Download or read book Arguments that Count written by Rebecca Slayton and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How differing assessments of risk by physicists and computer scientists have influenced public debate over nuclear defense. In a rapidly changing world, we rely upon experts to assess the promise and risks of new technology. But how do these experts make sense of a highly uncertain future? In Arguments that Count, Rebecca Slayton offers an important new perspective. Drawing on new historical documents and interviews as well as perspectives in science and technology studies, she provides an original account of how scientists came to terms with the unprecedented threat of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). She compares how two different professional communities—physicists and computer scientists—constructed arguments about the risks of missile defense, and how these arguments changed over time. Slayton shows that our understanding of technological risks is shaped by disciplinary repertoires—the codified knowledge and mathematical rules that experts use to frame new challenges. And, significantly, a new repertoire can bring long-neglected risks into clear view. In the 1950s, scientists recognized that high-speed computers would be needed to cope with the unprecedented speed of ICBMs. But the nation's elite science advisors had no way to analyze the risks of computers so used physics to assess what they could: radar and missile performance. Only decades later, after establishing computing as a science, were advisors able to analyze authoritatively the risks associated with complex software—most notably, the risk of a catastrophic failure. As we continue to confront new threats, including that of cyber attack, Slayton offers valuable insight into how different kinds of expertise can limit or expand our capacity to address novel technological risks.

Download or read book Cosmological Arguments written by Michael Almeida and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-23 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Element discusses the structure, content, and evaluation of cosmological arguments. The introductory section investigates features essential to cosmological arguments. Traditionally, cosmological arguments are distinguished by their appeal to change, causation, contingency or objective becoming in the world. But none of these is in fact essential to the formulation of cosmological arguments. Sections 1-3 present a critical discussion of traditional Thomistic, Kalam, and Leibnizian cosmological arguments, noting various advantages and disadvantages of these approaches. Section 4 offers an entirely new approach to the cosmological argument - the approach of theistic modal realism. The proper explananda of cosmological arguments on this approach is not change, causation, contingency or objective becoming in the world. The proper explananda is the totality of metaphysical reality - all actualia and all possibilia. The result is the most compelling and least objectionable version of the cosmological argument.

Download or read book Arguments and Reason Giving written by Matthew W McKeon and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024-05-21 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguments figure in our everyday practices of giving reasons. For example, we use arguments to advance reasons to explain why we believe or did something, to justify our beliefs or actions, to persuade others to do or to believe something, and to advance reasons to worry or to fear that something is true. This book is about our uses of arguments to advance their premises as reasons for believing their conclusions, i.e., as reasons for believing that their conclusions are true. What, exactly, is involved when you successfully use an argument to advance the premises as reasons for believing the conclusion? Philosopher Matthew W. McKeon suggests there is more involved than one might think.

Download or read book Semantics for Counting and Measuring written by Susan Rothstein and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is an investigation of the semantics of numericals, counting and measuring, and its connection to the mass/count distinction from a theoretical and crosslinguistic perspective. It reviews some recent major linguistic results in these topics, and presents the author's new research including in-depth case studies of a number of typologically unrelated languages.

Download or read book Cosmological Fine Tuning Arguments written by Jason Waller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the physical constants, initial conditions, or laws of nature in our universe had been even slightly different, then the evolution of life would have been impossible. This observation has led many philosophers and scientists to ask the natural next question: why is our universe so "fine-tuned" for life? The debates around this question are wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary, complicated, technical, and (at times) heated. This study is a comprehensive investigation of these debates and the many metaphysical and epistemological questions raised by cosmological fine-tuning. Waller’s study reaches two significant and controversial conclusions. First, he concludes that the criticisms directed at the "multiverse hypothesis" by theists and at the "theistic hypothesis" by naturalists are largely unsuccessful. Neither of these options can plausibly be excluded. Choosing between them seems to turn on primitive (and so hard to justify) metaphysical intuitions. Second, in order to break the philosophical deadlock, Waller moves the debate from the level of universes to the level of possible worlds. Arguing that possible worlds are also "fine-tuned" in an important and interesting sense, Waller concludes that the only plausible explanation for the fine-tuning of the actual world is to posit the existence of some kind of "God-like-thing."

Download or read book Event Arguments Foundations and Applications written by Claudia Maienborn and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-12-22 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since entering the stage, Davidsonian event arguments have taken on a central role in linguistic theorizing. Recent years have seen a continuous extension of possible applications for them, not only in semantics but also in syntax. At the same time questions concerning the ontological status of events have received renewed attention. This collection of articles provides new evidence for the virtually ubiquitous presence of event arguments in linguistic structure and sheds new light on their nature. The volume is organized into four sections: Events - states - causation; Event nominals; Events in composition; Measuring events.

Download or read book 300 Arguments written by Sarah Manguso and published by Graywolf Press. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brilliant and exhilarating sequence of aphorisms from one of our greatest essayists There will come a time when people decide you’ve had enough of your grief, and they’ll try to take it away from you. Bad art is from no one to no one. Am I happy? Damned if I know, but give me a few minutes and I’ll tell you whether you are. Thank heaven I don’t have my friends’ problems. But sometimes I notice an expression on one of their faces that I recognize as secret gratitude. I read sad stories to inoculate myself against grief. I watch action movies to identify with the quick-witted heroes. Both the same fantasy: I’ll escape the worst of it. —from 300 Arguments A “Proustian minimalist on the order of Lydia Davis” (Kirkus Reviews), Sarah Manguso is one of the finest literary artists at work today. To read her work is to witness acrobatic acts of compression in the service of extraordinary psychological and spiritual insight. 300 Arguments, a foray into the frontier of contemporary nonfiction writing, is at first glance a group of unrelated aphorisms. But, as in the work of David Markson, the pieces reveal themselves as a masterful arrangement that steadily gathers power. Manguso’s arguments about desire, ambition, relationships, and failure are pithy, unsentimental, and defiant, and they add up to an unexpected and renegade wisdom literature.

Download or read book Oral Arguments and Decision Making on the United States Supreme Court written by Timothy R. Johnson and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2004-07-15 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How oral arguments influence the decisions of Supreme Court justices.

Download or read book Infinite Regress Arguments written by Claude Gratton and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Infinite regress arguments are part of a philosopher's tool kit of argumentation. But how sharp or strong is this tool? How effectively is it used? The typical presentation of infinite regress arguments throughout history is so succinct and has so many gaps that it is often unclear how an infinite regress is derived, and why an infinite regress is logically problematic, and as a result, it is often difficult to evaluate infinite regress arguments. These consequences of our customary way of using this tool indicate that there is a need for a theory to re-orient our practice. My general approach to contribute to such a theory, consists of collecting and evaluating as many infinite regress arguments as possible, comparing and contrasting many of the formal and non-formal properties, looking for recurring patterns, and identifying the properties that appeared essential to those patterns. Two very general questions guided this work: (1) How are infinite regresses generated in infinite regress arguments? (2) How do infinite regresses logically function as premises in an argument? In answering these questions I clarify the notion of an infinite regress; identify different logical forms of infinite regresses; describe different kinds of infinite regress arguments; distinguish the rhetoric from the logic in infinite regress arguments; and suggest ways of improving our discussion and our practice of constructing and evaluating these arguments.

Download or read book Proofs that Really Count written by Arthur T. Benjamin and published by American Mathematical Society. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematics is the science of patterns, and mathematicians attempt to understand these patterns and discover new ones using a variety of tools. In Proofs That Really Count, award-winning math professors Arthur Benjamin and Jennifer Quinn demonstrate that many number patterns, even very complex ones, can be understood by simple counting arguments. The book emphasizes numbers that are often not thought of as numbers that count: Fibonacci Numbers, Lucas Numbers, Continued Fractions, and Harmonic Numbers, to name a few. Numerous hints and references are given for all chapter exercises and many chapters end with a list of identities in need of combinatorial proof. The extensive appendix of identities will be a valuable resource. This book should appeal to readers of all levels, from high school math students to professional mathematicians.

Download or read book Algorithms for Functional Programming written by John David Stone and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-10-27 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a variety of widely used algorithms, expressing them in a pure functional programming language to make their structure and operation clearer to readers. In the opening chapter the author introduces the specific notations that constitute the variant of Scheme that he uses. The second chapter introduces many of the simpler and more general patterns available in functional programming. The chapters that follow introduce and explain data structures, sorting, combinatorial constructions, graphs, and sublist search. Throughout the book the author presents the algorithms in a purely functional version of the Scheme programming language, which he makes available on his website. The book is supported with exercises, and it is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses on programming techniques.

Download or read book PHP by Example written by Alex Vasilev and published by Apress. This book was released on 2024-07-04 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn to create web applications in PHP with minimal previous experience. This book is a practical guide to using PHP for web development. Loaded with examples and step-by-step instructions, each chapter is dedicated to a specific area or function. You’ll first review the main principles of PHP and what is needed to program and develop in it. You’ll then study variables, data types, control statements, arrays, and functions, all critical for creating efficient PHP programs. The book then moves on to object-oriented programming (OOP) and how to implement those principles in PHP, as well as inheritance, interfaces, testing, error handling, and exceptions. By the end of PHP by Example, you will have the knowledge and confidence to implement PHP for your web projects both large and small. What You’ll Learn Understand PHP from the ground up Create scripts and implement them in real-world projects Work with a broad toolkit of ready-made exercises and solutions Investigate the main constructions of the PHP

Download or read book Mastering Linux Shell Scripting written by Mokhtar Ebrahim and published by Packt Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2018-04-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master the complexities of Bash shell scripting and unlock the power of shell for your enterprise Key Features Identify high-level steps such as verifying user input Using the command line and conditional statements in creating/executing simple shell scripts Create and edit dynamic shell scripts to manage complex and repetitive tasks Leverage the command-line to bypass GUI and automate common tasks Book Description In this book, you’ll discover everything you need to know to master shell scripting and make informed choices about the elements you employ. Grab your favorite editor and start writing your best Bash scripts step by step. Get to grips with the fundamentals of creating and running a script in normal mode, and in debug mode. Learn about various conditional statements' code snippets, and realize the power of repetition and loops in your shell script. You will also learn to write complex shell scripts. This book will also deep dive into file system administration, directories, and system administration like networking, process management, user authentications, and package installation and regular expressions. Towards the end of the book, you will learn how to use Python as a BASH Scripting alternative. By the end of this book, you will know shell scripts at the snap of your fingers and will be able to automate and communicate with your system with keyboard expressions. What you will learn Make, execute, and debug your first Bash script Create interactive scripts that prompt for user input Foster menu structures for operators with little command-line experience Develop scripts that dynamically edit web configuration files to produce a new virtual host Write scripts that use AWK to search and reports on log files Draft effective scripts using functions as building blocks, reducing maintenance and build time Make informed choices by comparing different script languages such as Python with BASH Who this book is for If you are a Linux administrator or a system administrator and are interested in automating tasks in your daily lives, saving time and effort, this book is for you. Basic shell scripting and command-line experience will be required. Familiarity with the tasks you need to automate will be helpful.

Download or read book The Joy of Clojure written by Chris Houser and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-05-28 with total page 756 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summary The Joy of Clojure, Second Edition is a deep look at the Clojure language. Fully updated for Clojure 1.6, this new edition goes beyond just syntax to show you the "why" of Clojure and how to write fluent Clojure code. You'll learn functional and declarative approaches to programming and will master the techniques that make Clojure so elegant and efficient. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology The Clojure programming language is a dialect of Lisp that runs on the Java Virtual Machine and JavaScript runtimes. It is a functional programming language that offers great performance, expressive power, and stability by design. It gives you built-in concurrency and the predictable precision of immutable and persistent data structures. And it's really, really fast. The instant you see long blocks of Java or Ruby dissolve into a few lines of Clojure, you'll know why the authors of this book call it a "joyful language." It's no wonder that enterprises like Staples are betting their infrastructure on Clojure. About the Book The Joy of Clojure, Second Edition is a deep account of the Clojure language. Fully updated for Clojure 1.6, this new edition goes beyond the syntax to show you how to write fluent Clojure code. You'll learn functional and declarative approaches to programming and will master techniques that make Clojure elegant and efficient. The book shows you how to solve hard problems related to concurrency, interoperability, and performance, and how great it can be to think in the Clojure way. Appropriate for readers with some experience using Clojure or common Lisp. What's Inside Build web apps using ClojureScript Master functional programming techniques Simplify concurrency Covers Clojure 1.6 About the Authors Michael Fogus and Chris Houser are contributors to the Clojure and ClojureScript programming languages and the authors of various Clojure libraries and language features. Table of Contents PART 1 FOUNDATIONS Clojure philosophy Drinking from the Clojure fire hose Dipping your toes in the pool PART 2 DATA TYPES On scalars Collection types PART 3 FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING Being lazy and set in your ways Functional programming PART 4 LARGE-SCALE DESIGN Macros Combining data and code Mutation and concurrency Parallelism PART 5 HOST SYMBIOSIS Java.next Why ClojureScript? PART 6 TANGENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS Data-oriented programming Performance Thinking programs Clojure changes the way you think

Download or read book MPI written by William Gropp and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book SystemVerilog For Design written by Stuart Sutherland and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-06-30 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SystemVerilog is a rich set of extensions to the IEEE 1364-2001 Verilog Hardware Description Language (Verilog HDL). These extensions address two major aspects of HDL based design. First, modeling very large designs with concise, accurate, and intuitive code. Second, writing high-level test programs to efficiently and effectively verify these large designs. This book, SystemVerilog for Design, addresses the first aspect of the SystemVerilog extensions to Verilog. Important modeling features are presented, such as two-state data types, enumerated types, user-defined types, structures, unions, and interfaces. Emphasis is placed on the proper usage of these enhancements for simulation and synthesis. A companion to this book, SystemVerilog for Verification, covers the second aspect of SystemVerilog. 'The development of the SystemVerilog language makes it easier to produce more efficient and concise descriptions of complex hardware designs. The authors of this book have been involved with the development of the language from the beginning, and who is better to learn from than those involved from day one?' Greg Spirakis, Vice President of Design Technology, Intel Corporation 'As a compan

Download or read book Arguments about Abortion written by Kate Greasley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-31 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does the morality of abortion depend on the moral status of the human fetus? Must the law of abortion presume an answer to the question of when personhood begins? Can a law which permits late abortion but not infanticide be morally justified? These are just some of the questions this book sets out to address. With an extended analysis of the moral and legal status of abortion, Kate Greasley offers an alternative account to the reputable arguments of Ronald Dworkin and Judith Jarvis Thomson and instead brings the philosophical notion of 'personhood' to the foreground of this debate. Structured in three parts, the book will (I) consider the relevance of prenatal personhood for the moral and legal evaluation of abortion; (II) trace the key features of the conventional debate about when personhood begins and explore the most prominent issues in abortion ethics literature: the human equality problem and the difference between abortion and infanticide; and (III) examine abortion law and regulation as well as the differing attitudes to selective abortion. The book concludes with a snapshot into the current controversy surrounding the scope of the right to conscientiously object to participation in abortion provision.