A Series of Fortunate Events

A Series of Fortunate Events PDF Author: Sean B. Carroll
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209545
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."—Bill Bryson, author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants From acclaimed writer and biologist Sean B. Carroll, a rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world. Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death. This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.

A Series of Fortunate Events

A Series of Fortunate Events PDF Author: Sean B. Carroll
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209545
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."—Bill Bryson, author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants From acclaimed writer and biologist Sean B. Carroll, a rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world. Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death. This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.

Testing Treatments

Testing Treatments PDF Author: Imogen Evans
Publisher: Pinter & Martin Publishers
ISBN: 1905177488
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
This work provides a thought-provoking account of how medical treatments can be tested with unbiased or 'fair' trials and explains how patients can work with doctors to achieve this vital goal. It spans the gamut of therapy from mastectomy to thalidomide and explores a vast range of case studies.

The Challenge of Chance

The Challenge of Chance PDF Author: Klaas Landsman
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319263005
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
This book presents a multidisciplinary perspective on chance, with contributions from distinguished researchers in the areas of biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, genetics, general history, law, linguistics, logic, mathematical physics, statistics, theology and philosophy. The individual chapters are bound together by a general introduction followed by an opening chapter that surveys 2500 years of linguistic, philosophical, and scientific reflections on chance, coincidence, fortune, randomness, luck and related concepts. A main conclusion that can be drawn is that, even after all this time, we still cannot be sure whether chance is a truly fundamental and irreducible phenomenon, in that certain events are simply uncaused and could have been otherwise, or whether it is always simply a reflection of our ignorance. Other challenges that emerge from this book include a better understanding of the contextuality and perspectival character of chance (including its scale-dependence), and the curious fact that, throughout history (including contemporary science), chance has been used both as an explanation and as a hallmark of the absence of explanation. As such, this book challenges the reader to think about chance in a new way and to come to grips with this endlessly fascinating phenomenon.

Chance in Evolution

Chance in Evolution PDF Author: Grant Ramsey
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022640191X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
This illuminating volume explores the effects of chance on evolution, covering diverse perspectives from scientists, philosophers, and historians. The evolution of species, from single-celled organisms to multicellular animals and plants, is the result of a long and highly chancy history. But how profoundly has chance shaped life on earth? And what, precisely, do we mean by chance? Bringing together biologists, philosophers of science, and historians of science, Chance in Evolution is the first book to untangle the far-reaching effects of chance, contingency, and randomness on the evolution of life. The book begins by placing chance in historical context, starting with the ancients and moving through Darwin to contemporary biology. It documents the shifts in our understanding of chance as Darwin’s theory of evolution developed into the modern synthesis, and how the acceptance of chance in Darwinian theory affected theological resistance to it. Other chapters discuss how chance relates to the concepts of genetic drift, mutation, and parallel evolution—as well as recent work in paleobiology and the experimental evolution of microbes. By engaging in collaboration across biology, history, philosophy, and theology, this book offers a comprehensive overview both of the history of chance in evolution and of our current understanding of the impact of chance on life.

The Plural Event

The Plural Event PDF Author: Andrew Benjamin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134866925
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
Benjamin provides new readings of key canonical texts in the history of philosophy, including works by Hegel and Heidegger. This book represents his most thorough and original contribution to contemporary philosophy to date.

Handbook of Coastal and Ocean Engineering

Handbook of Coastal and Ocean Engineering PDF Author: Young C. Kim
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9812819304
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1190

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Book Description
This handbook contains a comprehensive compilation of topics that are at the forefront of many of the technical advances in ocean waves, coastal, and ocean engineering. More than 70 internationally recognized authorities in the field of coastal and ocean engineering have contributed articles on their areas of expertise to this handbook. These international luminaries are from highly respected universities and renowned research and consulting organizations from all over the world. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of shallow-water waves, water level fluctuations, coastal and offshore structures, port and harbors, coastal sediment processes, environmental problems, coastal hazards, physical modeling, and other issues in coastal and ocean engineering. It is an essential reference for professionals and researchers in the areas of coastal engineering, ocean engineering, oceanography, and meteorology, as well as an invaluable text for graduate students in these fields. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Wave Setup (2,255 KB). Chapter 2: Wavemaker Theories (607 KB). Contents: Shallow-Water Waves: Wave Setup (Robert G Dean and Todd L Walton ); Wavemaker Theories ( Robert T Hudspeth and Ronald B Guenther ); Analyses by the Melnikov Method of Damped Parametrically Excited Cross Waves (Ronald B Guenther and Robert T Hudspeth); Random Wave Breaking and Nonlinearity Evolution Across the Surf Zone (Yoshimi Goda); Aeration and Bubbles in the Surf Zone (Nobuhito Mori, Shohachi Kakuno and Daniel T Cox); Freak Wave (Nobuhito Mori); Short-Term Wave Statistics (Akira Kimura); Water-Level Fluctuations: Generation and Prediction of Seiches in Rotterdam Harbor Basins (Martijn P C de Jong and Jurjen A Battjes); Seiches and Harbor Oscillations (Alexander B Rabinovich); Finite Difference Model for Practical Simulation of Distant Tsunamis (Sung Bum Yoon); Coastal Structures: Tsunami-Induced Forces on Structures ( Ioan Nistor, Dan Palermo, Younes Nouri, Tad S Murty and Murat Saatcioglu); Nonconventional Wave Damping Structures (Hocine Oumeraci); Wave Interaction with Breakwaters Including Perforated Walls (Kyung-Duck Suh); Prediction of Overtopping (Jentsje van der Meer, Tim Pullen, William Allsop, Tom Bruce, Holger Schttrumpf and Andreas Kortenhaus); Wave Run-Up and Wave Overtopping at Armored Rubble Slopes and Mounds (Holger Schttrumpf, Jentsje van der Meer, Andreas Kortenhaus, Tom Bruce and Leopoldo Franco ); Wave Overtopping at Vertical and Steep Structures (Tom Bruce, Jentsje van der Meer, Tim Pullen and W Allsop); Surf Parameters for the Design of Coastal Structures (Dong Hoon Yoo); Development of Caisson Breakwater Design Based on Failure Experiences (Shigeo Takahashi); Design of Alternative Revetments ( Krystian W Pilarczyk ); Remarks on Coastal Stabilization and Alternative Solutions (Krystian Pilarczyk); Geotextile Sand Containers for Shore Protection (Hocine Oumeraci and Juan Recio); Low Crested Breakwaters (Alberto Lamberti and Barbara Zanuttigh ); Hydrodynamic Behavior of Net Cages in the Open Sea ( Yu-Cheng Li ); Offshore Structures: State of Offshore Structure Development and Design Challenges (Subrata Chakrabarti); Ports and Harbors: Computer Modeling for Harbor Planning and Design (Jiin-Jen Lee and Xiuying Xing); Prediction of Squat for Underkeel Clearance ( Michael J Briggs, Marc Vantorre, Klemens Uliczka and Pierre Debaillon); Coastal Sediment Processes: Wave-Induced Resuspension of Fine Sediment (Mamta Jain and Ashish J Mehta); Suspended Sand and Bedload Transport on Beaches (Nobuhisa Kobayashi, Andres Payo and Bradley D Johnson); Headland-Bay Beaches for Recreation and Shore Protection (John Rong-Chung Hsu, Melissa Meng-Jiuan Yu, Fang-Chun Lee and Richard Silvester); Beach Nourishment (Robert G Dean and Julie D Rosati); Engineering of Tidal Inlets and Morphologic Consequences (Nicholas C Kraus); Environmental Problems: Water and Nutrients Flow in the Enclosed Bays (Yukio Koibuchi & Masahiko Isobe ); Sustainable Coastal Development: Socioeconomic and Environmental Risk in Coastal and Ocean Engineering ( Miguel A Losada Rodr guez, Asuncion Baquerizo, Miquel Ortega-Sinchez, Juan M Santiago and Elena Sinchez-Badorrey); Utilization of the Coastal Area ( Hwung-Hweng Hwung ); Coastal Hazards: Ocean Wave Climates: Trends and Variations Due to Earth''s Changing Climate (Paul D Komar, Jonathan C Allan and Peter Ruggiero); Sea Level Rise: Major Implications to Coastal Engineering and Coastal Management (Lesley Ewing); Sea Level Rise and Coastal Erosion (Marcel J F Stive, Roshanka Ranasinghe and Peter J Cowell); Coastal Flooding: Analysis and Assessment of Risk (Panayotis Prinos and Panagiota Galiatsatou); Physical Modeling: Physical Modeling of Tsunami Waves (Michael J Briggs, Harry Yeh and Daniel T Cox); Laboratory Simulation of Waves (Etienne P D Mansard and Michael D Miles); Coastal Engineering Practice and Education: Perspective on Coastal Engineering Practice and Education ( J William Kamphuis ). Readership: Graduate students, researchers and professionals in coastal and ocean engineering, oceanography and meteorology."

Chance and Consequence

Chance and Consequence PDF Author: Sylvia Smoller
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1532057407
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
How much of our lives are determined by coincidences, how much by the choices we make? And how do those choices reverberate through time to affect those we love? This sweeping, historically accurate novel tells the story of people caught in the momentous upheavals of World War II, their destinies driven by chance, by the force of their characters and by the courage of a Japanese diplomat. Set in the period from 1918 to 1945, the story explores the impact of historical and political events on individual lives, on friendship, family ties and love. Against the backdrop of Poland, London, Moscow, Japan and America, consumed by her opposing desires — to be independent yet be taken care of - Rachel, the central character, must hold love in the balance and find her own answer to Freud’s famous question: What do women want?

The Philosophical Writings of Prémontval

The Philosophical Writings of Prémontval PDF Author: Lloyd Strickland
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498563570
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
This volume contains the key philosophical writings of maverick Enlightenment philosopher André-Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval (1716-1764). Prémontval was a prolific member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, and in his career as academic he wrote a series of essays and books on a range of core philosophical topics, such as necessity and contingency, free will, sufficient reason, personal identity, the nature of the mind and its relationship with the body, optimism, and the existence of God. Prémontval’s philosophy, shaped by his opposition to key philosophers such as Descartes, Leibniz, and Wolff, is notable for a number of original and often provocative positions on key philosophical issues of the time, which he supported by inventive critiques and a raft of novel arguments. In addition to developing a highly original proof for the existence of God based on the principles of atheism, Prémontval argued that all possible beings exist, and do so necessarily and therefore eternally; he insisted that the universe unfolded through an interplay of chance and necessity, its direction influenced by God but not under God’s direct control; and he considered free will a curse and the main impediment to the realization of the only aim fitting for God, which was to make all beings happy and holy as quickly as possible. His writings are notable for anticipating modern developments such as open theism, process theology, and animal theodicy. In this volume, Lloyd Strickland makes Prémontval’s key philosophical writings available in English for the first time. In making these translations, Strickland—a well-respected translator of Leibniz’s work—has consulted the original manuscripts to ensure the greatest accuracy, and as befits a scholarly edition, the texts are meticulously documented with copious annotations. Accompanying the texts is a substantial and informative introduction.

 PDF Author:
Publisher: Cengage Learning
ISBN: 0357715985
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1218

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Book Description


Simplicius: On Aristotle Physics 2

Simplicius: On Aristotle Physics 2 PDF Author: Barrie Fleet
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1780938632
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Book 2 of the Physics is arguably the best introduction to Aristotle's ideas, as well as being the most interesting and representative book in the whole of his corpus. It defines nature and distinguishes natural science from mathematics. It introduces the seminal idea of four causes, or four modes of explanation. It defines chance, but rejects a theory of chance and natural selection in favour of purpose in nature. Simplicius, writing in the sixth century AD, adds his own considerable contribution to this work. Seeing Aristotle's God as a Creator, he discusses how nature relates to soul, adds Stoic and Neoplatonist causes to Aristotle's list of four, and questions the likeness of cause to effect. He discusses missing a great evil or a great good by a hairsbreadth and considers whether animals act from reason or natural instinct. He also preserves a Posidonian discussion of mathematical astronomy.