Author: Paul N. Edwards
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262518635
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 547
Book Description
The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future. Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument—becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world's climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future.
A Vast Machine
Author: Paul N. Edwards
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262518635
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 547
Book Description
The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future. Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument—becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world's climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262518635
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 547
Book Description
The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future. Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument—becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world's climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future.
A Vast Machine
Author: Paul N. Edwards
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262290715
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 547
Book Description
The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future. Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument—becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world's climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262290715
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 547
Book Description
The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future. Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument—becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world's climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future.
Machine Learners
Author: Adrian Mackenzie
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262036827
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269
Book Description
If machine learning transforms the nature of knowledge, does it also transform the practice of critical thought? Machine learning—programming computers to learn from data—has spread across scientific disciplines, media, entertainment, and government. Medical research, autonomous vehicles, credit transaction processing, computer gaming, recommendation systems, finance, surveillance, and robotics use machine learning. Machine learning devices (sometimes understood as scientific models, sometimes as operational algorithms) anchor the field of data science. They have also become mundane mechanisms deeply embedded in a variety of systems and gadgets. In contexts from the everyday to the esoteric, machine learning is said to transform the nature of knowledge. In this book, Adrian Mackenzie investigates whether machine learning also transforms the practice of critical thinking. Mackenzie focuses on machine learners—either humans and machines or human-machine relations—situated among settings, data, and devices. The settings range from fMRI to Facebook; the data anything from cat images to DNA sequences; the devices include neural networks, support vector machines, and decision trees. He examines specific learning algorithms—writing code and writing about code—and develops an archaeology of operations that, following Foucault, views machine learning as a form of knowledge production and a strategy of power. Exploring layers of abstraction, data infrastructures, coding practices, diagrams, mathematical formalisms, and the social organization of machine learning, Mackenzie traces the mostly invisible architecture of one of the central zones of contemporary technological cultures. Mackenzie's account of machine learning locates places in which a sense of agency can take root. His archaeology of the operational formation of machine learning does not unearth the footprint of a strategic monolith but reveals the local tributaries of force that feed into the generalization and plurality of the field.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262036827
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269
Book Description
If machine learning transforms the nature of knowledge, does it also transform the practice of critical thought? Machine learning—programming computers to learn from data—has spread across scientific disciplines, media, entertainment, and government. Medical research, autonomous vehicles, credit transaction processing, computer gaming, recommendation systems, finance, surveillance, and robotics use machine learning. Machine learning devices (sometimes understood as scientific models, sometimes as operational algorithms) anchor the field of data science. They have also become mundane mechanisms deeply embedded in a variety of systems and gadgets. In contexts from the everyday to the esoteric, machine learning is said to transform the nature of knowledge. In this book, Adrian Mackenzie investigates whether machine learning also transforms the practice of critical thinking. Mackenzie focuses on machine learners—either humans and machines or human-machine relations—situated among settings, data, and devices. The settings range from fMRI to Facebook; the data anything from cat images to DNA sequences; the devices include neural networks, support vector machines, and decision trees. He examines specific learning algorithms—writing code and writing about code—and develops an archaeology of operations that, following Foucault, views machine learning as a form of knowledge production and a strategy of power. Exploring layers of abstraction, data infrastructures, coding practices, diagrams, mathematical formalisms, and the social organization of machine learning, Mackenzie traces the mostly invisible architecture of one of the central zones of contemporary technological cultures. Mackenzie's account of machine learning locates places in which a sense of agency can take root. His archaeology of the operational formation of machine learning does not unearth the footprint of a strategic monolith but reveals the local tributaries of force that feed into the generalization and plurality of the field.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change
Author: National Center for Atmospheric Research (U.S.)
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780195105216
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 654
Book Description
Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change presents an integrated examination of chemical processes in the atmosphere, focusing on global-scale problems and their role in the evolution of the Earth system. Taking a largely interdisciplinary approach, it features the collective efforts of a group of scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), as well as other experts from several universities and national laboratories. Topics discussed include the fundamental physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect the atmospheric composition; the chemical mechanisms that affect the production and the fate of important chemical compounds; and the techniques used to investigate the chemical processes in the atmosphere. The book concludes with discussions on global problems related to the atmosphere (stratospheric ozone depletion, changes in greenhouse gases, and global chemical pollution), the relationship between the atmosphere and the global climate, and the long-term chemical evolution of the atmosphere. Each chapter features a brief essay by a leader in the field and includes a large number of current references. Ideal for graduate courses in atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric science, Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change also serves as an authoritative and practical reference for scientists studying the Earth's atmosphere. Support materials for the book are available via the website http: //acd.ucar.edu/textbook
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780195105216
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 654
Book Description
Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change presents an integrated examination of chemical processes in the atmosphere, focusing on global-scale problems and their role in the evolution of the Earth system. Taking a largely interdisciplinary approach, it features the collective efforts of a group of scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), as well as other experts from several universities and national laboratories. Topics discussed include the fundamental physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect the atmospheric composition; the chemical mechanisms that affect the production and the fate of important chemical compounds; and the techniques used to investigate the chemical processes in the atmosphere. The book concludes with discussions on global problems related to the atmosphere (stratospheric ozone depletion, changes in greenhouse gases, and global chemical pollution), the relationship between the atmosphere and the global climate, and the long-term chemical evolution of the atmosphere. Each chapter features a brief essay by a leader in the field and includes a large number of current references. Ideal for graduate courses in atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric science, Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change also serves as an authoritative and practical reference for scientists studying the Earth's atmosphere. Support materials for the book are available via the website http: //acd.ucar.edu/textbook
Inventing Atmospheric Science
Author: James Rodger Fleming
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262033941
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Book Description
"This big picture history of atmospheric research examines the first six decades of the twentieth century, from the dawn of applied fluid dynamics to the emergence, by 1960, of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. Using newly available archival sources, it documents the work of three interconnected generations of scientists: Vilhelm Bjerknes, Carl-Gustaf Rossby, and Harry Wexler, whose aspirations were fueled by new theoretical insights, pressing societal needs, and expanded technological capabilities. Radio, radar, aviation, nuclear tracers, digital computing, sounding rockets, and satellites provided new ways to measure and study the global atmosphere -- a huge and dauntingly complex system. Bjerknes brought us a fundamental circulation theorem and founded the Bergen school of weather forecasting; Rossby established the graduate schools of meteorology at M.I.T., Chicago, and Stockholm, which focused on upper-air dynamics and, after 1947, on atmospheric environmental issues; and Wexler brought all the new technologies into the U.S. Weather Bureau and, with his colleague Jule Charney, prepared the foundations for the emergence of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. This history weaves together cold war studies, military history, the rise of government research and development, and aviation and aeronautics with a nascent global awareness. It is a fascinating history of something we all experience--the weather --told through compelling historical characters"--Provided by publisher.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262033941
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Book Description
"This big picture history of atmospheric research examines the first six decades of the twentieth century, from the dawn of applied fluid dynamics to the emergence, by 1960, of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. Using newly available archival sources, it documents the work of three interconnected generations of scientists: Vilhelm Bjerknes, Carl-Gustaf Rossby, and Harry Wexler, whose aspirations were fueled by new theoretical insights, pressing societal needs, and expanded technological capabilities. Radio, radar, aviation, nuclear tracers, digital computing, sounding rockets, and satellites provided new ways to measure and study the global atmosphere -- a huge and dauntingly complex system. Bjerknes brought us a fundamental circulation theorem and founded the Bergen school of weather forecasting; Rossby established the graduate schools of meteorology at M.I.T., Chicago, and Stockholm, which focused on upper-air dynamics and, after 1947, on atmospheric environmental issues; and Wexler brought all the new technologies into the U.S. Weather Bureau and, with his colleague Jule Charney, prepared the foundations for the emergence of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. This history weaves together cold war studies, military history, the rise of government research and development, and aviation and aeronautics with a nascent global awareness. It is a fascinating history of something we all experience--the weather --told through compelling historical characters"--Provided by publisher.
The Exquisite Machine
Author: Sian E. Harding
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262548410
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 234
Book Description
How science is opening up the mysteries of the heart, revealing the poetry in motion within the machine. Your heart is a miracle in motion, a marvel of construction unsurpassed by any human-made creation. It beats 100,000 times every day—if you were to live to 100, that would be more than 3 billion beats across your lifespan. Despite decades of effort in labs all over the world, we have not yet been able to replicate the heart’s perfect engineering. But, as Sian Harding shows us in The Exquisite Machine, new scientific developments are opening up the mysteries of the heart. And this explosion of new science—ultrafast imaging, gene editing, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and advanced sub-light microscopy—has crucial, real-world consequences for health and well-being. Harding—a world leader in cardiac research—explores the relation between the emotions and heart function, reporting that the heart not only responds to our emotions, it creates them as well. The condition known as Broken Heart Syndrome, for example, is a real disorder than can follow bereavement or stress. The Exquisite Machine describes the evolutionary forces that have shaped the heart’s response to damage, the astonishing rejuvenating power of stem cells, how we can avoid heart disease, and why it can be so hard to repair a damaged heart. It tells the stories of patients who have had the devastating experiences of a heart attack, chaotic heart rhythms, or stress-induced acute heart failure. And it describes how cutting-edge technologies are enabling experiments and clinical trials that will lead us to new solutions to the worldwide scourge of heart disease.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262548410
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 234
Book Description
How science is opening up the mysteries of the heart, revealing the poetry in motion within the machine. Your heart is a miracle in motion, a marvel of construction unsurpassed by any human-made creation. It beats 100,000 times every day—if you were to live to 100, that would be more than 3 billion beats across your lifespan. Despite decades of effort in labs all over the world, we have not yet been able to replicate the heart’s perfect engineering. But, as Sian Harding shows us in The Exquisite Machine, new scientific developments are opening up the mysteries of the heart. And this explosion of new science—ultrafast imaging, gene editing, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and advanced sub-light microscopy—has crucial, real-world consequences for health and well-being. Harding—a world leader in cardiac research—explores the relation between the emotions and heart function, reporting that the heart not only responds to our emotions, it creates them as well. The condition known as Broken Heart Syndrome, for example, is a real disorder than can follow bereavement or stress. The Exquisite Machine describes the evolutionary forces that have shaped the heart’s response to damage, the astonishing rejuvenating power of stem cells, how we can avoid heart disease, and why it can be so hard to repair a damaged heart. It tells the stories of patients who have had the devastating experiences of a heart attack, chaotic heart rhythms, or stress-induced acute heart failure. And it describes how cutting-edge technologies are enabling experiments and clinical trials that will lead us to new solutions to the worldwide scourge of heart disease.
Changing the Atmosphere
Author: Clark A. Miller
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262632195
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 406
Book Description
Incorporating historical, sociological, and philosophical approaches, Changing the Atmosphere presents detailed empirical studies of climate science and its uptake into public policy.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262632195
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 406
Book Description
Incorporating historical, sociological, and philosophical approaches, Changing the Atmosphere presents detailed empirical studies of climate science and its uptake into public policy.
Remote Sensing Physics
Author: Rick Chapman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119669073
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
An introduction to the physical principles underlying Earth remote sensing. The development of spaceborne remote sensing technology has led to a new understanding of the complexity of our planet by allowing us to observe Earth and its environments on spatial and temporal scales that are unavailable to terrestrial sensors. Remote Sensing Physics: An Introduction to Observing Earth from Space is a graduate-level text that examines the underlying physical principles and techniques used to make remote measurements, along with the algorithms used to extract geophysical information from those measurements. Volume highlights include: Basis for Earth remote sensing including ocean, land, and atmosphere Description of satellite orbits relevant for Earth observations Physics of passive sensing, including infrared, optical and microwave imagers Physics of active sensing, including radars and lidars Overview of current and future Earth observation missions Compendium of resources including an extensive bibliography Sample problem sets and answers available to instructors The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119669073
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
An introduction to the physical principles underlying Earth remote sensing. The development of spaceborne remote sensing technology has led to a new understanding of the complexity of our planet by allowing us to observe Earth and its environments on spatial and temporal scales that are unavailable to terrestrial sensors. Remote Sensing Physics: An Introduction to Observing Earth from Space is a graduate-level text that examines the underlying physical principles and techniques used to make remote measurements, along with the algorithms used to extract geophysical information from those measurements. Volume highlights include: Basis for Earth remote sensing including ocean, land, and atmosphere Description of satellite orbits relevant for Earth observations Physics of passive sensing, including infrared, optical and microwave imagers Physics of active sensing, including radars and lidars Overview of current and future Earth observation missions Compendium of resources including an extensive bibliography Sample problem sets and answers available to instructors The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.
Deep Space Probes
Author: Gregory L. Matloff
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540273409
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 267
Book Description
The Space Age is nearly 50 years old but exploration of the outer planets and beyond has only just begun. Deep-Space Probes Second Edition draws on the latest research to explain why we should explore beyond the edge of the Solar System and how we can build highly sophisticated robot spacecraft to make the journey. Many technical problems remain to be solved, among them propulsion systems to permit far higher velocities, and technologies to build vehicles a fraction of the size of today’s spacecraft. Beyond the range of effective radio control, robot vehicles for exploring deep space will need to be intelligent, ‘thinking’ craft – able to make vital decisions entirely on their own. Gregory Matloff also looks at the possibility for human travel into interstellar space, and some of the immense problems that such journeys would entail. This second edition includes an entirely new chapter on holographic message plaques for future interstellar probes – a NASA-funded project.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540273409
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 267
Book Description
The Space Age is nearly 50 years old but exploration of the outer planets and beyond has only just begun. Deep-Space Probes Second Edition draws on the latest research to explain why we should explore beyond the edge of the Solar System and how we can build highly sophisticated robot spacecraft to make the journey. Many technical problems remain to be solved, among them propulsion systems to permit far higher velocities, and technologies to build vehicles a fraction of the size of today’s spacecraft. Beyond the range of effective radio control, robot vehicles for exploring deep space will need to be intelligent, ‘thinking’ craft – able to make vital decisions entirely on their own. Gregory Matloff also looks at the possibility for human travel into interstellar space, and some of the immense problems that such journeys would entail. This second edition includes an entirely new chapter on holographic message plaques for future interstellar probes – a NASA-funded project.
To Be a Machine
Author: Mark O'Connell
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 110191159X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
“This gonzo-journalistic exploration of the Silicon Valley techno-utopians’ pursuit of escaping mortality is a breezy romp full of colorful characters.” —New York Times Book Review Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our biology—of our senses, intelligence, and lifespans—with technology. Its supporters have reached a critical mass and now include some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and beyond, among them Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Ray Kurzweil. In this provocative and eye-opening account, journalist Mark O’Connell explores the staggering (and terrifying) possibilities that present themselves when you think of your body as an outmoded device. He visits the world’s foremost cryonics facility to witness how some have chosen to forestall death, discovers an underground collective of biohackers boosting their senses by implanting electronics under their skin, and meets with members of a team urgently investigating how to protect mankind from rogue artificial superintelligence. In investigating what it means to be a machine, O’Connell shines a light on our ancient desire to transcend the animal condition—and offers a surprising meditation on what it means to be human.
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 110191159X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
“This gonzo-journalistic exploration of the Silicon Valley techno-utopians’ pursuit of escaping mortality is a breezy romp full of colorful characters.” —New York Times Book Review Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our biology—of our senses, intelligence, and lifespans—with technology. Its supporters have reached a critical mass and now include some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and beyond, among them Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Ray Kurzweil. In this provocative and eye-opening account, journalist Mark O’Connell explores the staggering (and terrifying) possibilities that present themselves when you think of your body as an outmoded device. He visits the world’s foremost cryonics facility to witness how some have chosen to forestall death, discovers an underground collective of biohackers boosting their senses by implanting electronics under their skin, and meets with members of a team urgently investigating how to protect mankind from rogue artificial superintelligence. In investigating what it means to be a machine, O’Connell shines a light on our ancient desire to transcend the animal condition—and offers a surprising meditation on what it means to be human.