Chemical-Resistant Nonmetallic Materials; Vitrified Clay Pipe, Concrete, Fiber-Cement Products: Mortars and Grouts: Masonry (Annual Book of a S T M Standards Volume 0405)

Book Description

This volume contains the best carefully revised full papers selected from the presentations accepted for the AI '93 and AI '94 Workshop on Evolutionary Computation held in Australia.The 21 papers included cover a wide range of topics in the field of evolutionary computation, from constrained function optimization to combinatorial optimization, from evolutionary programming to genetic programming, from robotic strategy learning to co-evolutionary game strategy learning. The papers reflect important recent progress in the field; more than half of the papers come from overseas.

Monad to Man: The Concept of Progress in Evolutionary Biology

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His pet peeve

Monad to Man: The Concept of Progress in Evolutionary Biology
Michael Ruse
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0674582209

Book Description

The idea of evolution: it fascinates some of us, disturbs others, and leaves only a very few people indifferent. In a major new interpretation of evolutionary theory, Michael Ruse pinpoints the common source of this attraction and discomfort. A renowned writer on evolutionary theory and its history, Ruse has long been sensitive to the fact that many people--and not simply religious enthusiasts--find something deeply troubling about much of what passes for science in evolutionary circles. What causes this tension, he finds in his search of evolutionism's 250-year history, is the intimate relationship between evolution and the secular ideology of progress.

Ubiquitous in Darwin's time, the idea of an unceasing improvement in life insinuated its way into evolutionary theory from the first. In interviews with today's major figures in evolutionary biology--including Stephen Jay Gould, Edward O. Wilson, Ernst Mayr, and John Maynard Smith--and in an intimate look at the discoveries and advances in the history and philosophy of science, Ruse finds this belief just as prevalent today--however it might be denied or obscured. His book traces the delicate line between those who argue that science is and must be objective and those who deem science a "social construction" in the fashion of religion or the rest of culture. It offers an unparalleled account of evolutionary theory, from popular books to museums to the most complex theorizing, at a time when its status as science is under greater scrutiny than ever before.

Customer Reviews:

His pet peeve.......2002-05-12

This massive bit of research into the history of evolutionary thought represents Michael Ruse's attempt to convince fellow scientists to show interest in what he sees as two fundamental issues in evolutionism. The first is the dissonance between it and other scientific enquiries. More specifically Ruse is concerned about the indifference physicists, chemists, and other scientists engaged in the "practical" sciences show towards evolution. They hardly care about evolution's focus on origins and are instead interested in their own experiments. The second issue is Ruse's pet peeve. It is the tendency, which he says he can trace back 250 years, for evolutionism to be influenced by cultural values. More specifically, Ruse says that the idea of social progress has always had a close relationship with evolution. This is the subject which he explores for the vast majority of the book.

The best encapsulation of this idea of Progress (which Ruse describes with a capital "P" to emphasize its significance)is its movement from the simplest biological form to the most complex. Thus we have from MONAD TO MAN. Ruse says that the idea "that there will be an ongoing improvement of human society through human effort was the parent idea of evolution, which was taken to have at its heart the idea of biological progress." He shows that it was in fact the norm in Darwin's time. But is it still so today, and of critical importance to readers of this book, does Ruse make a convincing argument that it is so? More importantly still, does he make a case to convince his fellow scientists to care? I say yes to the first part (and at over 600 pages his book had better be convincing!) He points out that from about the 1950's there was a shift and evolutionary science became more objective. Ruse is very convincing in showing that this was not as a result of scientists giving up belief in social or biological Progress, but merely the suppressing of these ideas at the behest of professionalizers.

I doubt that he's convinced too many of his colleagues though. It seems instead that he's annoyed them. One scientist commenting on the book in the "National Review" said Ruse's belief that progress was a cultural value was a "stretch" and that "to suggest as he does that such a belief actually affects the content of contemporary evolutionary biology is simply unjustified." I'd suggest you read and decide for yourself. It's worth it considereing some of the present day scientists he interviewed and whose work he looks at - Stephen Jay Gould, Ernst Mayr, John Maynard Smith, and E.O. Wilson. The only caveat is the size of the book and that in making sure that he's not a "popularizer" himself, Ruse does not write with the general reader in mind.

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The Evolution of Darwinism: Selection, Adaptation and Progress in Evolutionary Biology
Timothy Shanahan
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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General | Evolution | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0521541980

Book Description

No other scientific theory has had as great an impact on our understanding of the world as Darwin's theory outlined in his Origin of Species. Yet the theory has been the subject of controversy from its very beginning. This book focuses on three issues of debate in Darwin's theory of evolution--the nature of selection, the nature and scope of adaptation, and the question of evolutionary progress. It traces the varying interpretations to which these issues were subjected historically through the fierce contemporary debates continuing to rage.

Behavioral Norms, Technological Progress, and Economic Dynamics: Studies in Schumpeterian Economics (International Schumpeter Society Series)

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Behavioral Norms, Technological Progress, and Economic Dynamics: Studies in Schumpeterian Economics (International Schumpeter Society Series)

Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0472107305

Book Description

The "mind set" of Schumpeterian economics, that is, empirical studies of dynamic competition and contemporary changes in national economic systems, is the principal topic of this collection of essays by an international cast of scholars. There are some who believe that the age of Schumpeter has now replaced the age of Keynes. Schumpeter was interested in dynamic economics rather than the economics of stagnation; in the economics of the creation of wealth rather than the economics of the redistribution of wealth; in the economics of technological innovation rather than the economics of industrial management. The major thrust of the volume, then, concerns studies of industrial change with emphasis both on analysis of the impact of innovation and on the interrelatedness of industries viewed through the process of innovation. The essays maintain the standard of originality and rigor of analysis for which the earlier volumes from the Schumpeter Society have come to be known.

Contributors are Esben Sloth Anderson, Zoltan Acs, David Audretsch, Jurgen Backhaus, Mathias Binswanger, Maria Brouwer, Uwe Cantner, Bo Carlsson, Anne Carter, M. Gallegatti, G. Delli Gatti, Elias Dinopoulos, Rinaldo Evangelista, Michael Fritsch, Herbert Giersch, Christopher Green, Horst Hanusch, S. J. Isberg, Staffen Jacobsson, Brian Loasby, Nicola de Liso, J. S. Metcalfe, Hyman Minsky, Frederick M. Scherer, T. Y. Shen, Gerald Silverberg, Roberto Simonetti, Wolfgang Stolper, Bart Verspagen, Georg Westermann, and Ulrich Witt.

Ernst Helmstädter is Professor of Economics, Westfälische Welhelms-Universität, ünster. Mark Perlman is University Professor of Economics, Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh.

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Evolutionary Progress

Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

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Evolutionary Trends in the Mating of Arthropoda (Patterns of Progress)

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Evolutionary Trends in the Mating of Arthropoda (Patterns of Progress)
J.L. Cloudsley-Thompson
Manufacturer: Meadowfield Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0900541822

Progress and Prospects in Evolutionary Biology: The Drosophila Model (Oxford Series in Ecology & Evolution)

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INDISPENSABLE

Progress and Prospects in Evolutionary Biology: The Drosophila Model (Oxford Series in Ecology & Evolution)
Jeffrey R. Powell
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195076915

Book Description

This book focuses on drosophila as an especially useful model organism for exploring questions of evolutionary biology in the full range of evolutionary studies: population genetics, ecology, ecological genetics, speciation, phylogenetics, genome evolution, molecular evolution, and development. The author presents an integrated view of evolutionary biology as elucidated in this single organism. Special effort is made to point out holes in our knowledge and areas particularly ripe for new investigation.

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INDISPENSABLE.......2000-05-03

This is one of the finest books in evolutionary biology in the last ten years. Powell covers an extraordinary range of topics--and writes in a pleasant, unassuming style that makes a lot of information easily accessable. Probably no one has such first hand knowledge of virtually every topic covered. Authoritative in the best sense! All evolutionists must have a copy.

Monad to Man: The Concept of Progress in Evolutionary Biology.: An article from: American Scientist

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Monad to Man: The Concept of Progress in Evolutionary Biology.: An article from: American Scientist

Manufacturer: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Who am I when the other disappears?: identity and progress in Doris Lessing's The Sirian Experiments.: An article from: Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

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Who am I when the other disappears?: identity and progress in Doris Lessing's The Sirian Experiments.: An article from: Journal of Evolutionary Psychology
David Waterman
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 7516 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Who am I when the other disappears?: identity and progress in Doris Lessing's The Sirian Experiments.
Author: David Waterman
Publication: Journal of Evolutionary Psychology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 29 Issue: 1-2 Page: 74(12)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Commercial poultry farming;: A description of the evolutionary progress of the King's Langley poultry farm and its management (Lockwood's farm manuals)

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Commercial poultry farming;: A description of the evolutionary progress of the King's Langley poultry farm and its management (Lockwood's farm manuals)
Thomas William Toovey
Manufacturer: Crosby Lockwood and Son
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

This book deals with the mutual interaction and energy transfer between electronic defect states of F centers and defect ions (e.g. rare earth elements) and neighbouring molecular defects (OH-, CN-) in alkali halides. These model defect systems exhibit a very intriguing and ambiguous character because they behave like isolated defects in one instance but like supermolecules in others. The text gives an overview of the topic and discusses possible applications. It covers a wide range of spectroscopic methods applied to the systems and reviews several approaches for their theoretical interpretation. It includes more than 100 illustrations, figures and tables as well as many previously unpublished results. This book provides a valuable resource for further studies into this and related fields.

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Well-bred and gentlemanly magic

Good grief is this book wearying

Don't bother...

Rational Thaumaturgy? Ask the Gentleman with the thistle down hair to explain it to you if you can.

Sold Short as an 'Adult' Harry Potter - It's much better

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
Susanna Clarke
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

American Gods

Paladin of Souls

The Historian

The Stolen Child

ASIN: B000ENWIJO

Amazon.com

It's 1808 and that Corsican upstart Napoleon is battering the English army and navy. Enter Mr. Norrell, a fusty but ambitious scholar from the Yorkshire countryside and the first practical magician in hundreds of years. What better way to demonstrate his revival of British magic than to change the course of the Napoleonic wars? Susanna Clarke's ingenious first novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, has the cleverness and lightness of touch of the Harry Potter series, but is less a fairy tale of good versus evil than a fantastic comedy of manners, complete with elaborate false footnotes, occasional period spellings, and a dense, lively mythology teeming beneath the narrative. Mr. Norrell moves to London to establish his influence in government circles, devising such powerful illusions as an 11-day blockade of French ports by English ships fabricated from rainwater. But however skillful his magic, his vanity provides an Achilles heel, and the differing ambitions of his more glamorous apprentice, Jonathan Strange, threaten to topple all that Mr. Norrell has achieved. A sparkling debut from Susanna Clarke--and it's not all fairy dust. --Regina Marler

Book Description

English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.

But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French.

All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative-the very opposite of Mr Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.

Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that eight hundred pages leave readers longing for more.

Customer Reviews:

Well-bred and gentlemanly magic.......2007-10-04

From first appearances this book appears as a bit of a tome, and to be honest it doesn't disappoint in that respect. An avid fantasy reader, I have never been daunted by 900 pages of delicious escape. However, this book, as suggested in other customer reviews, is by no means predictable with regard to content. I found myself, if not trudging, then at least wading slowly through the first half. I started to become anxious that the book would be no more than an expository British gentleman's account of political and theoretical magic. Creating the atmosphere and setting the stage are well and good, but I personally feel that too much ink was spent on what a person such as myself (i.e. not British) might construe as classical British niceties (i.e. gown and furniture descriptions, tedious exaltation of manners and custom, etc.).

The tale seemed to pick up dramatically somewhere about halfway. Tucked in here and there I also found some perfect jewels of witty British humour, most particularly in association with Mr. Strange's sojourn in Spain. More use of colour and texture appeared, and magical things not intended for the "greater glory of England" became center of focus. Character development also took an upturn as Ms. Clarke very skillfully starts to explore hero/anti-hero aspects of both main characters. That characters go so quickly from being parts of a book to actors (in a manner) which provoke reaction from the reader was a very pleasant surprise.

I wish Ms. Clarke might have spent more time developing the faerie magic part of the book, particularly with regard to the prophecy around which the magical tale of the book is centered (perhaps less about the gentleman with the thistle-down hair, of whom we learn critical details only at the very very end). Everything was neatly assembled and explained in the end, but its lack of lead-in momentum gave me the feeling that the big picture suddenly appeared and then disappeared without an appropriate and well-deserved climax.

But nit-picking aside I truly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone with a desire to read something different. As another reviewer suggests, be patient with the first half and you'll get a special treat with the second half.

Good grief is this book wearying.......2007-10-03

For the first several chapters, I just loved this book.... Interesting characters, charmingly old-fashioned style of writing, so fitting with the historical atmosphere of the novel. Then, about a third of the way through (right about at the first LONG footnote, yes, you heard me right, there are footnotes, and then there are the LONG footnotes), it started to drag a bit, maybe annoy me just slightly. Then, several chapters later, it was gratingly unpleasant to read. But, I'll admit, I wanted to know how things would turn out, so I finished it. It was painful; I wish I could have those days of my life back.

Don't bother..........2007-09-27

Slow, Plodding, as dry and bland as english cuisine... was a chore just to pick up and try to get to the next chaper. Arcane in how its written, like a busy housewifes journal, wandering as if the reader has a bad case of narcoplexi, turning into the next chapter and wondering.. "How did I get here?". Skip this one if you can.

Rational Thaumaturgy? Ask the Gentleman with the thistle down hair to explain it to you if you can........2007-09-22

Very few times one comes across a book that is completely original, with characters that are unique and very well developed. I can't believe the amount of information found in this book, and I really found the footnotes very helpful, and conveniently located at the bottom of the same page you're reading
Here in this book, we see the struggle of practice vs. theory. One magician is innovative, willing to experiment and to spread his magical knowledge, while the other only wants to keep all knowledge to himself. One knows the dangers of conjuring Faeries and other worldly creatures, while the other seeks the help of the dangerous Faeries. (I won't which one is which).
I love when a writer includes famous colorful characters in his or her stories. Clarke includes Duke Wellington, Napoleon, and Lord Byron, the irresolute poet who befriends Strange in Venice. Cross reference to various magicians from the past, gives this book an unprecedented authenticity, considering is a fantasy story. The magic is described so subtlety, that it might appear that such things really happened, and will happen again, unlike Harry Potter, for example.
Love Clarke's inventive, from the hilarious flying pineapples , the candles inside people's heads, to the magical fleet, the disappearing roads, all speak of a vivid imagination, and impressive talent as a story teller.
Her view of a magical realm is so different from what one expects. No glittering halls, no magic wands, no wizards no rainbows not a single sunny day, or starry nights. All is gloom, sadness and melancholy. Long halls, abandoned gardens, mysterious mirrors, and empty parlors, and in the middle of it all, an enchanted servant and two enchanted ladies longing for their release.

After reading this book, you won't look at a cloudy day the same way, and every time you hear the sound of a lonely bell, you will expect to see the gentleman with the thistle down hair wearing a bright green coat coming your way.

5 stars

Sold Short as an 'Adult' Harry Potter - It's much better.......2007-09-14

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is in many ways more a piece of historical fiction than it is a 'Harry Potter' or 'Lord of the Rings' style fantasy. There is no wand waving. There are no lightning and fireball battles between wizards. There is no epic 'good versus evil' battle at the end. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a character driven story about jealousy, ambition, and loss. The magic is almost incidental.

Ms. Clarke crafts an alternative version of England at the beginning of the 19th century - the twist being that magic has returned to England - that is so wonderfully immersive that you can nearly smell the damp earth and musty libraries.

Ms. Clarke has structured the book as a sort of post-action record compiled for posterity. This structure gives Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell it's most remarkable feature - its footnotes. These glorious footnotes explain bits and pieces of magical history to help us, the reader, understand references made by Strange, Norrel, and others. Each one is a jewel of compressed storytelling, a tiny window into the wider magical world beyond the confines of this book.

You get the feeling Ms. Clarke could write he own version of The Silmarillion, filling out a complete history of the world she's created.

Though the book starts off slowly, the writing is rich enough and the characters intriguing enough to get the reader into the meat of this book. Once there, read slowly to savor the world Ms. Clarke created. The end of the book comes much quicker than one would expect from an 800-odd page novel.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell masterfully mixes action, drama and comedy into a attention-consuming whole that left me with a wonderfully satisfied feeling.

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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
Susanna Clarke; Portia Rosenberg
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MC4ER6

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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
Susanna Clarke
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UE0GGY

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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
Susanna Clarke; Portia Rosenberg
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NW9TPW

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