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Picture a computer scientist, staring at a screen and clicking away frantically on a keyboard, hacking into a system, or perhaps developing an app. Now delete that picture. In Once Upon an Algorithm,

A comprehensive introduction to the field of autonomous robotics aimed at upper-level undergraduates and offering additional online resources.Textbooks that provide a broad algorithmic perspective on the mechanics and dynamics of robots almost unfailingly serve students at the graduate level. Introduction to Autonomous Robots offers a much-needed resource for teaching third- and fourth-year undergraduates the computational fundamentals behind the design and control of autonomous robots. The authors use a class-tested and accessible approach to present progressive, step-by-step development concepts, alongside a wide range of real-world examples and fundamental concepts in mechanisms, sensing and actuation, computation, and uncertainty. Throughout, the authors balance the impact of hardware (mechanism, sensor, actuator) and software (algorithms) in teaching robot autonomy. Features:Rigorous and tested in the classroomWritten for engineering and computer science undergraduates with a soph

Unpublished writings of Colin Rowe―letters, essays, lectures, and a postcard―clarify his thinking on key concepts while revealing his wit and erudition.Colin Rowe (1920–1999) was one of the great architectural theorists of the twentieth century, publishing the influential works The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa and Other Essays (1976) and Collage City (1978). While his written work was rigorous and authoritative, his lectures and letters were more casual, “carefully careless,” both witty and erudite. I Almost Forgot gathers twenty-four such writings―letters, essays, lectures, a postcard, and a eulogy. Both edifying and entertaining, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, occasionally scathing, they fill in personal details and clarify key concepts in Rowe’s work. In these writings, Rowe tells of the “Corbu superstructure upon a beaux-arts base” that refugee Polish architects and their students introduced to his alma mater, the University of Liverpool, in the early 1940s. He characterizes his cont

The entanglements of people and data, code and space, knowledge and power: how data and algorithms shape the world―and shape us within that world.With the emergence of a post-truth world, we have witnessed the dissolution of the common ground on which truth claims were negotiated, individual agency enacted, and public spheres shaped. What happens when, as Nietzsche claimed, there are no facts, but only interpretations? In this book, Mark Shepard examines the entanglements of people and data, code and space, knowledge and power that have produced an uncommon ground―a disaggregated public sphere where the extraction of behavioral data and their subsequent processing and sale have led to the emergence of micropublics of ever-finer granularity. Shepard explores how these new post-truth territories are propagated through machine learning systems and social networks, which shape the public and private spaces of everyday life. He traces the balkanization and proliferation of online news and t

How the Pentagon became the world’s largest single greenhouse gas emitter and why it’s not too late to break the link between national security and fossil fuel consumption.The military has for years (unlike many politicians) acknowledged that climate change is real, creating conditions so extreme that some military officials fear future climate wars. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Defense―military forces and DOD agencies―is the largest single energy consumer in the United States and the world’s largest institutional greenhouse gas emitter. In this eye-opening book, Neta Crawford traces the U.S. military’s growing consumption of energy and calls for a reconceptualization of foreign policy and military doctrine. Only such a rethinking, she argues, will break the link between national security and fossil fuels.The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War shows how the U.S. economy and military together have created a deep and long-term cycle of economic growth, fossil fuel use, and dep

How biomedical research using various animal species and in vitro cellular systems has resulted in both major successes and translational failure.In Model Systems in Biology, comparative neurobiologist Georg Striedter examines how biomedical researchers have used animal species and in vitro cellular systems to understand and develop treatments for human diseases ranging from cancer and polio to Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Although there have been some major successes, much of this “translational” research on model systems has failed to generalize to humans. Striedter explores the history of such research, focusing on the models used and considering the question of model selection from a variety of perspectives―the philosophical, the historical, and that of practicing biologists. Striedter reviews some philosophical concepts and ethical issues, including concerns over animal suffering and the compromises that result. He traces the history of the most widely used animal and in

Why today’s complex problems demand a radically new way of thinking―one in which art, technology, and science converge. Today’s complex problems demand a radically new way of thinking―one in which art, technology, and science converge to expand our creativity and augment our insight. Creativity must be combined with the ability to execute; the innovators of the future will have to understand this balance and manage such complexities as climate change and pandemics. The place of this convergence is the Nexus. In this provocative and visually striking book, Julio Mario Ottino and Bruce Mau offer a guide for navigating the intersections of art, technology, and science. The Nexus brings together word and image to prepare us―individuals and organizations alike―for the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Compelling historic examples illuminate the present, from the Renaissance, when the domains were one, to the twentieth century, with intense, collective creative out

Artists and writers go beyond disciplinary boundaries and linear histories to address the fight for environmental justice, uniting the Asia-Pacific vantage point with international discourse.Modeling the curatorial as a method for uniting cultural production and science, Climates. Habitats. Environments. weaves together image and text to address the global climate crisis. Through exhibitions, artworks, and essays, artists and writers transcend disciplinary boundaries and linear histories to bring their knowledge and experience to bear on the fight for environmental justice. In doing so, they draw on the rich cultural heritage of the Asia-Pacific, in conversation with international discourse, to demonstrate transdisciplinary solution-seeking. Experimental in form as well as in method, Climates. Habitats. Environments. features an inventive book design by mono.studio that puts word and image on equal footing, offering a multiplicity of media, interpretations, and manifestations of inte

Why the future of work requires the deconstruction of jobs and the reconstruction of work.Work is traditionally understood as a “job,” and workers as “jobholders.” Jobs are structured by titles, hierarchies, and qualifications. In Work without Jobs, Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau propose a radically new way of looking at work. They describe a new “work operating system” that deconstructs jobs into their component parts and reconstructs these components into more optimal combinations that reflect the skills and abilities of individual workers. In a new normal of rapidly accelerating automation, demands for organizational agility, efforts to increase diversity, and the emergence of alternative work arrangements, the old system based on jobs and jobholders is cumbersome and ungainly. Jesuthasan and Boudreau’s new system lays out a roadmap for the future of work. Work without Jobs presents real-world cases that show how leading organizations are embracing work deconstruction and rei

The ethics and experience of “treacherous play”: an exploration of three games that allow deception and betrayal, EVE Online, DayZ, and Survivor.Deception and betrayal in gameplay are generally considered off-limits, designed out of most multiplayer games. There are a few games, however, in which deception and betrayal are allowed, and even encouraged. In Treacherous Play, Marcus Carter explores the ethics and experience of playing such games, offering detailed explorations of three games in which this kind of “dark play” is both lawful and advantageous: EVE Online, DayZ, and the television series Survivor. Examining aspects of games that are often hidden, ignored, or designed away, Carter shows the appeal of playing treacherously. Carter looks at EVE Online’s notorious scammers and spies, drawing on his own extensive studies of them, and describes how treacherous play makes EVE successful. Making a distinction between treacherous play and griefing or trolling, he examines the experi

Consciousness in all its possible human and nonhuman varieties, explored through words and images. What is consciousness, and who (or what) is conscious―humans, nonhumans, nonliving beings? How did consciousness evolve? Picturing the Mind pursues these questions through a series of “vistas”―short, engaging texts by Simona Ginsburg and Eva Jablonka, accompanied by Anna Zeligowski’s lively illustrations. Taking an evolutionary perspective, Ginsburg and Jablonka suggest that consciousness can take many forms and is found not only in humans but even in such animals as octopuses (who seem to express emotions by changing color) and bees (who socialize with other bees). They identify the possible evolutionary marker of the transition from nonconscious to conscious animals, and they speculate intriguingly about aliens and artificial intelligence. Each picture and text serves as a starting point for discussion. The authors consider, among other things, what it’s like to be a bat (and then lat

An examination of renowned theorists Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen's independent and collaborative films, and how they intersect with feminism, film theory and psychoanalysis.This book focuses on reno

Essays and interviews explore the work of Carrie Mae Weems and its place in the history of photography, African American art, and contemporary art.In this October Files volume, essays and interviews e

A completely updated and expanded comprehensive treatment of VHDL and its applications to the design and simulation of real, industry-standard circuits. This comprehensive treatment of VHDL and its

How to repair the disconnect between designers and users, producers and consumers, and tech elites and the rest of us: toward a more democratic internet.In this provocative book, Ramesh Srinivasan des

An in-depth exploration of the interaction between mind and material world, mediated by language, image, and making-in design, the arts, culture, and science. In Material and Mind, Christopher Bardt d

A comprehensive and accessible account of the U.S. estate tax, examining its history and evolution, structure and inner workings, and economic consequences. Governments have been levying some form o

Using our moral and technical imaginations to create responsible innovations: theory, method, and applications for value sensitive design.Implantable medical devices and human dignity. Private and sec

A comprehensive overview of networks and economic design, presenting models and results drawn from economics, operations research, and computer science; with examples and exercises.This book explores

A thoroughly revised and updated edition of the leading textbook on government and business policy, presenting the key principles underlying sound regulatory and antitrust policy.Regulation and antitr

How colleges and universities can live up to their ideals of diversity, and why inclusivity and excellence go hand in hand.Most colleges and universities embrace the ideals of diversity and inclusion,

All areas of biology and medicine contain rhythms, and these behaviors are best understood through mathematical tools and techniques. This book offers a survey of mathematical, computational, and anal

This book presents a self-contained, comprehensive, and yet concise and condensed overview of the theory and methods of probability, integration, stochastic processes, optimal control, and their conne

Psychiatry and mental health research is in crisis, with tensions between psychiatry's clinical and research aims and controversies over diagnosis, treatment, and scientific constructs for studying me

The evolution of multicellularity raises questions regarding genomic and developmental commonalities and discordances, selective advantages and disadvantages, physical determinants of development, and

Cities and regions grow (or occasionally decline), and continuously transform themselves as they do so. This book describes the theory and practice of modeling the spatial dynamics of urban growth and

Financial information is a both a public resource and a commodity that market participants produce and distribute in connection with other financial products and services. Legislators, regulators, and

Consensus and Global Environmental GovernanceDeliberative Democracy in Nature's RegimeWalter F. Baber and Robert V. BartlettIn this book, Walter Baber and Robert Bartlett explore the practical and con

Water lies at the intersection of landscape and infrastructure, crossing betweenvisible and invisible domains of urban space, in the tanks and buckets of the global South and thevast subterranean tech

Geologists in the field climb hills and hang onto craggy outcrops; they put theirfingers in sand and scratch, smell, and even taste rocks. Beginning in 2004, however, a team ofgeologists and other pla

Heterosexuality is celebrated--in film and television, in pop songs and opera, inliterature and on greeting cards--and at the same time taken for granted. It is the cultural andsexual norm by default.

In Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress, Robert McGuire and PhilipCoelho integrate biological and economic perspectives into an explanation of the historicaldevelopment of humanity and the economy, payi

Why do financial institutions, industrial companies, and households hold low-yielding money balances, Treasury bills, and other liquid assets? When and to what extent can the state and international

A critical history and comprehensive catalog of the celebrated and controversial works created by activist and artist Tim Rollins and Kids of Survival.

From the mid-twentieth century into the twenty-first, artists and musicians manipulated, cracked, and broke audio media technologies to produce novel sounds and performances. Artists and musicians, in

Guns and Butter examines the causes and consequences of war from a political economyperspective, taking as its premise that a consideration of the incentives and constraints faced byindividuals and gr

Describes how water politics, cars and freeways, and immigration and globalization have shaped Los Angeles, and how innovative social movements are working to make a more livable and sustainable city

This analysis of how the ability to participate in society online affects political and economic opportunity and finds that technology use matters in wages and income and civic participation and votin

Science and Technology Studies is a flourishing interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their cultural, historical, and social c

Videogames are both an expressive medium and a persuasive medium; they represent how real and imagined systems work, and they invite players to interact with those systems and form judgments about th