James Gleick Pořadí knih (chronologicky)

Quanta Magazine's stories of mathematical explorations show that inspiration strikes willy-nilly, revealing surprising solutions and exciting discoveries.

From the acclaimed author of The Information and Chaos, a mind-bending exploration of time travel: its subversive origins, its evolution in literature and science, and its influence on our understanding of time itself. Gleick's story begins at the turn of the twentieth century with the young H. G. Wells writing and rewriting the fantastic tale that became his first book, an international sensation, The Time Machine. A host of forces were converging to transmute the human understanding of time, some philosophical and some technological - the electric telegraph, the steam railroad, the discovery of buried civilisations, and the perfection of clocks. Gleick tracks the evolution of time travel as an idea in the culture - from Marcel Proust to Doctor Who, from Woody Allen to Jorge Luis Borges. He explores the inevitable looping paradoxes and examines the porous boundary between pulp fiction and modern physics. Finally, he delves into a temporal shift that is unsettling our own moment: the instantaneous wired world, with its all-consuming present and vanishing future.

Informace je v určitém smyslu knihou o všem, co je páteří naší civilizace: o telekomunikaci, ochranných známkách, počítačích, genetice, spamu a memech, kompresi dat, kvantové mechanice i šifrách, slovnících, náhodě, entropii i řetězových dopisech. Zkušený autor kultovní knihy Chaos a řady dalších publikací uchopil téma „informace“ skutečně od základu – knihu otevírá půvabná kapitola o „dálkové řeči“ afrických bubeníků (komunikačnímu kanálu, jehož kapacitě se schopnosti naší civilizace vyrovnaly až ke konci 19. století) a v řadě pestrých kapitol nás seznamuje s historií a hlavními aspekty informačního věku. Co má s moderní civilizací společného klínopis, bizarní projekt francouzských mechanických telegrafů či neméně bizarní mechanický počítač Charlese Babbagea? Uvidíme, že velmi mnoho. Zdánlivě mrtvá historická témata autor oživuje moderním pohledem teorie informace a v často překvapivých paralelách ukazuje, jak se současná civilizace dostala tam, kde nyní je. Informace je pozoruhodná kniha: abyste se do ní mohli ponořit a vychutnat její potenciál, nepotřebujete žádné zvláštní vzdělání, na druhé straně však otevře nikoli jeden, ale celou řadu nových horizontů i ostřílenému profesionálnímu informatikovi.

Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson, with contributions from Richard Dawkins, Margaret Atwood, Richard Holmes, Martin Rees, Richard Fortey, Steve Jones, James Gleick and Neal Stephenson amongst others, this beautiful, lavishly illustrated book tells the story of science and the Royal Society, from 1660 to the present.

A portrait of Isaac Newton, the man who changed our understanding of the universe, of science, and of faith is painted in this book. Isaac Newton was the chief architect of the modern world. He answered the ancient philosophical riddles of light and motion; he effectively discovered gravity; he salvaged the terms time, space, motion and place from the haze of everyday language, standardized them and married them, each to the other, constructing an edifice that made knowledge a thing of substance: quantative and exact. Creation, Newton demonstrated, unfolds from simple rules, patterns iterated over unlimited distances. What Newton learned remains the essence of what we know. Newton's laws are our laws. Newtonians. When we seek mathematical laws for economic cycles and human behaviour, we stand on Newton's shoulders. Our very deeming the universe as solvable is his legacy. This was the achievement of a reclusive professor, recondite theologian and fervent alchemist. A man who feared the light of exposure, shrank from controversy and seldom published his work. In his daily life he emulated the complex secrecy in which he saw the riddles of the universe encoded. His vision of nature was of its time; he never purged occult, hidden, mystical qualities. But he pushed open a door that led to a new universe.

We are quick to acknowledge that our lives have been transformed by technology over the last ten years - that virtual reality has become as permanent a fixture in our lives as material reality; but the arrival of the electronic world over the last ten years was not a single invention, nor a single event; it could not be encompassed in a single moment. The last ten years can be characterized in three ways: the speed, the hysteria and the remarkable range of devices, aspects, and larger ramifications of what happened. Everyone knows about the accelerated pace of our lives. Everyone recognizes that the clamour has become unprecedented, but as much as we have all lived through the last ten years, it is hard to grasp the extent and expanse of what has happened.

"We have become a quick-reflexed, multi-tasking, channel-flipping, fast-forwarding species. We don't completely understand it, and we're not altogether happy about it. Faster, is a mirror held up to our times and a mordant reminder of why some things take time."

An illuminating portrayal of Richard Feynman—a giant of twentieth century physics—from his childhood tinkering with radios, to his vital work on the Manhattan Project and beyond Raised in Depression-era Rockaway Beach, physicist Richard Feynman was irreverent, eccentric, and childishly enthusiastic—a new kind of scientist in a field that was in its infancy. His quick mastery of quantum mechanics earned him a place at Los Alamos working on the Manhattan Project under J. Robert Oppenheimer, where the giddy young man held his own among the nation’s greatest minds. There, Feynman turned theory into practice, culminating in the Trinity test, on July 16, 1945, when the Atomic Age was born. He was only twenty-seven. And he was just getting started. In this sweeping biography, James Gleick captures the forceful personality of a great man, integrating Feynman’s work and life in a way that is accessible to laymen and fascinating for the scientists who follow in his footsteps.

A unique, stunning union of art and science that explores a new path for understanding nature's wildness and the particular patterns and harmonies lurking there. 100 full-color photos.

Čtivě a srozumitelně napsaná monografie sleduje historii teorie chaosu, vědní disciplíny o běžných věcech (umění, ekonomice, biorytmech, dopravních zácpách a počasí), která se odvrací od příčinně následkového chápání světa a klasické newtonovské fyziky.

Bob Dylan stands as the most significant and contentious figure in rock music, consistently leading rather than following trends. His artistic journey is ongoing, defying the notion of a singular definitive album. Michael Gray posits that Dylan's work should be evaluated as a cohesive and evolving body of art, comparable to the finest poets and writers in English literature. Through extensive song quotations, Gray illustrates how Dylan has harnessed contemporary American idioms, folk, blues, literature, and rock to forge a groundbreaking musical awareness, effectively "unchaining public taste" and elevating pop to art. The text offers an insightful introduction to Dylan's oeuvre from 1962 to 1990, exploring his linguistic and musical evolution, from Protest Singer to Born Again Christian, while highlighting recurring themes and motifs. Ultimately, it is a celebration of the art of listening to Dylan and a deep appreciation of his artistry. A previous edition garnered critical acclaim in both the U.S. and U.K. Michael Gray, a seasoned music writer for various prominent publications, has also worked in the music industry, giving him a unique perspective on Dylan's impact. He resides in England.