More than a decade after her groundbreaking study, The Second Self (1984), MIT psychologist Turkle returns to the subject of human views of and relationships with computers (and through computers, with each other and themselves). This readable if somewhat diffuse study draws again on a wide range of interviews with computer usersfrom children and graduate students to professional programmers and MIT physicists. Turkle explores what the rapid growth of the Internet has meant to our society. She's especially interested in ``MUDs'' and ``MOOs''text- based virtual environments, accessed through the Net, where users can adopt online personas and interact with others, sometimes becoming so involved in this role-playing that it seems ``more real'' to them than their lives outside the screen. Turkle makes a convincing case that some MUDders get an effective form of therapy in these virtual worlds, that the freedom to adopt different characters (even different genders and species) allows them to explore parts of themselves that remain buried in the real world. But she unfortunately downplays the escapism and withdrawal from reality many MUDders display. She also offers a very interesting analysis of the transformation over 15 years of attitudes toward artificial intelligence, from repulsion to acceptance and even eager anticipation, arguing that the fledgling realm of ``artificial life''creating lifelike ``organisms'' in computerized environmentsrepresents the more pressing challenge to our cultural sensibilities today. Though many of Turkle's insights are nothing new, she makes a vital contribution to the study of Internet culture with her heavy reliance on the experience of actual users (often quoted at length). With that concrete grounding, her study stands out among the flock of recent Internet critiquesan informed and informative look at our ever-changing relationships with machines.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-684-80353-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1995
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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