Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download City As Superorganism PDF full book. Access full book title City As Superorganism by Bernard Barnes. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Bernard Barnes Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781508790280 Category : Languages : en Pages : 216
Book Description
This book is written by an artist about science. It describes the ideas of the City as Superorganisms as a lifelong obsession that has led the author to develop a series of paintings and drawings related to the subject that are used as illustrations throughout the work. He text of the work explores the way in which a city may be described as an organism; it looks at the systems of the city, the digestives system, the form and skeleton of the city, the membranes, specialist tissue, vascules and valves of the city. It examines the way language, signs, cultural structures, traditions etc. constitute the nervous system of the city. It suggests that a parallel to the endocrine system in complex multicellular animals can be seen in the financial and banking system of the city. It examines the way cities reproduce by forming colonies, how cities can develop sickness and die. There is a section in the book that looks as some aspects of the history of city development and the part played by religion and politics in this story. The author is especially interested in the part played by the individual human beings in this organic development. He takes into account the recent work of the neurobiologists and the discovery of the limits of free will. This book has its origins in a catalogue to accompany an exhibition of paintings held in Plas Glyn Y Weddwl in North Wales in 1985 entitled 'City as Parasite'.
Author: Bernard Barnes Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781508790280 Category : Languages : en Pages : 216
Book Description
This book is written by an artist about science. It describes the ideas of the City as Superorganisms as a lifelong obsession that has led the author to develop a series of paintings and drawings related to the subject that are used as illustrations throughout the work. He text of the work explores the way in which a city may be described as an organism; it looks at the systems of the city, the digestives system, the form and skeleton of the city, the membranes, specialist tissue, vascules and valves of the city. It examines the way language, signs, cultural structures, traditions etc. constitute the nervous system of the city. It suggests that a parallel to the endocrine system in complex multicellular animals can be seen in the financial and banking system of the city. It examines the way cities reproduce by forming colonies, how cities can develop sickness and die. There is a section in the book that looks as some aspects of the history of city development and the part played by religion and politics in this story. The author is especially interested in the part played by the individual human beings in this organic development. He takes into account the recent work of the neurobiologists and the discovery of the limits of free will. This book has its origins in a catalogue to accompany an exhibition of paintings held in Plas Glyn Y Weddwl in North Wales in 1985 entitled 'City as Parasite'.
Author: Marco Amati Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 9811639779 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 210
Book Description
This book traces how naturalism—the idea of a common theory uniting natural social systems—has contributed to major shifts in urban planning. Beginning in the 17th century, when the human body began to emerge as an inspiration for urban planning, the book examines the work of medical analyses of city life. Responding to the 19th century industrial revolution and 20th century modernism, the Second World War and mass motorisation, Dr Marco Amati shows how vitalism, eugenics, evolutionary theories and medical treatments were applied to understand cities and propose new urban forms. While critically evaluating the uses of naturalism, Amati also observes a renewed interest in the application of sciences to analyse city life, arguing that this is essential to help resolve challenges of human-induced climate change.
Author: Carey W. King Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 3030502953 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 474
Book Description
Energy drives the economy, economics informs policy, and policy affects social outcomes. Since the oil crises of the 1970s, pundits have debated the validity of this sequence, but most economists and politicians still ignore it. Thus, they delude the public about the underlying influence of energy costs and constraints on economic policies that address such pressing contemporary issues as income inequality, growth, debt, and climate change. To understand why, Carey King explores the scientific and rhetorical basis of the competing narratives both within and between energy technology and economics. Energy and economic discourse seems to mirror Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion: For every narrative there is an equal and opposite counter-narrative. The competing energy narratives pit "drill, baby, drill!" against renewable technologies such as wind and solar. Both claim to provide secure, reliable, clean, and affordable energy to support economic growth with the most benefit to society, but how? To answer this question, we need to understand the competing economic narratives, techno-optimism and techno-realism. Techno-optimism claims that innovation overcomes any physical resource constraints and enables the social outcomes and economic growth we desire. Techno-realism, in contrast, states that no matter what energy technologies we use, feedbacks from physical growth on a finite planet constrain economic growth and create an uneven distribution of social impacts. In The Economic Superorganism, you will discover stories, data, science, and philosophy to guide you through the arguments from competing narratives on energy, growth, and policy. You will be able to distinguish the technically possible from the socially viable, and understand how our future depends on this distinction.
Author: Rob Roggema Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 3030546861 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 211
Book Description
This book emphasizes new ways of designing for a sustainable city and urban environment. From several angles the future of our urbanism is illuminated. From a philosophical point of view, the city is seen as an organism, following complex ecosystemic principles, shining light on indigenous perspectives to become beneficial for sustainable design and core questions are asked whether current architectural practice is really sustainable. Simultaneously concrete practices are presented for cities in transformation, focusing on green infrastructure, smart city principles and health.
Author: Janine Rogers Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP ISBN: 077359650X Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 256
Book Description
Literary form presents an important opportunity for understanding the relationship between literature and science. Through a series of close readings of poetry and prose, Unified Fields demonstrates that formal structures in literature can relate to scientific concepts through their essential interpretive functions. Janine Rogers engages with a wide range of writing from Canadian, British, and American authors, including the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop and Robyn Sarah as well as prose by Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, and Stephen Hawking. She employs an interdisciplinary approach combining formalist, historical, and theoretical literary practice, informed by interpretive frameworks developed in the philosophy of science. Although dedicated to contemporary texts, Rogers's analysis is frequently rooted in historical contexts of form, including Euclidean geometry and medieval romance, developed when the distinction between literature and science was not so drastic. These historical connections demonstrate that continuities of form resonate in both contemporary literature and science. Through critical analysis and engaging prose, Unified Fields bridges an important disciplinary gap by revealing how literary practice informs scientific understanding.
Author: Gerard Jagers op Akkerhuis Publisher: BRILL ISBN: 9086868878 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 142
Book Description
In science, concepts such as organism, evolution and life, are used almost every day. Every scientist knows the general meaning of such concepts. At the same time, nature is complex, and for this reason, it is difficult to draw stringent lines around classes of things. Scientists therefore accept the use of so called 'working definitions' for many concepts. It is frequently advocated that working on definitions has little use for practical research. This book explores a different viewpoint, in which definitions are compared with tools. If your toolbox contains too few tools, tools that are worn down, or tools that don't fit, it becomes difficult to carry out even the most easy maintenance or repair job. Experts know: suitable tools make the work easier. The aim of this book is to examine much-used concepts in science as if these are tools in a scientific toolbox. Do the current definitions represent quality tools? To explore this question, this book uses a recently developed hierarchy theory, the operator theory, as a reference. This theory is explained in the first chapter. Whenever the analyses suggest to do so, the ScienceBites offer directions for improvement of current definitions. 'These delicious bites of science will inspire readers to devour much more scientific knowledge, and to reflect on the importance for humanity of progress in the sciences.' Prof. Dr Herman Philipse Utrecht University 'In this "golden age of biology" SCIENCEBITES provides a much needed critical reflection on its core terms' Prof. Dr Bart Gremmen Wageningen University & Research 'This is one of the most fascinating books I have read recently. Do not be deceived by the brevity of the chapters. Each gave me food for thought during many days.' Dr Peter Roessingh University of Amsterdam
Author: Byron Reese Publisher: BenBella Books ISBN: 1637741359 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 271
Book Description
"Byron Reese gets to the heart of what makes humans different from all others." —Midwest Book Review What makes the human mind so unique? And how did we get this way? This fascinating tale explores the three leaps in our history that made us what we are—and will change how you think about our future. Look around. Clearly, we humans are radically different from the other creatures on this planet. But why? Where are the Bronze Age beavers? The Iron Age iguanas? In Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think, Byron Reese argues that we owe our special status to our ability to imagine the future and recall the past, escaping the perpetual present that all other living creatures are trapped in. Envisioning human history as the development of a societal superorganism he names Agora, Reese shows us how this escape enabled us to share knowledge on an unprecedented scale, and predict—and eventually master—the future. Thoughtful, witty, and compulsively readable, Reese unravels our history as an intelligent species in three acts: Act I: Ancient humans undergo “the awakening,” developing the cognitive ability to mentally time-travel using language Act II: In 17th century France, the mathematical framework known as 'probability theory' is born—a science for seeing into the future that we used to build the modern world Act III: Beginning with the invention of the computer chip, humanity creates machines to gaze into the future with even more precision, overcoming the limits of our brains A fresh new look at the history and destiny of humanity, readers will come away from Stories, Dice, and Rocks that Think with a new understanding of what they are—not just another animal, but a creature with a mastery of time itself.
Author: Frederick R. Adler Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1107244293 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 357
Book Description
As humans have come to dominate the earth, the ideal of studying and teaching ecology in pristine ecosystems has become impossible to achieve. Our planet is now a mosaic of ecosystems ranging from the relatively undisturbed to the completely built, with the majority of people living in urban environments. This accessible introduction to the principles of urban ecology provides students with the tools they need to understand these increasingly important urban ecosystems. It builds upon the themes of habitat modification and resource use to demonstrate how multiple ecological processes interact in cities and how human activity initiates chains of unpredictable unintended ecological consequences. Broad principles are supported throughout by detailed examples from around the world and a comprehensive list of readings from the primary literature. Questions, exercises and laboratories at the end of each chapter encourage discussion, hands-on study, active learning, and engagement with the world outside the classroom window.
Author: Rocco De Nicola Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3319155458 Category : Computers Languages : en Pages : 705
Book Description
This book is dedicated to Professor Martin Wirsing on the occasion of his emeritation from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany. The volume is a reflection, with gratitude and admiration, on Professor Wirsing’s life highly creative, remarkably fruitful and intellectually generous life. It also gives a snapshot of the research ideas that in many cases have been deeply influenced by Professor Wirsing’s work. The book consists of six sections. The first section contains personal remembrances and expressions of gratitude from friends of Professor Wirsing. The remaining five sections consist of groups of scientific papers written by colleagues and collaborators of Professor Wirsing, which have been grouped and ordered according to his scientific evolution. More specifically, the papers are concerned with logical and algebraic foundations; algebraic specifications, institutions and rewriting; foundations of software engineering; service oriented systems; and adaptive and autonomic systems.
Author: Rob Roggema Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9400743785 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 279
Book Description
This book advocates a fresh approach to planning that anticipates, rather than reacts to, the changes in climate currently in process. Today’s spatial planning procedures rely on historical evidence instead of preparing for factors that by definition lie in the future, yet which are relatively uncontroversial: shortages of water, sea level rise and rises in average temperatures being but three examples. Arguing for more flexibility, the contributors view ‘complexity’ as the key to transforming the way we plan in order to better equip us to face uncertainties about our future environment.
Author: Bernard Barnes
Author: Bernard Barnes
Author: Marco Amati
Author: Carey W. King
Author: Rob Roggema
Author: Janine Rogers
Author: Gerard Jagers op Akkerhuis
Author: Byron Reese
Author: Frederick R. Adler
Author: Rocco De Nicola
Author: Rob Roggema