Download or read book Parable of the Talents written by Octavia E. Butler and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parable of the Talents celebrates the classic Butlerian themes of alienation and transcendence, violence and spirituality, slavery and freedom, separation and community, to astonishing effect, in the shockingly familiar, broken world of 2032. Long awaited, Parable of the Talents is the continuation of the travails of Lauren Olamina, the heroine of 1994's Nebula-Prize finalist, bestselling Parable of the Sower. Parable of the Talents is told in the voice of Lauren Olamina's daughter&...from whom she has been separated for most of the girl's life&...with sections in the form of Lauren's journal. Against a background of a war-torn continent, and with a far-right religious crusader in the office of the U.S. presidency, this is a book about a society whose very fabric has been torn asunder, and where the basic physical and emotional needs of people seem almost impossible to meet.

Download or read book Glimpses of the Future written by David Goodman Croly and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2021-09-09 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book Predictions in the Brain written by Moshe Bar and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-10 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When one is immersed in the fascinating world of neuroscience findings, the brain might start to seem like a collection of "modules," each specializes in a specific mental feat. But just like in other domains of Nature, it is possible that much of the brain and mind's operation can be explained with a small set of universal principles. Given exciting recent developments in theory, empirical findings and computational studies, it seems that the generation of predictions might be one strong candidate for such a universal principle. This is the focus of Predictions in the brain. From the predictions required when a rat navigates a maze to food-caching in scrub-jays; from predictions essential in decision-making to social interactions; from predictions in the retina to the prefrontal cortex; and from predictions in early development to foresight in non-humans. The perspectives represented in this collection span a spectrum from the cellular underpinnings to the computational principles underlying future-related mental processes, and from systems neuroscience to cognition and emotion. In spite of this diversity, they share some core elements. Memory, for instance, is critical in any framework that explains predictions. In asking "what is next?" our brains have to refer to memory and experience on the way to simulating our mental future. But as much as this collection offers answers to important questions, it raises and emphasizes outstanding ones. How are experiences coded optimally to afford using them for predictions? How do we construct a new simulation from separate memories? How specific in detail are future-oriented thoughts, and when do they rely on imagery, concepts or language? Therefore, in addition to presenting the state-of-the-art of research and ideas about predictions as a universal principle in mind and brain, it is hoped that this collection will stimulate important new research into the foundations of our mental lives.

Download or read book Future Babble written by Dan Gardner and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2010-10-12 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2008, as the price of oil surged above $140 a barrel, experts said it would soon hit $200; a few months later it plunged to $30. In 1967, they said the USSR would have one of the fastest-growing economies in the year 2000; in 2000, the USSR did not exist. In 1911, it was pronounced that there would be no more wars in Europe; we all know how that turned out. Face it, experts are about as accurate as dart-throwing monkeys. And yet every day we ask them to predict the future — everything from the weather to the likelihood of a catastrophic terrorist attack. Future Babble is the first book to examine this phenomenon, showing why our brains yearn for certainty about the future, why we are attracted to those who predict it confidently, and why it’s so easy for us to ignore the trail of outrageously wrong forecasts. In this fast-paced, example-packed, sometimes darkly hilarious book, journalist Dan Gardner shows how seminal research by UC Berkeley professor Philip Tetlock proved that pundits who are more famous are less accurate — and the average expert is no more accurate than a flipped coin. Gardner also draws on current research in cognitive psychology, political science, and behavioral economics to discover something quite reassuring: The future is always uncertain, but the end is not always near.

Download or read book Predictions written by Theodore Modis and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents the mathematical and scientific techniques that will enable us to anticipate many future trends and events with a high degree of accuracy.

Download or read book Sensei of Shambala written by Anastasia Novykh and published by Sensei Publishing House. This book was released on 2009-11 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 16-year-old girl who suddenly encounters death reconsiders her own life and searches for answers to the everlasting questions: "What are we living for? What is the sense of life? Who am I really? She finds answers from a most erudite man, the martial-arts master Sensei.

Download or read book Stand on Zanzibar written by John Brunner and published by Orb Books. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brilliant 1969 Hugo Award-winning novel from John Brunner, Stand on Zanzibar, now included with a foreword by Bruce Sterling Norman Niblock House is a rising executive at General Technics, one of a few all-powerful corporations. His work is leading General Technics to the forefront of global domination, both in the marketplace and politically---it's about to take over a country in Africa. Donald Hogan is his roommate, a seemingly sheepish bookworm. But Hogan is a spy, and he's about to discover a breakthrough in genetic engineering that will change the world...and kill him. These two men's lives weave through one of science fiction's most praised novels. Written in a way that echoes John Dos Passos' U.S.A. Trilogy, Stand on Zanzibar is a cross-section of a world overpopulated by the billions. Where society is squeezed into hive-living madness by god-like mega computers, mass-marketed psychedelic drugs, and mundane uses of genetic engineering. Though written in 1968, it speaks of now, and is frighteningly prescient and intensely powerful. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Download or read book The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus written by Nostradamus Nostradamus and published by General Press. This book was released on 2022-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nostradamus (Michel de Nostradame) was born on December 14, 1503 in St. Remy, Provence, France. Nostradamus came from a long line of Jewish doctors and scholars. He is considered by many as one of the most famous and important writers of history prophecies. He is famous mainly for his book 'The Prophecies, ' consisting of quarantine in rhyme. Supporters of the trustworthiness of these prophecies attribute to Nostradamus the ability to predict an incredible number of events in world history, including the French Revolution, the Atomic bomb, the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the attacks of 11 September 2001. However, no one has ever proved that Nostradamus's quarters can provide reliable data for the foreseeable future. Nostradamus had the visions which he later recorded in verse while staring into water or flame late at night, sometimes aided by herbal stimulants, while sitting on a brass tripod. The resulting quatrains (four line verses) are oblique and elliptical, and use puns, anagrams and allegorical imagery. Most of the quatrains are open to multiple interpretations, and some make no sense whatsoever. Some of them are chilling, literal descriptions of events, giving specific or near-specific names, geographic locations, astrological configurations, and sometimes actual dates. It is this quality of both vagueness and specificity which allows each new generation to reinterpret Nostradamus.

Download or read book The Next 100 Years written by George Friedman and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2009-01-27 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Conventional analysis suffers from a profound failure of imagination. It imagines passing clouds to be permanent and is blind to powerful, long-term shifts taking place in full view of the world.” —George Friedman In his long-awaited and provocative new book, George Friedman turns his eye on the future—offering a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century. He explains where and why future wars will erupt (and how they will be fought), which nations will gain and lose economic and political power, and how new technologies and cultural trends will alter the way we live in the new century. The Next 100 Years draws on a fascinating exploration of history and geopolitical patterns dating back hundreds of years. Friedman shows that we are now, for the first time in half a millennium, at the dawn of a new era—with changes in store, including: • The U.S.-Jihadist war will conclude—replaced by a second full-blown cold war with Russia. • China will undergo a major extended internal crisis, and Mexico will emerge as an important world power. • A new global war will unfold toward the middle of the century between the United States and an unexpected coalition from Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and the Far East; but armies will be much smaller and wars will be less deadly. • Technology will focus on space—both for major military uses and for a dramatic new energy resource that will have radical environmental implications. • The United States will experience a Golden Age in the second half of the century. Written with the keen insight and thoughtful analysis that has made George Friedman a renowned expert in geopolitics and forecasting, The Next 100 Years presents a fascinating picture of what lies ahead. For continual, updated analysis and supplemental material, go to www.geopoliticalfutures.com.

Download or read book The Works of President Edwards Edited by E Williams and E Parsons With memoirs of his life by S Hopkins written by Jonathan Edwards and published by . This book was released on 1844 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Predicting the Future Can We Do It and If Not Why Not written by Gerard G. Nahum and published by Archway Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-31 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yogi Berra, the American baseball legend, stated famously that it is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. We all try to predict what will occur in our lives. We routinely orchestrate events in the present in an attempt to influence what wed like to see happen in the future. But despite our best efforts, everything doesnt always go according to plan. The question is why? In Predicting the Future: Can We Do It? And If Not, Why Not?, author Dr. Gerard G. Nahum offers a comprehensive answer to this question. He provides a framework of explanation as to why we find ourselves in the situations we do concerning our ability (or inability) to predict and influence the future. Nahum illustrates why the predicaments we encounter often have much more to do with the fundamental physical constraints of the universe that we live in rather than anything man-made. Predicting the Future: Can We Do It? And If Not, Why Not? is intellectually rigorous in its approach and conveys a simple message: the information we can access, the knowledge we gain as a result, and the understandings we develop as a consequence are what we use to make decisions about the way we believe the future is most likely to unfold. This, in turn, informs our perspectives, which impacts our choices, and ultimately influences the actions we take.

Download or read book Predictions written by Sian Griffiths and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here are a series of tantalizing predictions about the coming century, delivered by thirty of today's greatest minds--including Stephen Jay Gould, Daniel Dennett, Sherry Turkle, Steven Weinberg, Noam Chomsky, Umberto Eco, and John Kenneth Galbraith. This glittering list of contributors includes Nobel laureates, bestselling writers, intellectual icons, and scientists at the cutting edge of research. Readers can sample everything from Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe's hopes for the future of Africa in the next century, to feminist Andrea Dworkin's dream of a new Jerusalem for women. Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke serves up a series of startling visions, including the possibility that, by the year 2050, large sea creatures will be found beneath the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa. Steven Pinker suggests that the completion of the Humane Genome Project will lead to a sudden jump in our knowledge about the genetic basis of our emotions and our learning abilities. And Richard Dawkins believes that the ancient mind-body problem will be solved--not by philosophers but by scientists. Each prediction is preceded by an intriguing profile of the author--blending a lively interview with biographical data--which conveys a vivid sense of the individual while setting their work in context and explaining their theories or inventions. These fascinating interviews, previously published inThe Times Higher EducationSupplement, give us instant capsule portraits of some of our most brilliant living thinkers. Predictionsis an exciting roadmap to the future as well as a vivid snapshot of the state of human knowledge at the end of the millennium.

Download or read book Superforecasting written by Philip E. Tetlock and published by Crown. This book was released on 2015-09-29 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST “The most important book on decision making since Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow.”—Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week’s meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts’ predictions are only slightly better than chance. However, an important and underreported conclusion of that study was that some experts do have real foresight, and Tetlock has spent the past decade trying to figure out why. What makes some people so good? And can this talent be taught? In Superforecasting, Tetlock and coauthor Dan Gardner offer a masterwork on prediction, drawing on decades of research and the results of a massive, government-funded forecasting tournament. The Good Judgment Project involves tens of thousands of ordinary people—including a Brooklyn filmmaker, a retired pipe installer, and a former ballroom dancer—who set out to forecast global events. Some of the volunteers have turned out to be astonishingly good. They’ve beaten other benchmarks, competitors, and prediction markets. They’ve even beaten the collective judgment of intelligence analysts with access to classified information. They are "superforecasters." In this groundbreaking and accessible book, Tetlock and Gardner show us how we can learn from this elite group. Weaving together stories of forecasting successes (the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound) and failures (the Bay of Pigs) and interviews with a range of high-level decision makers, from David Petraeus to Robert Rubin, they show that good forecasting doesn’t require powerful computers or arcane methods. It involves gathering evidence from a variety of sources, thinking probabilistically, working in teams, keeping score, and being willing to admit error and change course. Superforecasting offers the first demonstrably effective way to improve our ability to predict the future—whether in business, finance, politics, international affairs, or daily life—and is destined to become a modern classic.

Download or read book The Works of President Edwards written by Jonathan Edwards and published by . This book was released on 1852 with total page 686 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Imagining the Internet written by Janna Quitney Anderson and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2005-07-21 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 1990s, people predicted the death of privacy, an end to the current concept of 'property,' a paperless society, 500 channels of high-definition interactive television, world peace, and the extinction of the human race after a takeover engineered by intelligent machines. Imagining the Internet zeroes in on predictions about the Internet's future and revisits past predictions—and how they turned out. It gives the history of communications in a nutshell, illustrating the serious impact of pervasive networks and how they will change our lives over the next century.

Download or read book Science Fiction and the Prediction of the Future written by Gary Westfahl and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science fiction has always challenged readers with depictions of the future. Can the genre actually provide glimpses of the world of tomorrow? This collection of fifteen international and interdisciplinary essays examines the genre's predictions and breaks new ground by considering the prophetic functions of science fiction films as well as SF literature. Among the texts and topics examined are classic stories by Murray Leinster, C. L. Moore, and Cordwainer Smith; 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels, Japanese anime and Hong Kong cinema; and electronic fiction.

Download or read book Works of President Edwards written by Jonathan Edwards and published by . This book was released on 1868 with total page 690 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: