In this illustrated volume, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes -- from the French publisher who invented the phonograph before Edison but forgot to...

"We are approaching a critical threshold in the history of our species. Everything is about to change. Soon you will live surrounded by AIs. They will organise your life, operate your business, and run core government services. You will live in a world of DNA printers and quantum computers, engineered pathogens and autonomous weapons, robot assistants and abundant energy. None of us are prepared. As co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind,...

The United States is currently home to six generations of people: -the Silents, born 1925-1945; -Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964; -Gen X, born 1965-1979; -Millennials, born 1980-1994; -Gen Z, born 1995-2012; -and the still-to-be-named cohorts born after 2012. They have had vastly different life experiences and thus, one assumes, they must have vastly diverging beliefs and behaviors. But what are those differences, what causes them, and how deep do they...

You know less than you think you do - about what makes you healthy, what makes you rich, who you should date, where you should live. You know less than you think you do about how to raise your children, or, for that matter, whether you should have children in the first place. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz showed how big data is revolutionising the social sciences. He shows how big data can help us find answers to some of the most important questions we...

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world. In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives. Digital minimalists are all around us. They're the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations...

Draws on the latest research from a diverse range of fields to consider the role of trust in success, failure, and overall well-being, discussing how to recognize cues in order to discern the trustworthiness of others.

What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits? And what happens when this forces humanity to the cusp of post-human evolution? This is a tale of Bangkok struggling for survival in a post-oil era of rising sea levels and out-of-control mutation.

Go on an extraordinary journey across centuries and continents to experience the wonders of snow; from the prehistoric humans that trekked and even skied across it tens of thousands of years ago to the multi-billion-dollar industry behind our moving, making, and playing with snow. Blending accessible writing with fascinating science, Giles Whittell explores how snow dictates where we live, provides us with drinking water, and has influenced countless...

San Francisco was the epicenter of the American rave scene and witnessed some legendary events that began in the early '90s. These all-night electronic-music dance parties are culturally iconic and socially important.

"If you have a smartphone, you have AI in your pocket. It's everywhere online. And it has already changed how doctors diagnose disease as well as how you interact with friends or read the news. But In Rule of the Robots, Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Martin Ford argues that true disruption is yet to come, as AI ceases to be a tool applied to specific problems, and becomes a utility: the industrial foundation upon which practically all activity-personal,...