. Based on this perspective, the dialogue is conducted according to a creative structure of six parts, twelve chapters, and two appendices.
Artifactual: Forensic and Documentary Knowing (Experimental Futures)
by Elizabeth Anne DavisIn Artifactual, Elizabeth Anne Davis explores how Cypriot researchers, scientists, activists, and artists process and reckon with civil and state violence that led to the enduring division of the island, using forensic and documentary materials to retell and recontextualize conflicts between and within the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities. Davis follows forensic archaeologists and anthropologists who attempt to locate, identify, and return to relatives the remains of Cypriots killed in those conflicts. She turns to filmmakers who use archival photographs and footage to come to terms with political violence and its legacies. In both forensic science and documentary filmmaking, the dynamics of secrecy and revelation shape how material remains such as bones and archival images are given meaning. Throughout, Davis demonstrates how Cypriots navigate the tension between an ethics of knowledge, which valorizes truth as a prerequisite for recovery and reconciliation, and the politics of knowledge, which renders evidence as irremediably partial and perpetually falsifiable.
Artifak: Cultural Revival, Tourism, and the Recrafting of History in Vanuatu
by Hugo DeBlockIn Vanuatu, commoditization and revitalization of culture and the arts do not necessarily work against each other; both revolve around value formation and the authentication of things. This book investigates the meaning and value of (art) objects as commodities in differing states of transit and transition: in the local place, on the market, in the museum. It provides an ethnographic account of commoditization in a context of revitalization of culture and the arts in Vanuatu, and the issues this generates, such as authentication of actions and things, indigenized copyright, and kastom disputes over ownership and the nature of kastom itself.
The Artification of Luxury Fashion Brands: Synergies, Contaminations, and Hybridizations (Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management)
by Marta Massi Alex TurriniDespite being vastly different both socially and economically, art and fashion are increasingly converging to collaborate in mutually advantageous ways. This book discusses the mutual benefits of collaboration through analysis of successful case studies, including corporate art collections and museums, patronage and sponsorship initiatives, and art-based brand management in the fashion sector. It provides a categorization of the strategies that fashion firms employ when they join the art world and illustrates how art and fashion brands can interact strategically at different levels. This book will be a valuable resource to researchers, providing an enhanced understanding of the potential of artification for managing brands and products.
Artifice and Invention in the Spanish Golden Age
by Stephen BoydThe corpus of literary works shaped by the Renaissance and the Baroque that appeared in Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had a transforming effect on writing throughout Europe and left a rich legacy that scholars continue to explore. For four decades after the Spanish Civil War the study of this literature flourished in Great Britain and Ireland, where many of the leading scholars in the field were based. Though this particular 'Golden Age' was followed by a decline for many years, there have recently been signs of a significant revival. The present book seeks to showcase the latest research of established and younger colleagues from Great Britain and Ireland on the Spanish Golden Age. It falls into four sections, in each of which works by particular authors are examined in detail: prose (Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco de Quevedo, Baltasar Gracian), poetry (The Count of Salinas, Luis de Gongora, Pedro Soto de Rojas), drama (Cervantes, Calderon, Lope de Vega), and colonial writing (Bernardo Balbuena, Hernando Dominguez Camargo, Alonso de Ercilla). There are essays also on more general themes (the motif of poetry as manna; rehearsals on the Golden Age stage; proposals put to viceroys on governing Spanish Naples). The essays, taken together, offer a representative sample of current scholarship in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Artificers & Alchemy: A Young Adventurer's Guide (Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer's Guides)
by Jim Zub Stacy King Official Dungeons & Dragons LicensedAn immersive, one-of-a-kind guide to the wondrous magical items and creatures of Dungeons & Dragons, the world&’s most beloved tabletop role-playing gameFeaturing amazing illustrations and expert insights, Artificers & Alchemy explores peculiar phenomena, sentient weapons, guardian gear, and the artificers who create these enchanted objects. If you&’re eager to start your own D&D adventures, this guidebook provides the perfect starting point to creating worlds of fantasy and weaving an epic story all your own.
Artificial: La nueva inteligencia y el contorno de lo humano
by Mariano Sigman Santiago BilinkisIdeas, herramientas y preguntas para aproximarse a la inteligencia artificial sin miedo, de la mano de Mariano Sigman, uno de los neurocientíficos más destacados del mundo, y Santiago Bilinkis, emprendedor y tecnólogo. Este no es un libro de oráculos o vaticinios, sino las reflexiones de dos autores que consideran que estar informados es la mejor forma de navegar la indefectible ola de la inteligencia artificial. En una conversación tan lúcida como estimulante, el neurocientífico superventas Mariano Sigman y el emprendedor Santiago Bilinkis repasan el origen, las utilidades y los riesgos de esta tecnología. ¿Será una lámpara de Aladino o una caja de Pandora? ¿Cómo acercarnos al mejor escenario? ¿Estamos caminando al borde del precipicio? ¿Qué ocurrirá si la inteligencia artificial encuentra aquello en lo que somos más débiles? Si bien exponen las razones por las que debemos ser cautos y responsables, huyen del pesimismo y nos invitan a pensar que de este desafío podemos sacar nuestra mejor versión.
Artificial and Cognitive Computing for Sustainable Healthcare Systems in Smart Cities
by Prasenjit Chatterjee Devasis Pradhan Prasanna Kumar Sahu Hla Myo TunArtificial and Cognitive Computing for Sustainable Healthcare Systems in Smart Cities delves into the transformative potential of artificial and cognitive computing in the realm of healthcare systems, maintaining a specific emphasis on sustainability. By exploring the integration of advanced technologies in smart cities, the authors examine and discuss how AI and cognitive computing can be harnessed to enhance healthcare delivery. The book provides focused navigation through innovative solutions and strategies that contribute to the creation of sustainable healthcare ecosystems within the dynamic environment of smart cities. From optimizing resource utilization to improving patient outcomes, this comprehensive exploration provides insight for readers with an interest in the future of healthcare within the era of intelligent urban development.
The Artificial Ape: How Technology Changed the Course of Human Evolution
by Timothy TaylorWhile Darwin's theory explains our common descent, scientists have grappled with the reasons why human evolution defies the principles of natural selection and why, although we dominate the planet, we have become the weakest ape. In this fascinating narrative, leading archaeologist Timothy Taylor proposes that it was our early adoption of tools, objects, and, now, technology that changed us, demonstrating how: baby slings made out of animal fur freed up our arms up to use tools; clothes kept us warm, reducing our need for body hair; shelter protected us from the elements and led our bodies to become slighter and physically weaker. Drawing on the latest fossil evidence, Taylor shows how humans made choices that assumed greater control over their own evolution.
Artificial Assemblies with Cooperative DNA Recognition (Springer Theses)
by Zutao YUThis book presents three types of synthetically cooperative DNA recognizing assemblies, in order to advance the development of programmable DNA-binding pyrrole–imidazole polyamides (PIPs). PIPs represent the best-characterized class of small molecule DNA binders that can be modified to bind with any predetermined DNA sequence and regulate gene expression patterns in a transgene-free and cost-effective manner. PIPs are characterized by their small molecular size, high binding affinity, programmability, sequence selectivity, and moderate cell permeability. In recent years, there have been numerous novel studies on the applications of these biological tools; this research is thoroughly reviewed in the first chapter. There are several critical issues, however, that impede the further broad study of PIPs, which greatly concern the author. For instance, the short PIP version has an excessively hi^10 bp; this significantly decreases cell permeability. Moreover, the conventional binding strategy for PIP design cannot apply to flexible DNA binding—for example, the DNA-binding mode of a transcription factor pair. In this book, the author describes the development of three kinds of cooperative DNA-binding systems that help resolve the current highly problematic issues concerning PIPs. These three systems offer a range of significant advantages, such as favorable sequence selectivity, long recognition sequence, higher binding affinity, and a flexible gap distance. Released at a critical juncture in the application of PIPs, this book will greatly facilitate their use as therapeutic drugs in the treatment of cancer and hereditary diseases, and in regenerative medicine.
Artificial Beings: The Conscience of a Conscious Machine (Wiley-iste Ser.)
by Jacques PitratThis book demonstrates that not only is it possible to create entities with both consciousness and conscience, but that those entities demonstrate them in ways different from our own, thereby showing a new kind of consciousness.
Artificial Believers: The Ascription of Belief
by Yorick Wilks Afzal BallimModeling of individual beliefs is essential to the computer understanding of natural languages. Phenomena at all levels -- syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic -- cannot be fully analyzed in the absence of models of a hearer and of the hearer's model of other believers. The heart of this text is the presentation of an artificial intelligence (AI) program intended to simulate certain aspects of a human believer. This book provides a prolog program, Viewgen, that maintains belief structures about the world and other believers, and is able to ascribe beliefs to others without direct evidence by using a form of default reasoning. The authors contend that a plausible model such as this can -- in the best cognitive science tradition -- shed light on the long-standing philosophical problem of what belief is. The issues presented here will be of considerable interest to an informed general reader as well as those with a background in any of the disciplines that make up what is now called cognitive science: philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neuropsychology, and also AI itself.
Artificial Cognition Architectures
by Shelli Friess John N. Carbone James CrowderThe goal of this book is to establish the foundation, principles, theory, and concepts that are the backbone of real, autonomous Artificial Intelligence. Presented here are some basic human intelligence concepts framed for Artificial Intelligence systems. These include concepts like Metacognition and Metamemory, along with architectural constructs for Artificial Intelligence versions of human brain functions like the prefrontal cortex. Also presented are possible hardware and software architectures that lend themselves to learning, reasoning, and self-evolution
Artificial Cognitive Architecture with Self-Learning and Self-Optimization Capabilities: Case Studies In Micromachining Processes (Springer Theses)
by Gerardo BeruvidesThis book introduces three key issues: (i) development of a gradient-free method to enable multi-objective self-optimization; (ii) development of a reinforcement learning strategy to carry out self-learning and finally, (iii) experimental evaluation and validation in two micromachining processes (i.e., micro-milling and micro-drilling). The computational architecture (modular, network and reconfigurable for real-time monitoring and control) takes into account the analysis of different types of sensors, processing strategies and methodologies for extracting behavior patterns from representative process’ signals. The reconfiguration capability and portability of this architecture are supported by two major levels: the cognitive level (core) and the executive level (direct data exchange with the process). At the same time, the architecture includes different operating modes that interact with the process to be monitored and/or controlled. The cognitive level includes three fundamental modes such as modeling, optimization and learning, which are necessary for decision-making (in the form of control signals) and for the real-time experimental characterization of complex processes. In the specific case of the micromachining processes, a series of models based on linear regression, nonlinear regression and artificial intelligence techniques were obtained. On the other hand, the executive level has a constant interaction with the process to be monitored and/or controlled. This level receives the configuration and parameterization from the cognitive level to perform the desired monitoring and control tasks.
Artificial Cognitive Systems: A Primer
by David VernonA concise introduction to a complex field, bringing together recent work in cognitive science and cognitive robotics to offer a solid grounding on key issues. <p><p> This book offers a concise and accessible introduction to the emerging field of artificial cognitive systems. Cognition, both natural and artificial, is about anticipating the need for action and developing the capacity to predict the outcome of those actions. Drawing on artificial intelligence, developmental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, the field of artificial cognitive systems has as its ultimate goal the creation of computer-based systems that can interact with humans and serve society in a variety of ways. This primer brings together recent work in cognitive science and cognitive robotics to offer readers a solid grounding on key issues. <p><p> The book first develops a working definition of cognitive systems―broad enough to encompass multiple views of the subject and deep enough to help in the formulation of theories and models. It surveys the cognitivist, emergent, and hybrid paradigms of cognitive science and discusses cognitive architectures derived from them. It then turns to the key issues, with chapters devoted to autonomy, embodiment, learning and development, memory and prospection, knowledge and representation, and social cognition. Ideas are introduced in an intuitive, natural order, with an emphasis on the relationships among ideas and building to an overview of the field. The main text is straightforward and succinct; sidenotes drill deeper on specific topics and provide contextual links to further reading.
Artificial Communication: How Algorithms Produce Social Intelligence (Strong Ideas)
by Elena EspositoA proposal that we think about digital technologies such as machine learning not in terms of artificial intelligence but as artificial communication.Algorithms that work with deep learning and big data are getting so much better at doing so many things that it makes us uncomfortable. How can a device know what our favorite songs are, or what we should write in an email? Have machines become too smart? In Artificial Communication, Elena Esposito argues that drawing this sort of analogy between algorithms and human intelligence is misleading. If machines contribute to social intelligence, it will not be because they have learned how to think like us but because we have learned how to communicate with them. Esposito proposes that we think of &“smart&” machines not in terms of artificial intelligence but in terms of artificial communication. To do this, we need a concept of communication that can take into account the possibility that a communication partner may be not a human being but an algorithm—which is not random and is completely controlled, although not by the processes of the human mind. Esposito investigates this by examining the use of algorithms in different areas of social life. She explores the proliferation of lists (and lists of lists) online, explaining that the web works on the basis of lists to produce further lists; the use of visualization; digital profiling and algorithmic individualization, which personalize a mass medium with playlists and recommendations; and the implications of the &“right to be forgotten.&” Finally, she considers how photographs today seem to be used to escape the present rather than to preserve a memory.
Artificial Culture: Identity, Technology, and Bodies (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies)
by Tama LeaverArtificial Culture is an examination of the articulation, construction, and representation of "the artificial" in contemporary popular cultural texts, especially science fiction films and novels. The book argues that today we live in an artificial culture due to the deep and inextricable relationship between people, our bodies, and technology at large. While the artificial is often imagined as outside of the natural order and thus also beyond the realm of humanity, paradoxically, artificial concepts are simultaneously produced and constructed by human ideas and labor. The artificial can thus act as a boundary point against which we as a culture can measure what it means to be human. Science fiction feature films and novels, and other related media, frequently and provocatively deploy ideas of the artificial in ways which the lines between people, our bodies, spaces and culture more broadly blur and, at times, dissolve. Building on the rich foundational work on the figures of the cyborg and posthuman, this book situates the artificial in similar terms, but from a nevertheless distinctly different viewpoint. After examining ideas of the artificial as deployed in film, novels and other digital contexts, this study concludes that we are now part of an artificial culture entailing a matrix which, rather than separating minds and bodies, or humanity and the digital, reinforces the symbiotic connection between identities, bodies, and technologies.