Astronomical Odds

Astronomical Odds
Author: Geoffrey Sommer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2005
Genre: Asteroids
ISBN:

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Addresses the cosmic impact hazard (the threat to the Earth posed by asteroids and comets) as an extreme example of a low-probability, high-consequence policy problem. This analysis presents a comprehensive framework for dealing with the technical and societal uncertainties surrounding the impact hazard. It reviews the physical nature of the threat and both the history and mechanisms of society's response to the hazard, dwelling on the social costs of false positives. The author constructs an illustrative cost-benefit model on the foundations of prior work, with parameters of social response added and then varied to assess the robustness of a proposed policy intervention: social reassurance by means of a demonstrated mitigation capability. He concludes by noting that a common flaw of prior analysis is to give lip service to "low probability" and to focus instead on "high consequence"; that there is frequent confusion between ex ante and ex post perspectives; that uncertain costs are often treated as nonexistent costs; and that warning is a social function, not a technical function, and those who issue warnings of a given hazard should not stand to benefit from those warnings.

Astronomical Odds

Astronomical Odds
Author: Juliana Rew
Publisher:
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2014-03-08
Genre: Short stories
ISBN: 9780615986548

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A fresh selection of short SF/Fantasy/Horror/Humor stories with a mathematical twist.

Believe

Believe
Author: Ralph Crawford
Publisher: WestBow Press
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2013-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1490811532

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It is not a coincidence you are reading these words. God is making a personal connection with you through this book. He wants you to know He is real, and He wants you to see how easy it is to believe in Him. This book is full of evidence you can believe in, whether you believe in God or not, because there are a few things that everybody believes in: science, history, and facts. Everybody believes in these things because they are solid, reliable, and known to be true. You are about to see facts that prove God created us. You are about to see the science and history that you believe in prove that God created the universe, Earth, and man. You will see even more evidence that proves He is real. God wants you to know these facts in order to change your perspective and to challenge you to look at Him in a different light-not as some philosophical or existential question mark but as a living, loving Father who created you as a complex and precise living being with an eternal soul connected to Him. Facts in this book show just how precise and complex you really are. Whether you believe or not, you are about to see science prove God is real.

The Gettier Problem

The Gettier Problem
Author: Stephen Hetherington
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2018-11-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1107178843

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Presents a rich and accessible survey of an epistemological problem that continues to challenge philosophers.

Midair

Midair
Author: Craig K. Collins
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2016-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1493026836

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Midair is a true account of one of the most remarkable tales of survival in the history of aviation – a midair collision at 30,000 feet by two bomb-laden B-52s over a category 5 super typhoon above the South China Sea during the outset of the Vietnam War. Authored by Craig K. Collins, the nephew of B-52 pilot Maj. Don Harten, Midair is an historically important work that is about more than survival. Interwoven through Harten’s dramatic story of his million-to-one struggle against near-certain death is a previously unexamined look at how America had developed an aerial battle plan that would likely have ended the Vietnam conflict in under a month during the late winter of 1965. Instead, the country’s war planners and politicians veered off course and into a bloody eight-year quagmire. Harten was on the February 1965 top-secret mission – a massive B-52 bombing raid of railways, supply depots, and airfields in and around Hanoi – that was called off in mid-flight. That mission and battle plan was mothballed until Dec. 18, 1972, when it was dusted off and dubbed Linebacker II, effectively ending the war within a week. Over 120 B-52s bombed Hanoi-area military installations for eight consecutive days. As a result of the heavy bombing, the North Vietnamese declared a truce, attended peace talks in Paris in early January and signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending hostilities in Vietnam on Jan. 27, 1973. It is the gripping tale of a young Air Force officer’s first combat mission that instantly pulls the reader in and never lets up.

Popular Astronomy

Popular Astronomy
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 806
Release: 1923
Genre: Astronomy
ISBN:

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The Plague Forge

The Plague Forge
Author: Jason M. Hough
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2013-09-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0345537173

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The Plague Forge delivers an unbeatable combination of knockout action and kick-ass characters as the secrets to the ultimate alien mystery from The Darwin Elevator and The Exodus Towers are about to be unraveled. The hunt is on for the mysterious keys left by the alien Builders. While Skyler’s team of immune scavengers scatters around the disease-ravaged globe in search of the artifacts, Skyler himself finds much more than he expected in the African desert, where he stumbles upon surprising Builder relics—and thousands of bloodthirsty subhumans. From the slums and fortresses of Darwin to the jungles of Brazil and beyond, Skyler and company are in for a wild ride, jam-packed with daunting challenges, run-and-gun adventure, and unexpected betrayals—all in a race against time to finally answer the great questions that have plagued humanity for decades: Who are the Builders, and what do they want with Earth? Praise for The Darwin Elevator “A hell of a fun book.”—James S. A. Corey, New York Times bestselling author of Abaddon’s Gate “[Jason M.] Hough’s first novel combines the rapid-fire action and memorable characters associated with Joss Whedon’s short-lived Firefly TV series with the accessibility and scientific acumen of [James S. A.] Corey’s ‘Expanse’ series.”—Library Journal (starred review) “The best part about alien stories is their mystery, and Jason Hough understands that like no other. Full of compelling characters and thick with tension, The Darwin Elevator delivers both despair and hope along with a gigantic dose of wonder. It’s a brilliant debut, and Hough can take my money whenever he writes anything from now on.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles “Newcomer Hough displays a talent for imaginative plotting and realistic dialogue, and the brisk pacing and cliffhanger ending will keep readers enthralled and eagerly awaiting the next installment.”—Publishers Weekly “Jason M. Hough does a great job with this huge story. The world of Darwin and the Elevator is deliciously complex and satisfying. Skyler, Tania, and all the other characters are delightfully drawn and fun to spend time with. . . . The story unfolds with just the right balance of high adventure, espionage, humor, and emotional truth. . . . As soon as you finish, you’ll want more.”—Analog “A debut novel unlike any other . . . This is something special. Something iconic. The Darwin Elevator is full of majesty and wonder, mystery and mayhem, colorful characters and insidious schemes.”—SF Signal “Fun, action-packed and entertaining . . . a sure contender for science fiction debut of the year!”—Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist “Claustrophobic, intense, and satisfying . . . I couldn’t put this book down. The Darwin Elevator depicts a terrifying world, suspends it from a delicate thread, and forces you to read with held breath as you anticipate the inevitable fall.”—Hugh Howey, New York Times bestselling author of Wool

Creative Life

Creative Life
Author: Bob Ostertag
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2024-03-18
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0252056094

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In this eloquent and passionate volume, Bob Ostertag explores the common ground and points of friction among music, creativity, politics, culture, and technology. In terrain ranging from the guerrilla underground in El Salvador's civil war to the drag queen underground in San Francisco and New York, these essays combine journalism and autobiography to explore fundamental questions of what art is and what role it can occupy in a violent and fragmented world, a world in which daily events compromise the universality toward which art strives. Drawing on his intimate engagement with political conflict in Latin America and the Balkans, Ostertag identifies an art of "insurgent politics" that struggles to expand the parameters of the physical and social world. He also discusses his innovative collaborations with major modern performers, filmmakers, and artists around the world. Part memoir, part journalism, and part aesthetic manifesto, Creative Life is a dazzling set of writings from a musical artist who has worked on the cutting edge of new music for thirty years.

If I Was President... My Blueprint for America

If I Was President... My Blueprint for America
Author: Marty Piatt Architect
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2012-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1468595156

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I, not unlike most Americans, have grown tired of the politics of politics, the lies and deceptions of our Congress, and the hypocrisy of the every day political life of the members of our Senate, our House of Representatives, and our Presidency. The campaigns of our future Presidential and Congressional candidates telling Americans they have all the answers, yet offering no real substantial or definitive courses of action to make our country the great nation it once was. I believe the solutions to the many challenges our country is facing are simple, and certainly not rocket science. I believe the means and methods necessary to fix our broken and corrupted Congress, stalled economy, high unemployment, and skyrocketing budget deficit are not that complicated. I question whether Congress and the Presidency really know the proper strides to correct all of these unfortunate circumstances. Within the following pages of this book appropriately entitled, "If I was President...", I intend to outline what I believe, hopefully with most all Americans in agreement, are the paths to recovery and road to prosperity "We The People" of the United States of America would like to see, which is... "My Blueprint for America".

Of Literature and Knowledge

Of Literature and Knowledge
Author: Peter Swirski
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2007-02-12
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1134104405

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"Of Literature and Knowledge looks ... like an important advance in this new and very important subject... literature is about to become even more interesting." – Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University. Framed by the theory of evolution, this colourful and engaging volume presents a new understanding of the mechanisms by which we transfer information from narrative make-believe to real life. Ranging across game theory and philosophy of science, as well as poetics and aesthetics, Peter Swirski explains how literary fictions perform as a systematic tool of enquiry, driven by thought experiments. Crucially, he argues for a continuum between the cognitive tools employed by scientists, philosophers and scholars or writers of fiction. The result is a provocative study of our talent and propensity for creating imaginary worlds, different from the world we know yet invaluable to our understanding of it. Of Literature and Knowledge is a noteworthy challenge to contemporary critical theory, arguing that by bridging the gap between literature and science we might not only reinvigorate literary studies but, above all, further our understanding of literature.