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Books: Computers: Genetic Algorithms
Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Ageby Bill McKibben List Price: $14.00 Available from Amazon $11.20 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page From Publishers Weekly In 1989, McKibben published The End of Nature, a gorgeously written and galvanizing book about the true cost of global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer and other man-made ills-the loss of wild nature and with it the priceless aspect of our humanity that evolved to listen to and heed it. Now McKibben applies the same passion, scholarship and free-ranging thought to a subject that even committed environmentalists have avoided. Here he tackles what it means to be human. Reporting from the frontiers of genetic research, nanotechnology and robotics, he explores that subtle moral and spiritual boundary that he calls the "enough point." Presenting an overview of what is or may soon be possible, McKibben contends that there is no boundary to human ambition or desire or to what our very inventions may make possible. In an absorbing and horrifying montage of images, he depicts microscopic nanobots consuming the world and children born so genetically enhanced that they will never be able to believe that they reach for the stars as pianists or painters or long-distance runners because there is something unique in them that has a passion to try. Indeed, in the view of the most unbridled "technoutopians," the day of the robotically striving human is already here. What does set a human being apart from other beings, McKibben argues, is our capacity for restraint-and even for finding great meaning in restraint. "We need to do an unlikely thing: We need to survey the world we now inhabit and proclaim it good. Good enough." McKibben presents an uncompromising view, and an essential view. Readers will come away from his latest brilliantly provocative work shaking their heads at the possible future he portrays, yet understanding that becoming a pain-free, all-but-immortal, genetically enhanced semi-robot may be deeply unsatisfactory compared to being an ordinary man or woman who has faced his or her fear of death to relish what is. This is a brilliant book that deserves a wide readership. Copyright 2003 Reed business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist McKibben (The End of Nature, 1989) turns a passionate and revealing spotlight on our headlong rush into technology. He explains an array of procedures--including germline engineering and therapeutic cloning--that represent a slippery slope. For although they hold the promise to cure disease, they also offer the option of "improving" or "perfecting" human beings, providing the ability to choose a child's sex, boost intelligence, or implant a predisposition to music. If we're not careful, we could end up engineering our children to the point that they're no longer human, he cautions. Technological advancements are proceeding so rapidly that we will soon need to make decisions about how much technology is enough. McKibben makes genetic engineering, robotics, and nanotechology understandable even to those readers who are not techno-savvy, and he makes a strong and compelling case for examining the medical, social, ethical, and philosophical arguments against certain technological advancements that come eerily close to leaving behind humanness and, thus, all the intangible irrationalities that make us who we are. This is a disturbing though ultimately optimistic book that explores the possibility of technology replacing humanity and rouses within us the impulse to declare: enough. Vanessa Bush Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Forensic DNA Typing, Second Edition: Biology, Technology, and Genetics of STR Markersby John M. Butler Available from Amazon $79.95 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review When they write the history of forensic science for our times, Forensic DNA Typing will be cited as the classic text on the subject.Richard Saferstein, Ph.D. the book is an exceptionally comprehensive reference, touching on every relevant aspect of current forensic DNA typing practice. - journal of Forensic Sciences Apart from coverage, the book is well edited, attractively laid out, and makes productive use of its four-color format. - journal of Forensic Sciences very good book, and will serve many practitioners and students of forensic DNA typing as a single source reference. - journal of Forensic Sciences It is hard to think of a topic in forensic DNA typing that is not treated in the book. - journal of Forensic Sciences up to date every few years, it has the potential to become the standard reference, perhaps something. - journal of Forensic Sciences A final point is that the book is a phenomenal bargain in this day and age at around $80 a copy. - journal of Forensic Sciences Product Review "well written and informativean excellent introductory textbook for students in forensic science or as a reference text for scientists" - CANADIAN SOCIETY OF FORENSIC SCIENCES JOURNAL "I would strongly recommend this book as a training aid for new analysts or a DNA typing reference for forensic scientists." - FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMUNICATIONS "a valuable purchase for scientists, doctors, lawyers and police officers. It is clear and practicalThe book goes a long way to demystifying DNA and I would recommend it highly" - BRITISH medical ASSOCIATION, BOOK AWARDS 2001 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
How the Mind Worksby Steven Pinker List Price: $17.95 Available from Amazon $11.67 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page Product Review Why do fools fall in love? Why does a man's annual salary, on average, increase $600 with each inch of his height? When a crack dealer guns down a rival, how is he just like Alexander Hamilton, whose face is on the ten-dollar bill? How do optical illusions function as windows on the human soul? Cheerful, cheeky, occasionally outrageous MIT psychologist Steven Pinker answers all of the above and more in his marvelously fun, awesomely informative survey of modern brain science. Pinker argues that Darwin plus canny computer programs are the key to understanding ourselves--but he also throws in apt references to Star Trek, Star Wars, The Far Side, history, literature, W. C. Fields, Mozart, Marilyn Monroe, surrealism, experimental psychology, and Moulay Ismail the Bloodthirsty and his 888 children. If How the Mind Works were a rock show, tickets would be scalped for $100. This book deserved its spot as Number One on bestseller lists. It belongs on a short shelf alongside such classics as Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life, by Daniel C. Dennett, and The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, by Robert Wright. Pinker's startling ideas pop out as dramatically as those hidden pictures in a Magic Eye 3D stereogram poster, which he also explains in brilliantly lucid prose. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Amazon.com Author Profile Read about the author. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithmsby David J. C. MacKay List Price: $60.00 Available from Amazon $43.46 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review 'This is an extraordinary and important book, generous with insight and rich with detail in statistics, information theory, and probabilistic modeling across a wide swathe of standard, creatively original, and delightfully quirky topics. David MacKay is an uncompromisingly lucid thinker, from whom students, faculty and practitioners all can learn.' Peter Dayan and Zoubin Ghahramani, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College, London 'This is primarily an excellent textbook in the areas of information theory, Bayesian inference and learning algorithms. Undergraduates and postgraduates students will find it extremely useful for gaining insight into these topics; however, the book also serves as a valuable reference for researchers in these areas. Both sets of readers should find the book enjoyable and highly useful.' David Saad, Aston University 'An utterly original book that shows the connections between such disparate fields as information theory and coding, inference, and statistical physics.' Dave Forney, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Book Description Information theory and inference, often taught separately, are here united in one entertaining textbook. These topics lie at the heart of many exciting areas of contemporary science and engineering - communication, signal processing, data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, computational neuroscience, bioinformatics, and cryptography. This textbook introduces theory in tandem with applications. Information theory is taught alongside practical communication systems, such as arithmetic coding for data compression and sparse-graph codes for error-correction. A toolbox of inference techniques, including message-passing algorithms, Monte Carlo methods, and variational approximations, are developed alongside applications of these tools to clustering, convolutional codes, independent component analysis, and neural networks. The final part of the book describes the state of the art in error-correcting codes, including low-density parity-check codes, turbo codes, and digital fountain codes -- the twenty-first century standards for satellite communications, disk drives, and data broadcast. Richly illustrated, filled with worked examples and over 400 exercises, some with detailed solutions, David MacKay's groundbreaking book is ideal for self-learning and for undergraduate or graduate courses. Interludes on crosswords, evolution, and sex provide entertainment along the way. In sum, this is a textbook on information, communication, and coding for a new generation of students, and an unparalleled entry point into these subjects for professionals in areas as diverse as computational biology, financial engineering, and machine learning. |
Schaum's Outline Of Geneticsby Susan Elrod Available from Amazon $17.95 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page Book Description An up-to-date guide to basic concepts and applications in genetics from classic inheritance and population genetics to cutting-edge molecular genetics and biotechnology Provides 450 detailed problems, with step-by-step solutions, along with expert techniques for solving difficult problems, considerably expanding the reader's range of experience with various kinds of problems This updated and expanded fourth edition of the best-selling solved-problem study guide, features new chapters on gene structure and regulation and mitochondrial inheritance, as well as new material on special topics, such as developmental genetics, bacterial genetics, viruses, transposable elements, cancer, and more Back Cover Copy Master the fundamentals of genetics with Schaum'sthe high-performance study guide. It will help you cut study time, hone problem-solving skills, and achieve your personal best on exams and projects! Students love Schaum's Outlines because they produce results. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students improve their test scores and final grades with these indispensable study guides. Get the edge on your classmates. Use Schaum's! If you don't have a lot of time but want to excel in class, this book helps you:
Schaum's Outlines give you the information your teachers expect you to know in a handy and succinct formatwithout overwhelming you with unnecessary jargon. You get a complete overview of the subject. Plus, you get plenty of practice exercises to test your skill. Compatible with any classroom text, Schaum's let you study at your own pace and remind you of all the important facts you need to rememberfast! And Schaum's are so complete, they're perfect for preparing for graduate or professional exams. Inside, you will find:
If you want top grades and a thorough understanding of immunology, this powerful study tool is the best tutor you can have! Related Titles in Schaum's Outlines
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The Algorithm Design Manualby Steve S. Skiena List Price: $79.95 Available from Amazon $67.33 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page ACM's Computing Reviews "the book is an algorithm implementation treasure trove, and putting all of these implementations in one place was no small feat. The list of implementations, an extensive bibiliography, and the CD-ROM make the book an invaluable resource for everyone interested in the subject." Book Description This volume helps take some of the "mystery" out of identifying and dealing with key algorithms. Drawing heavily on the author's own real-world experiences, the book stresses design and analysis. Coverage is divided into two parts, the first being a general guide to techniques for the design and analysis of computer algorithms. The second is a reference section, which includes a catalog of the 75 most important algorithmic problems. By browsing this catalog, readers can quickly identify what the problem they have encountered is called, what is known about it, and how they should proceed if they need to solve it. This book is ideal for the working professional who uses algorithms on a daily basis and has need for a handy reference. This work can also readily be used in an upper-division course or as a student reference guide. THE ALGORITHM DESIGN MANUAL comes with a CD-ROM that contains: * a complete hypertext version of the full printed book. * the source code and URLs for all cited implementations. * over 30 hours of audio lectures on the design and analysis of algorithms are provided, all keyed to on-line lecture notes. |
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biologyby Ray Kurzweil List Price: $29.95 Available from Amazon $18.87 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Renowned inventor Kurzweil (The Age of Spiritual Machines) may be technology's most credibly hyperbolic optimist. Elsewhere he has argued that eliminating fat intake can prevent cancer; here, his quarry is the future of consciousness and intelligence. Humankind, it runs, is at the threshold of an epoch ("the singularity," a reference to the theoretical limitlessness of exponential expansion) that will see the merging of our biology with the staggering achievements of "GNR" (genetics, nanotechnology and robotics) to create a species of unrecognizably high intelligence, durability, comprehension, memory and so on. The word "unrecognizable" is not chosen lightly: wherever this is heading, it won't look like us. Kurzweil's argument is necessarily twofold: it's not enough to argue that there are virtually no constraints on our capacity; he must also convince readers that such developments are desirable. In essence, he conflates the wholesale transformation of the species with "immortality," for which read a repeal of human limit. In less capable hands, this phantasmagoria of speculative extrapolation, which incorporates a bewildering variety of charts, quotations, playful Socratic dialogues and sidebars, would be easier to dismiss. But Kurzweil is a true scientist—a large-minded one at that—and gives due space both to "the panoply of existential risks" as he sees them and the many presumed lines of attack others might bring to bear. What's arresting isn't the degree to which Kurzweil's heady and bracing vision fails to convince—given the scope of his projections, that's inevitable—but the degree to which it seems downright plausible. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine Kurzweil is one of the world’s most respected thinkers and entrepreneurs. Yet the thesis he posits in Singularity is so singular that many readers will be astounded—and perhaps skeptical. Think Blade Runner or Being John Malkovich magnified trillion-fold. Even if one were to embrace his techno-optimism, which he backs up with fascinating details, Kurzweil leaves some important questions relating to politics, economics, and morality unanswered. If machines in our bodies can rebuild cells, for example, why couldn’t they be reengineered as weapons? Or think of singularity, notes the New York Times Book Review, as the "Manhattan Project model of pure science without ethical constraints." Kurzweil’s vision requires technology, which we continue to build. But it also requires mass acceptance and faith. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
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The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, 2006by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa List Price: $18.99 Available from Amazon $12.34 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page Product Review "I can't think of much this book doesn't coverI really can't fault this guide, it contains more than enough information for anyone planning to visit Walt Disney WorldI'd highly recommend the Unofficial Guide 2006." (www.wdisneyw.co.uk, 28th September 2005) ".how to spare yourself queuing for hours on end is where this book really comes into it's own" (The Economist, April 2006)
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