Synthetic biology manipulates the stuff of life. For synthetic biologists, livingmatter is programmable material. In search of carbon-neutral fuels, sustainable manufacturingtechniques, and innovative
In 1964, Robert Rauschenberg, already a frequent transatlantic traveler, became evenmore peripatetic, joining the Merce Cunningham Dance Company as costume and set designer for itsfirst world tour. Ra
Why would an architect reach for a pencil when drawing software and AutoCAD are aclick away? Use a ruler when 3D-scanners and GPS devices are close at hand? In WhyArchitects Still Draw, Paolo Belardi
In our daily life, it really seems as though we have free will,that what we do from moment to moment is determined by conscious decisions that we freely make. Youget up from the couch, you go for a wa
There are many reasons for scholars to investigate empathy. Empathy plays a crucialrole in human social interaction at all stages of life; it is thought to help motivate positivesocial behavior, inhib
In The Feeling Body, Giovanna Colombetti takes ideas from theenactive approach developed over the last twenty years in cognitive science and philosophy of mindand applies them for the first time to af
In this challenging but exhilarating work, Sha Xin Wei argues for an approach tomateriality inspired by continuous mathematics and process philosophy. Investigating theimplications of such an approach
The technology of mechanized program verification can play a supporting role in manykinds of research projects in computer science, and related tools for formal proof-checking areseeing increasing ado
Engineering has been an essential collaborator in biological research andbreakthroughs in biology are often enabled by technological advances. Decoding the double helixstructure of DNA, for example, o
Pamela S. Karlan is a unique figure in American law. A professor at Stanford LawSchool and former counsel for the NAACP, she has argued seven cases at the Supreme Court and workedon dozens more as a c
Vision is one of the most active areas in biomedical research, and visualpsychophysical techniques are a foundational methodology for this research enterprise. Visualpsychophysics, which studies the r
Based on the Zen philosophy about focusing away from the self, a guide to "neural Zen" meditative practices draws on recent findings in brain research to outline recommendations for various methods of
In contemporary Western society, people are more often called upon to justify thechoice not to have children than they are to supply reasons for having them. In this book, ChristineOverall maintains t
The current conflict in Syria has killed more than 80,000 people and displaced fourmillion, yet most observers predict that the worst is still to come. And for two years, theinternational community ha
In this book, Michela Ippolito proposes a compositional semantics for subjunctive (orwould) conditionals in English that accounts for their felicity conditions and the constraints onthe satisfaction o
In this book, Michela Ippolito proposes a compositional semantics for subjunctive (orwould) conditionals in English that accounts for their felicity conditions and the constraints onthe satisfaction o
In this provocative call for a new ecological politics, William Ophuls starts from aradical premise: "sustainability" is impossible. We are on an industrialTitanic, fueled by rapidly depleting stocks
Today's blockbuster video games -- and their never-ending sequels, sagas, and reboots-- provide plenty of excitement in high-resolution but for the most part fail to engage a player'smoral imagination
For more than thirty years, Wu Jinglian has been widely regarded as China's mostcelebrated and influential economist. In the late 1970s, Wu (b. 1930) was one of a small group ofeconomic thinkers who b
The future is not what it used to be because we can no longer rely on the comfortingassumption that it will resemble the past. Past abundance of fuel, for example, does not implyunending abundance. In
Episodic memory proves essential for daily function, allowing us to remember where weparked the car, what time we walked the dog, or what a friend said earlier. In How WeRemember, Michael Hasselmo dra
Buildings are the nation's greatest energy consumers. Forty percent of all our energyis used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering machines and devices in buildings. And despitedecades of inves
Buildings are the nation's greatest energy consumers. Forty percent of all our energyis used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering machines and devices in buildings. And despitedecades of inves
For as long has humans have lived in communities, storytelling has bound people toeach other and to their environments. In recent times, scholars have noted how social networks arisearound issues of r
For as long has humans have lived in communities, storytelling has bound people toeach other and to their environments. In recent times, scholars have noted how social networks arisearound issues of r
Politics matter for financial markets and financial markets matter for politics, andnowhere is this relationship more apparent than in emerging markets. In Banking onDemocracy, Javier Santiso investig
In the 1930s a series of seminal works published by Alan Turing, Kurt Godel, AlonzoChurch, and others established the theoretical basis for computability. This work, advancing precisecharacterizations
Today almost every aspect of life for which data exists can be rendered as a network.Financial data, social networks, biological ecologies: all are visualized in links and nodes, linesconnecting dots.
Ever since the term "crowdsourcing" was coined in 2006 byWired writer Jeff Howe, group activities ranging from the creation of the OxfordEnglish Dictionary to the choosing of new colors for M&Ms h
In Digital Methods, Richard Rogers proposes a methodologicaloutlook for social and cultural scholarly research on the Web that seeks to move Internet researchbeyond the study of online culture. It is
New findings in neuroscience have given us unprecedented knowledge about the workingsof the brain. Innovative research -- much of it based on neuroimaging results -- suggests not onlytreatments for ne
Many scholars believe that visual mental imagery plays a key role in reasoning. InSpace to Reason, Markus Knauff argues against this view, proposing that visualimages are not relevant for reasoning an
In life, uncertainty surrounds us. Things that we thought were good for us turn outto be bad for us (and vice versa); people we thought we knew well behave in mysterious ways; thestock market takes a
To succeed in today's interconnected and complex world, workers need to be able tothink systemically, creatively, and critically. Equipping K-16 students with thesetwenty-first-century competencies re
In this groundbreaking study, first published in 1983 and unavailable for over a decade, Linda Dalrymple Henderson demonstrates that two concepts of space beyond immediate perception -- the curved spa
In "No Medium," Craig Dworkin looks at works that are blank, erased, clear, or silent, writing critically and substantively about works for which there would seem to be not only nothing to see but not
The assembly line was invented in 1913 and has been in continuous operation ever since. It is the most familiar form of mass production. Both praised as a boon to workers and condemned for exploiting
A wave of business innovation is driving the productivity resurgence in the U.S. economy. In Wired for Innovation, Erik Brynjolfsson and Adam Saunders describe how information technology directly or i
Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case forglobal warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to waitfor real data, "so
