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The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science
by John TreschOne of The Christian Science Monitor's ten best books of JuneAn innovative biography of Edgar Allan Poe—highlighting his fascination and feuds with science.Decade after decade, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most popular American writers. He is beloved around the world for his pioneering detective fiction, tales of horror, and haunting, atmospheric verse. But what if there was another side to the man who wrote “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”?In The Reason for the Darkness of the Night, John Tresch offers a bold new biography of a writer whose short, tortured life continues to fascinate. Shining a spotlight on an era when the lines separating entertainment, speculation, and scientific inquiry were blurred, Tresch reveals Poe’s obsession with science and lifelong ambition to advance and question human knowledge. Even as he composed dazzling works of fiction, he remained an avid and often combative commentator on new discoveries, publishing and hustling in literary scenes that also hosted the era’s most prominent scientists, semi-scientists, and pseudo-intellectual rogues. As one newspaper put it, “Mr. Poe is not merely a man of science—not merely a poet—not merely a man of letters. He is all combined; and perhaps he is something more.”Taking us through his early training in mathematics and engineering at West Point and the tumultuous years that followed, Tresch shows that Poe lived, thought, and suffered surrounded by science—and that many of his most renowned and imaginative works can best be understood in its company. He cast doubt on perceived certainties even as he hungered for knowledge, and at the end of his life delivered a mind-bending lecture on the origins of the universe that would win the admiration of twentieth-century physicists. Pursuing extraordinary conjectures and a unique aesthetic vision, he remained a figure of explosive contradiction: he gleefully exposed the hoaxes of the era’s scientific fraudsters even as he perpetrated hoaxes himself. Tracing Poe’s hard and brilliant journey, The Reason for the Darkness of the Night is an essential new portrait of a writer whose life is synonymous with mystery and imagination—and an entertaining, erudite tour of the world of American science just as it was beginning to come into its own.
The Reason for the Seasons
by Ellie PetersonWe all know there are four seasons in a year. But HOW do we know? Join intrepid young scientist-adventurer Joulia Copernicus on a journey around the world as she explains with humor and wit how we know what causes the seasons.Winter, spring, summer, fall -- we all have a favorite season. But what makes the seasons happen in the first place? Ellie Peterson's clear, concise language and bold, kid-friendly illustrations bring science to life through narrator Joulia Copernicus, a strong and adventurous kid scientist. Kids will laugh while learning at the same time about the science behind the changing of the seasons throughout the year.
The Reasoning of Quantum Mechanics: Operator Theory and the Harmonic Oscillator (Synthesis Lectures on Engineering, Science, and Technology)
by Horst BeyerThis book presents and details the process of quantization of a classical mechanical system in a relevant physical system, the harmonic oscillator. In quantum field theory or general relativity, mathematics and physics are inextricably interwoven. As such, the book is mathematically rigorous. The author focuses on the properties of the quantum system that can be observed and measured and interprets the resulting theory. The methods of operator theory are discussed throughout in the formulation of the theory as well as in the calculation of the consequences of the theory. The book addresses the mathematical support of the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics through the spectral theorems for (densely-defined and linear) self-adjoint operators in Hilbert spaces. Considerable focus is placed on the measurement process and questions the challenges of the wave function, the EPR paradox, and Bell’s inequality.
The Reasoning of Quantum Mechanics: Operator Theory and the Harmonic Oscillator (Synthesis Lectures on Engineering, Science, and Technology)
by Horst R. BeyerThis Second Edition presents and details the process of quantization of a classical mechanical system in a relevant physical system, the harmonic oscillator. As mathematics and physics are inextricably interwoven in quantum theories, the author takes a mathematically rigorous approach. The book focuses on properties of the quantum system that can be observed and measured, and the author then interprets the resulting theory. The book covers methods of operator theory in the formulation of the theory as well as in the calculation of the consequences of the theory. The author addresses the mathematical foundation of the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics through the spectral theorems for (densely-defined and linear) self-adjoint operators in complex Hilbert spaces. The book also explains the measurement process and questions the challenges of the wave function, the EPR paradox, and Bell’s inequality.
The Rebirth of Environmentalism: Grassroots Activism from the Spotted Owl to the Polar Bear
by Douglas BevingtonOver the past two decades, a select group of small but highly effective grassroots organizations have achieved remarkable success in protecting endangered species and forests in the United States. The Rebirth of Environmentalism tells for the first time the story of these grassroots biodiversity groups. Author Douglas Bevington offers engaging case studies of three of the most influential biodiversity protection campaigns--the Headwaters Forest campaign, the "zero cut" campaign on national forests, and the endangered species litigation campaign exemplified by the Center for Biological Diversity--providing the reader with an in-depth understanding of the experience of being involved in grassroots activism.Based on first-person interviews with key activists in these campaigns, the author explores the role of tactics, strategy, funding, organization, movement culture, and political conditions in shaping the influence of the groups. He also examines the challenging relationship between radicals and moderate groups within the environmental movement, and addresses how grassroots organizations were able to overcome constraints that had limited the advocacy of other environmental organizations.Filled with inspiring stories of activists, groups, and campaigns that most readers will not have encountered before, The Rebirth of Environmentalism explores how grassroots biodiversity groups have had such a big impact despite their scant resources, and presents valuable lessons that can help the environmental movement as a whole--as well as other social movements--become more effective.
The Reciprocity of Perceiver and Environment: The Evolution of James J. Gibson's Ecological Psychology (Psychology Library Editions: Perception #18)
by Thomas J. LombardoOriginally published in 1987, this title intended to historically reveal, through tracing Gibson’s development, the substance of his views and how they bore upon general philosophical issues in theories of knowledge, and to investigate in detail the historical context of Gibson’s theoretical position within psychology. Though the author has included a history of Gibson’s perceptual research and experimentation, the focus is to explicate the ‘dynamic abstract form’ of Gibson’s ecological approach. His emphasis is philosophical and theoretical, attempting to bring out the direction Gibson was moving in and how such changes could restructure the theoretical fabric of psychology. He devotes considerable attention to the Greeks, Medievalists, and the founders of the Scientific Revolution. This is because Gibson’s theoretical challenge runs deep into the structure of western thought. The authors’ central goal was to set Gibson’s ecological theory within the historical context of fundamental philosophical-scientific issues.
The Recombinant University: Genetic Engineering and the Emergence of Stanford Biotechnology
by Doogab YiThe advent of recombinant DNA technology in the 1970s was a key moment in the history of both biotechnology and the commercialization of academic research. Doogab Yi’s The Recombinant University draws us deeply into the academic community in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the technology was developed and adopted as the first major commercial technology for genetic engineering. In doing so, it reveals how research patronage, market forces, and legal developments from the late 1960s through the early 1980s influenced the evolution of the technology and reshaped the moral and scientific life of biomedical researchers. Bay Area scientists, university administrators, and government officials were fascinated by and increasingly engaged in the economic and political opportunities associated with the privatization of academic research. Yi uncovers how the attempts made by Stanford scientists and administrators to demonstrate the relevance of academic research were increasingly mediated by capitalistic conceptions of knowledge, medical innovation, and the public interest. Their interventions resulted in legal shifts and moral realignments that encouraged the privatization of academic research for public benefit. The Recombinant University brings to life the hybrid origin story of biotechnology and the ways the academic culture of science has changed in tandem with the early commercialization of recombinant DNA technology.
The Reconstruction of Post-War Labour Markets in The Southern African Development Community: Insights from The Democratic Republic of The Congo
by Christopher Changwe Nshimbi Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka Saint José InakaThis book provides a comprehensive overview of post-war labour market reconstructions, in the context of a regional bloc whose member states have experienced conflict. Focusing on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, the book explores how major conflicts often expose shortcomings in affected countries particularly on their post-war labour market reconstruction processes. The authors discuss how countries in the SADC region in particular are equipped to navigate such processes. This key question drives the overview of relationships between labour market issues and wars of liberation from colonial rule and apartheid, rights to self-determination and racial (in)equality and the need to succinctly explain how labour market issues shaped civil wars in some post-independent SADC member states. The book examines the role of the state in reconstruction processes of post-war labour markets and the contribution of labour market institutions to these reconstructions. It further analyses private sector participation in remaking labour markets and workers’ experiences in finding employment in labour markets under reconstruction. The book provides specific insights from experiences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Recursive Mind
by Michael C. CorballisThe Recursive Mind challenges the commonly held notion that language is what makes us uniquely human. In this compelling book, Michael Corballis argues that what distinguishes us in the animal kingdom is our capacity for recursion: the ability to embed our thoughts within other thoughts. "I think, therefore I am," is an example of recursive thought, because the thinker has inserted himself into his thought. Recursion enables us to conceive of our own minds and the minds of others. It also gives us the power of mental "time travel"--the ability to insert past experiences, or imagined future ones, into present consciousness. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, animal behavior, anthropology, and archaeology, Corballis demonstrates how these recursive structures led to the emergence of language and speech, which ultimately enabled us to share our thoughts, plan with others, and reshape our environment to better reflect our creative imaginations. He shows how the recursive mind was critical to survival in the harsh conditions of the Pleistocene epoch, and how it evolved to foster social cohesion. He traces how language itself adapted to recursive thinking, first through manual gestures, then later, with the emergence of Homo sapiens, vocally. Toolmaking and manufacture arose, and the application of recursive principles to these activities in turn led to the complexities of human civilization, the extinction of fellow large-brained hominins like the Neandertals, and our species' supremacy over the physical world.Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.
The Recursive Mind: The Origins of Human Language, Thought, and Civilization
by Michael C. CorballisThe Recursive Mind challenges the commonly held notion that language is what makes us uniquely human. In this compelling book, Michael Corballis argues that what distinguishes us in the animal kingdom is our capacity for recursion: the ability to embed our thoughts within other thoughts. "I think, therefore I am," is an example of recursive thought, because the thinker has inserted himself into his thought. Recursion enables us to conceive of our own minds and the minds of others. It also gives us the power of mental "time travel"--the ability to insert past experiences, or imagined future ones, into present consciousness.Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, animal behavior, anthropology, and archaeology, Corballis demonstrates how these recursive structures led to the emergence of language and speech, which ultimately enabled us to share our thoughts, plan with others, and reshape our environment to better reflect our creative imaginations. He shows how the recursive mind was critical to survival in the harsh conditions of the Pleistocene epoch, and how it evolved to foster social cohesion. He traces how language itself adapted to recursive thinking, first through manual gestures, then later, with the emergence of Homo sapiens, vocally. Toolmaking and manufacture arose, and the application of recursive principles to these activities in turn led to the complexities of human civilization, the extinction of fellow large-brained hominins like the Neandertals, and our species' supremacy over the physical world.
The Recursive Universe: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge
by William PoundstoneNo winners, no losers, and no end -- the Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is no ordinary computer game. Created by British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970, Life debuted in Scientific American, where it was hailed as the key to a new area of mathematical research, the field of cellular automata. Less of a game than a demonstration of logical possibilities, Life is based on simple rules and produces patterns of light and dark on computer screens that reflect the unpredictability, complexity, and beauty of the universe. This fascinating popular science journey explores Life's relationship to concepts in information theory, explaining the application of natural law to random systems and demonstrating the necessity of limits. Other topics include the paradox of complexity, Maxwell's demon, Big Bang theory, and much more. Written in the 1980s by a bestselling author, the book remains up to date in its treatment of timeless aspects of physics, including the ways in which complex forms and behavior governed by simple laws can appear to arise spontaneously under random conditions.
The Recursive Universe: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge (Oxford Paperbacks Ser.)
by William PoundstoneThis fascinating popular science journey explores key concepts in information theory in terms of Conway's "Game of Life" program. The author explains the application of natural law to a random system and demonstrates the necessity of limits. Other topics include the limits of knowledge, paradox of complexity, Maxwell's demon, Big Bang theory, and much more. 1985 edition.
The Red Limit: The Search for the Edge of the Universe
by Timothy FerrisThe acclaimed science writer presents “an exceedingly vivid history of modern astronomy and cosmology, told in entertainingly biographical terms” (The New York Times).Hailed as “the best science writer of his generation,” Timothy Ferriss is renowned for his ability to discuss the complexities of outer space in ways that are lively, illuminating, and accessible. In The Red Limit, he takes readers on a journey of discovery as a variety of scientific breakthroughs lead us to glimpsing the edge of the universe (Washington Post).For centuries, it was assumed that our universe was static. In the late 1920s, astronomers defeated this assumption with a startling new discovery. From Earth, the light of distant galaxies appeared to be red, meaning that those galaxies were receding from us. This led to the revolutionary realization that the universe is expanding. Ferriss delves into this revolutionary discovery, its historic ramifications, and the passionately competitive astronomers who charted the past, present, and future of the cosmos.
The Red Planet: A Natural History of Mars
by Ph.D. Simon MordenUncover the mysteries, wonders, and history of Mars—as close to an eye-witness perspective of the incredible Red Planet as any reader can get.The history of Mars is drawn not just on its surface, but also down into its broken bedrock and up into its frigid air. Most of all, it stretches back into deep time, where the trackways of the past have been obliterated and there is no discernible trace of where they started from or how they travelled, only where they ended up. From the planet&’s formation 4.5 billion years ago, through eras that featured cataclysmic meteor strikes, explosive volcanoes and a vast ocean that spanned the entire upper hemisphere, to the long, frozen ages that saw its atmosphere steadily thinning and leaking away into space, planetary geologist Dr. Simon Morden presents a tantalizing vision of our nearest neighbour, its dramatic history, and astonishing present.
The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (Penguin Press Science Ser.)
by Matt RidleyReferring to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen from Through the Looking-Glass, a character who has to keep running to stay in the same place, Matt Ridley demonstrates why sex is humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators. The Red Queen answers dozens of other riddles of human nature and culture -- including why men propose marriage, the method behind our maddening notions of beauty, and the disquieting fact that a woman is more likely to conceive a child by an adulterous lover than by her husband. Brilliantly written, The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved.
The Red System of the CN Molecule (Berkeley Analyses of Molecular Spectra #1)
by Sumner P. Davis John G. PhillipsThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1963.
The Redesigned Earth: A Brief Review of Ecology for Engineers, As If the Earth Really Mattered
by John T. TanacrediThis book provides insight into the basic aspects of ecology that impact or are affected by engineering practices. Ecological principals are described and discussed through the lens of the influences that built structures have on the Earth’s biological, geological, and chemical systems. The text goes on to elucidate the engineering influences that have or will influence the face of the Earth. These influences redesign the Earth, either by destroying natural systems and replacing them with highly subsidized systems or by attempting to restore highly disturbed or contaminated systems with the basic natural systems that were originally present.
The Rediscovery of the Wild
by Jr. Peter H. Kahn Patricia H. HasbachA compelling case for connecting with the wild, for our psychological and physical well-being and to flourish as a species. We often enjoy the benefits of connecting with nearby, domesticated nature—a city park, a backyard garden. But this book makes the provocative case for the necessity of connecting with wild nature—untamed, unmanaged, not encompassed, self-organizing, and unencumbered and unmediated by technological artifice. We can love the wild. We can fear it. We are strengthened and nurtured by it. As a species, we came of age in a natural world far wilder than today's, and much of the need for wildness still exists within us, body and mind. The Rediscovery of the Wild considers ways to engage with the wild, protect it, and recover it—for our psychological and physical well-being and to flourish as a species.The contributors offer a range of perspectives on the wild, discussing such topics as the evolutionary underpinnings of our need for the wild; the wild within, including the primal passions of sexuality and aggression; birding as a portal to wildness; children's fascination with wild animals; wildness and psychological healing; the shifting baseline of what we consider wild; and the true work of conservation.
The Reduction of Physical Theories: A Contribution to the Unity of Physics Part 1: Foundations and Elementary Theory (Fundamental Theories of Physics #207)
by Erhard ScheibeUsing simple physical examples, this work by Erhard Scheibe presents an important and powerful approach to the reduction of physical theories. Novel to the approach is that it is not based, as usual, on a single reduction concept that is fixed once and for all, but on a series of recursively constructed reductions, with which all reductions appear as combinations of very specific elementary reductions. This leaves the general notion of theory reduction initially open and is beneficial for the treatment of the difficult cases of reduction from the fields of special and general relativity, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics,and quantum mechanics, which are treated in the second volume. The book is systematically organized and intended for readers interested in philosophy of science as well as physicists without deep philosophical knowledge.
The Reef: A Passionate History
by Iain McCalmanStretching 1,400 miles along the Australian coast and visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is home to three thousand individual reefs, more than nine hundred islands, and thousands of marine species, and has alternately been viewed as a deadly maze, an economic bounty, a scientific frontier, and a precarious World Heritage site. Now the historian and explorer Iain McCalman takes us on a new adventure into the reef to reveal how our shifting perceptions of the natural world have shaped this extraordinary seascape. Showcasing the lives of twenty individuals spanning more than two centuries, The Reef highlights our profound desire to conquer, understand, embrace, and ultimately save the world's most complex ocean ecosystem.Opening with the story of Captain James Cook, who sailed unknowingly into the southwest entrance of this vast network of coral outcroppings, McCalman shows how Cook spent months navigating this treacherous underwater labyrinth, struggling to keep his crew alive and his ship afloat, sparring with deceptive shoals and wary native islanders. Through a series of dramatic tales from intrepid explorers, unwitting castaways, inquisitive naturalists, enchanted artists, and impassioned environmentalists who have collectively shaped our ideas about the Great Barrier Reef, McCalman demonstrates how this grand natural wonder of the world was built as much by human imagination as by the industrious, beautiful creatures of the sea. A romantic, historically significant book and a deeply personal journey into the heart of a marine environment in peril, The Reef powerfully captures the delicate relationship between humanity and the natural world.
The Reel Classroom: An Introduction to Film Studies and Filmmaking (Grades 6-9)
by Jeff DanielianThe Reel Classroom: An Introduction to Film Studies and Filmmaking presents an educator-facilitated curriculum that focuses on a variety of aspects concerning the appreciation of film and the filmmaking process. With a goal to turn "movie day" into a teaching and learning opportunity—rather than a virtual day off for students—this book will help invigorate classrooms of all disciplines by incorporating documentaries, feature films, short films, and animated films into the regular curriculum. Chapters begin with short and effective introductions to the specified concept with accompanying class discussion ideas and background information for the teacher. Each chapter will conclude with reproducible handouts and assignment sheets along with two to three sample activities/opportunities for assessment. Suggestions for films to be used for each discipline will also be given.Grades 6-9
The Reenchantment of Nature: The Denial of Religion and the Ecological Crisis
by Alister McgrathIn this provocative assessment of the world's current ecological crisis, the author of the critically acclaimed In the Beginning exposes the false assumptions underlying the conflicts between science and religion, and proposes an innovative approach to saving the planet. Traditionally, science and religion have been thought of as two distinct and irreconcilable ways of looking at the world, and scientists have often chastised the world's religions for keeping their eyes on the heavens and paying scant attention to the destruction of Earth's precious resources and its natural wonders. In The Reenchantment of Nature, Alister McGrath, who holds doctorates in both molecular biology and divinity, challenges this long-held and dangerously misguided dichotomy. Arguing that Christianity and other great religions have always respected and revered the bounty and beauty of the earth, McGrath calls for a radical shift in perspective. He shows that by defining the world in the narrowest of scientific terms and viewing it as a collection of atoms and molecules governed by unchanging laws and forces, we have lost our ability to appreciate nature's enchantments. In order to address the threats to our environment, he maintains, it is essential to reawaken our sense of awe and look at the world as a glorious creation, an irreplaceable gift of God. In setting forth a new framework for the debate between science and religion on ecological theory, The Reenchantment of Nature points the way to integrating two different traditions in a sane and productive effort to rescue the natural world from its present environmental decline.
The Reflection of Life
by A. H. LouieA. H. Louie's The Reflection of Life: Functional Entailment and Imminence in Relational Biology is a continuation of the exploratory journey in relational biology which began with his 2009 monograph More Than Life Itself: A Synthetic Continuation in Relational Biology. The theme of his first book was 'What is life?'; the theme of this sequel is "How do two life forms interact?" Biology is a subject concerned with organization of relations. Relational biology is the approach that advocates 'function dictates structure", rather than 'structure implies function'. It is mathematics decoded into biological realizations. The book demonstrates some of the powers of the approach of relational biology, and illustrates how pertinent problems in biology can be better addressed this way. In the first volume the theory was developed by using partially ordered sets, lattices, simulations, models, Aristotle's four causes, graphs, categories, simple and complex systems, anticipatory systems, and metabolism-repair [(M,R)-] systems. Here in the second volume, these tools are expanded to employ set-valued mappings, adjacency matrices, random graphs, and interacting entailment networks. The theory of set-valued mappings culminates in the imminence mapping, which equips the further investigation of functional entailment in complex relational networks. Imminence in (M,R)-networks that model living systems addresses the topics of biogenesis and natural selection. Interacting (M,R)-networks with mutually entailing processes serve as models in the study of symbiosis and pathophysiology. The formalism also provides a natural framework for a relational theory of virology and oncology. This book will serve researchers and graduate students in mathematics and biology.
The Reform of the International System of Units: Philosophical, Historical and Sociological Issues (History and Philosophy of Technoscience)
by Olivier Darrigol Oliver Schlaudt Nadine CourtenaySystems of units still fail to attract the philosophical attention they deserve, but this could change with the current reform of the International System of Units (SI). Most of the SI base units will henceforth be based on certain laws of nature and a choice of fundamental constants whose values will be frozen. The theoretical, experimental and institutional work required to implement the reform highlights the entanglement of scientific, technological and social features in scientific enterprise, while it also invites a philosophical inquiry that promises to overcome the tensions that have long obstructed science studies.
The Regeneration of Nerves and Spinal Cord: About Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches
by Lars P. KlimaschewskiThis non-fiction book provides information about the latest findings on research and therapy of nerve regeneration with catchy drawings and in understandable words. Why do nerves in the extremities regenerate, but the axons in the spinal cord do not? Can transplanted stem cells or biopolymers restore regeneration? Are bioprostheses able to functionally replace amputated arms or legs? Neuroscientist Lars Klimaschewski answers these questions and reports on exciting findings from anatomy, cell and molecular biology and neurotechnology. Find out, among other things, how a brain-computer interface processes signals from the brain in order to control the arm or leg muscles again via electrodes after a paraplegia.The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.