Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Literary Theory for Robots - How...

  Dennis Yi Tenen

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  Literary Theory for Robots reveals the hidden history of modern machine intelligence, taking listeners on a spellbinding journey from medieval Arabic philosophy to visions of a universal language, past Hollywood fiction factories, and missile defense systems trained on Russian folktales. In this provocative reflection on the shared pasts of literature and computer science, former Microsoft engineer and professor of comparative literature Dennis Yi Tenen provides crucial context for recent developments in AI, which holds important lessons for the future of humans living with smart technology. 
   
   
   
  Intelligence expressed through technology should not be mistaken for a magical genie, capable of self-directed thought or action. Rather, in highly original and effervescent prose with a generous dose of wit, Yi Tenen asks us to read past the artifice—to better perceive the mechanics of collaborative work. Something as simple as a spell-checker or a grammar-correction tool, embedded in every word-processor, represents the culmination of a shared human effort, spanning centuries. 
   
   
   
  With its masterful blend of history, technology, and philosophy, Yi Tenen's work ultimately urges us to view AI as a matter of labor history, celebrating the long-standing cooperation between authors and engineers.

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  In Praise of Floods - The...

  James C. Scott

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  James C. Scott reframes rivers as alive and dynamic, revealing the consequences of treating them as resources for our profit Rivers, on a long view, are alive. They are born; they change; they shift their channels; they forge new routes to the sea; they move both gradually and violently; they can teem (usually) with life; they may die a quasi-natural death; they are frequently maimed and even murdered. It is the annual flood pulse—the brief time when the river occupies the floodplain—that gives a river its vitality, but it is human engineering that kills it, suppressing the flood pulse with dams, irrigation, siltation, dikes, and levees. In demonstrating these threats to the riverine world, award-winning author James C. Scott examines the life history of a particular river, the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) of Burma, the heartland and superhighway of Burman culture. Scott opens our understanding of rivers to encompass their entirety—tributaries, wetlands, floodplains, backwaters, eddies, periodic marshlands, and the assemblage of life forms dependent on rivers for their existence and well-being. For anyone interested in the Anthropocene and the Great Acceleration, rivers offer a striking example of the consequences of human intervention in trying to control and domesticate a natural process, the complexity and variability of which we barely understand.

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  The World As We Knew It -...

  Tajja Isen, Amy Brady

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  Nineteen leading literary writers from around the globe offer timely, haunting first-person reflections on how climate change has altered their lives 
   
   
   
  In this riveting anthology, leading literary writers reflect on how climate change has altered their lives, revealing the personal and haunting consequences of this global threat. 
   
   
    
  In the opening essay, National Book Award finalist Lydia Millet mourns the end of the Saguaro cacti in her Arizona backyard due to drought. Later, Omar El Akkad contemplates how the rise of temperatures in the Middle East is destroying his home and the wellspring of his art. Gabrielle Bellot reflects on how a bizarre lionfish invasion devastated the coral reef near her home in the Caribbean—a precursor to even stranger events to come. Traveling through Nebraska, Terese Svoboda witnesses cougars running across highways and showing up in kindergartens. 
   
   
    
  As the stories unfold—from Antarctica to Australia, New Hampshire to New York—an intimate portrait of a climate-changed world emerges, captured by writers whose lives jostle against incongruous memories of familiar places that have been transformed in startling ways.

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  Shigellosis - Causes Symptoms...

  Lilly Richardsen

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  Shigellosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection caused by the Shigella species, which primarily affects the intestines and leads to symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. The disease spreads easily through direct person-to-person contact, contaminated food and water, or poor hygiene practices. It is a significant public health concern, particularly in developing countries where sanitation infrastructure is inadequate. However, outbreaks also occur in more developed regions, especially in crowded environments such as schools, daycare centers, and nursing homes. Understanding the nature of Shigella, its transmission routes, and its global impact is essential in addressing and preventing the spread of the disease. 
  The Shigella genus consists of four major species: Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Shigella boydii, and Shigella sonnei. Each of these species is associated with varying degrees of illness severity, with Shigella dysenteriae being the most severe due to its production of the Shiga toxin. Shigella sonnei is the most common cause of infection in industrialized nations, while Shigella flexneri is more prevalent in developing regions. These bacteria invade the cells lining the intestines, leading to inflammation, ulcers, and severe diarrhea that may contain blood or mucus. Because Shigella is highly resistant to stomach acid, only a small number of bacteria—sometimes fewer than 100—are needed to cause an infection. 
  The primary mode of transmission for Shigella is the fecal-oral route. This means that infection occurs when an individual ingests even a tiny amount of contaminated fecal matter. Poor hand hygiene, inadequate sanitation, and the consumption of contaminated food or water are key contributors to outbreaks.

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  Margin over Mission - When...

  James Kelly

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  In a country where health care is increasingly driven by profit, Margin over Mission exposes the dire consequences of corporate ownership in hospitals. James Kelly, an ICU nurse with over two decades of experience, narrates a gripping account of his final year at Lovelace Women's Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico—a year marred by preventable deaths, administrative changes, and the heartbreaking loss of a once-mission-driven institution to the clutches of Wall Street. 
   
   
   
  Kelly's poignant narrative takes listeners on an emotional journey through the corridors of a hospital that once stood for community and care but became overshadowed by the relentless pursuit of profit. Through detailed anecdotes and critical analysis, Kelly reveals the stark reality of a health care system compromised by private equity, where decisions prioritize profit margins over the mission of saving lives. 
   
   
   
  Kelly's unique perspective as an ICU nurse provides an insider's look into how private equity is wreaking havoc in hospitals around the country. His story is also a powerful tribute to the countless health care workers who struggle to maintain their integrity and compassion in an increasingly inhumane system that prioritizes money over people.

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  NASA Programs in the 1970s: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  Space exploration was always an expensive business, and throughout NASA’s history, the agency has had to justify to Congress its need for every dollar it intended to spend. This problem has helped NASA to be more careful and more creative with the money they did receive, and scientists had to justify the equipment they wanted to include on each space probe. They had to justify the size and the power demand, too. If they wanted too much, the entire mission might be scrubbed, and all their work would have been for naught. This made planning and designs leaner and more efficient, as scientists and engineers were more careful with their recommendations. 
  In fact, the Pioneer program was the most diversified sequence of any of NASA’s programs, and though they’re now remembered for being among the first probes in history to reach the Outer Solar System, the elaborate planning changed goals several times over several years before resulting in historic successes. NASA had wanted to do a Grand Tour of the Solar System toward the end of the 1970s to take advantage of the scheduled alignment of planets, which meant the Pioneer missions were meant to be test runs prior to the main events (Voyager 1 and Voyager 2), and a great many things discovered by Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 were essential to the successful planning of the Voyager probes. 
  Voyager 1 and 2 have done far more than accomplish their original missions. In fact, they are now exploring interstellar space, far beyond the outer planets in the cold wasteland between the stars. Each spacecraft carries a copy of a golden record which contains an introduction to Earth, should some alien civilization happen to encounter either Voyager 1 or Voyager 2. In the first Star Trek movie, writers imagined just that, creating a story of a Voyager spacecraft being captured and adapted for its own uses.

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