Download or read book Mirror Worlds written by David Gelernter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1993-01-28 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technology doesn't flow smoothly; it's the big surprises that matter, and Yale computer expert David Gelernter sees one such giant leap right on the horizon. Today's small scale software programs are about to be joined by vast public software works that will revolutionize computing and transform society as a whole. One such vast program is the "Mirror World." Imagine looking at your computer screen and seeing reality--an image of your city, for instance, complete with moving traffic patterns, or a picture that sketches the state of an entire far-flung corporation at this second. These representations are called Mirror Worlds, and according to Gelernter they will soon be available to everyone. Mirror Worlds are high-tech voodoo dolls: by interacting with the images, you interact with reality. Indeed, Mirror Worlds will revolutionize the use of computers, transforming them from (mere) handy tools to crystal balls which will allow us to see the world more vividly and see into it more deeply. Reality will be replaced gradually, piece-by-piece, by a software imitation; we will live inside the imitation; and the surprising thing is--this will be a great humanistic advance. We gain control over our world, plus a huge new measure of insight and vision. In this fascinating book--part speculation, part explanation--Gelernter takes us on a tour of the computer technology of the near future. Mirror Worlds, he contends, will allow us to explore the world in unprecedented depth and detail without ever changing out of our pajamas. A hospital administrator might wander through an entire medical complex via a desktop computer. Any citizen might explore the performance of the local schools, chat electronically with teachers and other Mirror World visitors, plant software agents to report back on interesting topics; decide to run for the local school board, hire a campaign manager, and conduct the better part of the campaign itself--all by interacting with the Mirror World. Gelernter doesn't just speculate about how this amazing new software will be used--he shows us how it will be made, explaining carefully and in detail how to build a Mirror World using technology already available. We learn about "disembodied machines," "trellises," "ensembles," and other computer components which sound obscure, but which Gelernter explains using familiar metaphors and terms. (He tells us that a Mirror World is a microcosm just like a Japanese garden or a Gothic cathedral, and that a computer program is translated by the computer in the same way a symphony is translated by a violinist into music.) Mirror Worlds offers a lucid and humanistic account of the coming software revolution, told by a computer scientist at the cutting edge of his field.

Download or read book Mirror Worlds written by David Gelernter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1993-01-28 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technology doesn't flow smoothly; it's the big surprises that matter, and Yale computer expert David Gelernter sees one such giant leap right on the horizon. Today's small scale software programs are about to be joined by vast public software works that will revolutionize computing and transform society as a whole. One such vast program is the "Mirror World." Imagine looking at your computer screen and seeing reality--an image of your city, for instance, complete with moving traffic patterns, or a picture that sketches the state of an entire far-flung corporation at this second. These representations are called Mirror Worlds, and according to Gelernter they will soon be available to everyone. Mirror Worlds are high-tech voodoo dolls: by interacting with the images, you interact with reality. Indeed, Mirror Worlds will revolutionize the use of computers, transforming them from (mere) handy tools to crystal balls which will allow us to see the world more vividly and see into it more deeply. Reality will be replaced gradually, piece-by-piece, by a software imitation; we will live inside the imitation; and the surprising thing is--this will be a great humanistic advance. We gain control over our world, plus a huge new measure of insight and vision. In this fascinating book--part speculation, part explanation--Gelernter takes us on a tour of the computer technology of the near future. Mirror Worlds, he contends, will allow us to explore the world in unprecedented depth and detail without ever changing out of our pajamas. A hospital administrator might wander through an entire medical complex via a desktop computer. Any citizen might explore the performance of the local schools, chat electronically with teachers and other Mirror World visitors, plant software agents to report back on interesting topics; decide to run for the local school board, hire a campaign manager, and conduct the better part of the campaign itself--all by interacting with the Mirror World. Gelernter doesn't just speculate about how this amazing new software will be used--he shows us how it will be made, explaining carefully and in detail how to build a Mirror World using technology already available. We learn about "disembodied machines," "trellises," "ensembles," and other computer components which sound obscure, but which Gelernter explains using familiar metaphors and terms. (He tells us that a Mirror World is a microcosm just like a Japanese garden or a Gothic cathedral, and that a computer program is translated by the computer in the same way a symphony is translated by a violinist into music.) Mirror Worlds offers a lucid and humanistic account of the coming software revolution, told by a computer scientist at the cutting edge of his field.

Download or read book The Bell Between Worlds The Mirror Chronicles Book 1 written by Ian Johnstone and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2013-06-06 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A glorious epic fantasy in the grand tradition of CS Lewis and Philip Pullman, and a major publishing event, The Mirror Chronicles will take you into another world, and on the adventure of your lifetime...

Download or read book The Mirror of Worlds written by David Drake and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-07-10 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The kingdom of the Isles is in the throes of a magical upheaval that causes the ocean to recede, a situation that reveals the Isles to be a high ground on a broader continent with past and future ties.

Download or read book The Box of Red Brocade written by Catherine Fisher and published by Hachette Children's. This book was released on 2013-10-03 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On a mission to recover his father lost in time, Jake finds himself in 1940s London. From the rubble of the Blitzed city, a clue leads him to an eccentric seer of ghosts, three sinister children and three strange prophesies. Two of them soon come to pass, but what is the Box of Red Brocade? Does it hold the secret of destroying the Obsidian Mirror? A talking bird, an invisible girl, a walking wood; the second volume of Catherine Fisher's Chronoptika series is packed with mystery, magic and sinister intrigue. 'A new novel by Catherine Fisher, poet and prize-winning novelist is always worth looking out for. The Obsidian Mirror is both thriller and SF, and, being written in Fisher's acid-etched prose, equally satisfying to fans of many genres. 'Amanda Craig, THE TIMES Children's Book of the Week.

Download or read book Mirror Worlds written by April D Brown and published by April D Brown. This book was released on 2019-03-29 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stay safe from the Evacuation Zone with Peanut Butter and Jelly while visiting the Isolation Worlds or Planet Loreia in Gamma Zaria. Molly's Second Chance in the Meadow Race leads to Summer on Solar Life. While I Don't Mean You is intended to be encouraging, it often leads to Better Forgotten Memories as the Status Quo, or No shifts. Nerissa's Legacy gives us A Fair Beginning with Prince Charming, in a life where the Safe Place is home. As our world struggles to survive, and to find A Measure of Life, filled with Painted Paper, will we build Glasses Houses, or Cycle through our lives? Adult Orphanages, and Finally Family may become reality, instead of Second Place. Will Broken Dogma lead us to Cluster? Or will The Gift allow us to encourage Going Hunting while Saving the Family Farm with (or without) the Written Word? Stories slip between ten categories. Delve deep into forty stories about an altered past, a dreamed of future, and perhaps, even a present we don't recognize under the surface. Meet aliens, and cultures you don't know exist.

Download or read book Obsidian Mirror written by Catherine Fisher and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The obsidian mirror. Its power is great and terrible. Men have been lost in it, the dead brought back to life through it, and the future annihilated by it. Or this is what will happen unless the mirror is destroyed. Three people seek the mirror: the first has been sent from the future to shatter its power; the second will protect the mirror at all costs, obsessed with its power; and the third needs the mirror to find a murdered father and save his life. But only one can succeed. The mirror can send you to the past, but it will not bring you back. With superb world-building that includes the real world, the faery world, and a dystopic future, this hauntingly astonishing adventure is the start of a new trilogy from the master of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, Catherine Fisher. Fans of Orson Scott Card, Dr. Who, Shakespeare, and Blade Runner won't be disappointed.

Download or read book The Mirror Empire written by Kameron Hurley and published by Watkins Media Limited. This book was released on 2014-08-26 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ambitious tale of magic, war, and parallel worlds that pushes the boundaries of epic fantasy—from a two-time Hugo Award winner On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past . . . while a world goes to war with itself. In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy. As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war; a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin; and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father's people or loyalty to her alien Empress. Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself. In the end, one world will rise—and many will perish. Stretching from desolate tundras to steamy, semi-tropical climes seething with sentient plant life, this is an epic tale of blood mages and mercenaries, emperors and priestly assassins, who must unite to save a world on the brink of ruin. File Under: Fantasy [ Orphaned Child | World at War | Blood Magic | The Fluidity of Gender]

Download or read book The Dickens Mirror written by Ilsa J. Bick and published by Carolrhoda Lab ™. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critically acclaimed author of The Ashes Trilogy, Ilsa J. Bick takes her new Dark Passages series to an alternative Victorian London where Emma Lindsay continues to wade through blurred realities now that she has lost everything: her way, her reality, her friends. In this London, Emma will find alternative versions of her friends from the White Space and even Arthur Conan Doyle. Emma Lindsay has nowhere to go. Her friends are dead. Eric and Casey are lost to the Dark Passages. Emma commands the cynosure, a device that allows for safe passage between the Many Worlds, to put her where she might find her friends again. But Emma wakes up in the body of Little Lizzie, all grown up. And in this alternative Victorian London, Elizabeth McDermott is mad. Elizabeth's physician, Dr. Kramer, has drugged her to allow Emma—who's blinked to this London before—to emerge as the dominant personality. Elizabeth is dying, and if Emma can't find a way out, everyone as they exist in this London will die with her.

Download or read book Origins of The Wheel of Time written by Michael Livingston and published by Tor Books. This book was released on 2022-11-08 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Jordan has come to dominate the world Tolkien began to reveal.” —The New York Times on The Wheel of Time® series Explore never-before-seen insights into the Wheel of Time, including: - A brand-new, redrawn world map by Ellisa Mitchell using change requests discovered in Robert Jordan's unpublished notes - An alternate scene from an early draft of The Eye of the World - The long-awaited backstory of Nakomi - 8 page, full color photo insert Take a deep dive into the real-world history and mythology that inspired the world of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. Origins of The Wheel of Time is written by Michael Livingston, Secretary-General of the United States Commission on Military History and professor of medieval literature at The Citadel, with a Foreword by Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan's editor, widow, and executor of his estate. This companion to the internationally bestselling series delves into the creation of Robert Jordan’s masterpiece, drawing from interviews and an unprecedented examination of his unpublished notes. Michael Livingston tells the behind-the-scenes story of who Jordan was, how he worked, and why he holds such an important place in modern literature. The second part of the book is a glossary to the “real world” in The Wheel of Time. King Arthur is in The Wheel of Time. Merlin, too. But so are Alexander the Great and the Apollo Space Program, the Norse gods and Napoleon’s greatest defeat—and so much more. Origins of The Wheel of Time provides exciting knowledge and insights to both new and longtime fans looking to either expand their understanding of the series or unearth the real-life influences that Jordan utilized in his world building—all in one, accessible text. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Download or read book In Every Mirror She s Black written by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Good Morning America Buzz Pick! As seen in Vulture, Essence, Good Morning America, The Independent, Goodreads, PureWow, and many more! "A sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood."—Deesha Philyaw, 2020 National Book Award Finalist & award-winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies An arresting debut for anyone looking for insight into what it means to be a Black woman in the world. Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm as they build their new lives in the most open society run by the most private people. Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi is lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation's largest marketing firm, to help fix a PR fiasco involving a racially tone-deaf campaign. A killer at work but a failure in love, Kemi's move is a last-ditch effort to reclaim her social life. A chance meeting with Jonny in business class en route to the U.S. propels former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae Johnson into a life of wealth, luxury, and privilege—a life she's not sure she wants—as the object of his unhealthy obsession. And refugee Muna Saheed, who lost her entire family, finds a job cleaning the toilets at Jonny's office as she works to establish her residency in Sweden and, more importantly, seeks connection and a place she can call home. Told through the perspectives of each of the three women, In Every Mirror She's Black is a fast-paced, richly nuanced yet accessible contemporary novel that touches on important social issues of racism, classism, fetishization, and tokenism, and what it means to be a Black woman navigating a white-dominated society. Praise for In Every Mirror She's Black: "In Every Mirror She's Black is a wise and complicated exploration of the lives of three Black women in America and Sweden. Lola Akinmade Åkerström offers a sharply written story with messy, deeply moving characters, raising brutal questions and steering clear of easy answers. A book that will stick with you long after you've turned the last page." —Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and Malibu Rising "In Every Mirror She's Black highlights the struggles of three women fighting to assimilate into a society that ignores their worth. These characters will pull at your heartstrings. Lola writes with a contemporary flair, highlighting the layered subtleties of the Black woman's plight. In Every Mirror She's Black will stay with readers for a long time." —Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of bestselling novels Here Comes the Sun and Patsy "In her debut novel, Lola Akinmade Akerstrom has given us a story that is at once enjoyable and disturbing as it explores the painful price millions of women around the world pay for walking around with black skin." —Imbolo Mbue, New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers

Download or read book Monsters in the Mirror written by A J Hartley and published by UCLan Publishing. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eleven-year-old Darwen Arkwright's ordinary life changed forever when he was given a magical mirror, a portal to the wonderful world of Silbrica. Darwen defeated the terrible monsters released from the mirror once. Now, an even more terrifying beast has escaped through the mirror. Darwen and his friends, Rik and Alexandra, must journey to Costa Rica to save the world from a giant tentacled creature that leaves destruction in its wake. This time, old allies can't be trusted, and the danger runs deeper than Darwen could have ever imagined. The problem with doors is that they open both ways. There are monsters inside, and some of them are trying to get out ...

Download or read book A Winter s Promise written by Christelle Dabos and published by Europa Editions. This book was released on 2018-09-25 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A stunningly atmospheric fantasy that doubles as an exceptional character study . . . we can’t wait to see where Dabos takes it next.” —Entertainment Weekly (“The 10 Best YA Books of 2018”) One of Publishers Weekly’s Best YA Books of the Year A National Indie Bestseller Lose yourself in the fantastic world of the arks and in the company of unforgettable characters in this French runaway hit, Christelle Dabos’ The Mirror Visitor quartet. Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world. The World of the Arks Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, now known as arks. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. The inhabitants of these arks each possess a unique power. Ophelia, with her ability to read the pasts of objects, must navigate this fantastic, disjointed, perilous world using her trademark tenacity and quiet strength.

Download or read book The Tides of Mind Uncovering the Spectrum of Consciousness written by David Gelernter and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2016-02-22 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “rock star” (New York Times) of the computing world provides a radical new work on the meaning of human consciousness. The holy grail of psychologists and scientists for nearly a century has been to understand and replicate both human thought and the human mind. In fact, it's what attracted the now-legendary computer scientist and AI authority David Gelernter to the discipline in the first place. As a student and young researcher in the 1980s, Gelernter hoped to build a program with a dial marked "focus." At maximum "focus," the program would "think" rationally, formally, reasonably. As the dial was turned down and "focus" diminished, its "mind" would start to wander, and as you dialed even lower, this artificial mind would start to free-associate, eventually ignoring the user completely as it cruised off into the mental adventures we know as sleep. While the program was a only a partial success, it laid the foundation for The Tides of Mind, a groundbreaking new exploration of the human psyche that shows us how the very purpose of the mind changes throughout the day. Indeed, as Gelernter explains, when we are at our most alert, when reasoning and creating new memories is our main mental business, the mind is a computer-like machine that keeps emotion on a short leash and attention on our surroundings. As we gradually tire, however, and descend the "mental spectrum," reasoning comes unglued. Memory ranges more freely, the mind wanders, and daydreams grow more insistent. Self-awareness fades, reflection blinks out, and at last we are completely immersed in our own minds. With far-reaching implications, Gelernter’s landmark "Spectrum of Consciousness" finally helps decode some of the most mysterious wonders of the human mind, such as the numinous light of early childhood, why dreams are so often predictive, and why sadism and masochism underpin some of our greatest artistic achievements. It’s a theory that also challenges the very notion of the mind as a machine—and not through empirical studies or "hard science" but by listening to our great poets and novelists, who have proven themselves as humanity's most trusted guides to the subjective mind and inner self. In the great introspective tradition of Wilhelm Wundt and René Descartes, David Gelernter promises to not only revolutionize our understanding of what it means to be human but also to help answer many of our most fundamental questions about the origins of creativity, thought, and consciousness.

Download or read book Mirror Gate written by Jeff Wheeler and published by 47north. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theirs is a world of opposites. The privileged live in sky manors held aloft by a secretive magic known only as the Mysteries. Below, the earthbound poor are forced into factory work to maintain the engine of commerce. Only the wealthy can afford to learn the Mysteries and they use their knowledge to further lock their hold on society. Cettie Pratt is a waif doomed to the world below until an admiral attempts to adopt her. But in her new home in the clouds, not everyone treats her as one of the family. Sera Fitzempress is a princess born into power. She yearns to meet the orphan girl she has heard so much about but her father deems the girl unworthy of his daughter's curiosity. Neither girl feels that she belongs. Each seeks to break free of imposed rules. Now, as Cettie dreams of living above and as Sera is drawn to the world below, they will follow the paths of their own choosing. But both girls will be needed for the coming storm that threatens to overturn both their worlds.

Download or read book Black Mirror written by Eric Lott and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-25 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blackness is a prized commodity in American pop culture. Marketed to white consumers, it invites whites to view themselves in a mirror of racial difference, while remaining “wholly” white. From sports to literature, film, and music to investigative journalism, Eric Lott reveals the hidden dynamics of this self-and-other racial mirroring.

Download or read book Dark is the Moon written by Ian Irvine and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2009-09-26 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the third volume of this original saga, the young Sensitive Karan, who carries the blood of all three Worlds in her veins, finds herself holding the knowledge that can either heal or permanently destroy the rift. The time is right for Rulke, the great betrayer, to use the deadly construct he has spent a thousand years perfecting. Unfortunately for Karan, all he needs to succeed is her unique talent. (July)