eVolve: Essays on the Virtual Body

eVolve: Essays on the Virtual Body PDF Author: C. Jason Smith
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0359439187
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
An introductory history of the ?virtual body, ? eVolve explores the boundaries between a series of cultural artifacts, all of which evidence the historical moment when a technology necessary for what we now call ?virtual reality? came into being in order to better understand the human fascination with, and desire for, virtuality. The discussion of simulation technologies includes visual art, cartography, narrative, drama, games and spontaneous play as simulations, miniature war games, role-playing games, computer games, virtual cinema, the internet MOOs and MUDs, massively multiplayer online communities MMOs, and, finally, artificial intelligence, the Anthropic Cosmological Principles, and Omega Point Theory. The subject matter is highly interdisciplinary and draws widely upon theoretical discussions from both the arts, humanities, and the sciences

eVolve: Essays on the Virtual Body

eVolve: Essays on the Virtual Body PDF Author: C. Jason Smith
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0359439187
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book

Book Description
An introductory history of the ?virtual body, ? eVolve explores the boundaries between a series of cultural artifacts, all of which evidence the historical moment when a technology necessary for what we now call ?virtual reality? came into being in order to better understand the human fascination with, and desire for, virtuality. The discussion of simulation technologies includes visual art, cartography, narrative, drama, games and spontaneous play as simulations, miniature war games, role-playing games, computer games, virtual cinema, the internet MOOs and MUDs, massively multiplayer online communities MMOs, and, finally, artificial intelligence, the Anthropic Cosmological Principles, and Omega Point Theory. The subject matter is highly interdisciplinary and draws widely upon theoretical discussions from both the arts, humanities, and the sciences

How Evolution Shapes Our Lives

How Evolution Shapes Our Lives PDF Author: Jonathan B. Losos
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691171874
Category : Ethnology
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
" It is easy to think of evolution as something that happened long ago, or that occurs only in "nature," or that is so slow that its ongoing impact is virtually nonexistent when viewed from the perspective of a single human lifetime. But we now know that when natural selection is strong, evolutionary change can be very rapid. In this book, some of the world's leading scientists explore the implications of this reality for human life and society. With some twenty-five essays, this volume provides authoritative yet accessible explorations of why understanding evolution is crucial to human life--from dealing with climate change and ensuring our food supply, health, and economic survival to developing a richer and more accurate comprehension of society, culture, and even what it means to be human itself. Combining new essays with ones revised and updated from the acclaimed Princeton Guide to Evolution, this collection addresses the role of evolution in aging, cognition, cooperation, religion, the media, engineering, computer science, and many other areas. The result is a compelling and important book about how evolution matters to humans today. The contributors include Francisco J. Ayala, Dieter Ebert, Elizabeth Hannon, Richard E. Lenski, Tim Lewens, Jonathan B. Losos, Jacob A. Moorad, Mark Pagel, Robert T. Pennock, Daniel E. L. Promislow, Robert C. Richardson, Alan R. Templeton, and Carl Zimmer."--

An Essay on Spiritual Evolution

An Essay on Spiritual Evolution PDF Author: J. P. B.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description


Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism

Virtual Immortality - God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism PDF Author: Oliver Krüger
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3839450594
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
In recent years, ideas of post- and transhumanism have been popularized by novels, TV series, and Hollywood movies. According to this radical perspective, humankind and all biological life have become obsolete. Traditional forms of life are inefficient at processing information and inept at crossing the high frontier: outer space. While humankind can expect to be replaced by their own artificial progeny, posthumanists assume that they will become an immortal part of a transcendent superintelligence. Krüger's award-winning study examines the historical and philosophical context of these futuristic promises by Ray Kurzweil, Nick Bostrom, Frank Tipler, and other posthumanist thinkers.

God and Evolution Or Evolvement Essays Into the 21st Century

God and Evolution Or Evolvement Essays Into the 21st Century PDF Author: Adolph Caso
Publisher: Branden Books
ISBN: 0828322023
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Educator, Poet, Historian, Army officer, and a graduate of Northeastern and Harvard University, Adolfo grew up during the Vietnam era as an outsider looking into the social upheavals, finding that well-meaning people demonstrated on behalf of goodness but bolstered evil. It seems that man really does not learn from history regardless of how history repeats itself. With the advent of Liberation Theology, Collective Salvation, and modern technology, Adolfo looks to Dante on how to save the human soul. Considering how to govern people, he looks to Machiavelli to see whether Machiavelli was Machiavellian and whether his Prince was fit to govern. In Alfieri, who loathed the 19th century, Adolfo finds the perfect definition of tyrants and tyrannies (Alfieri's stanza on George Washington continues to be uplifting). Baffling is the reality that an America, populated with so many people speaking foreign languages, its education system has produced few Americans proficient in foreign languages. Realizing how science does not have answers to important questions, Adolfo turns to a God who transcends human attributes, rejecting Evolution and replacing it with Evolvement. As for Martin Luther and Galileo Galilei, Adolfo sees the former the father of modern anti-Semitism and the latter a victim of the Church.

Affective Intensities and Evolving Horror Forms

Affective Intensities and Evolving Horror Forms PDF Author: Adam Daniel
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474456375
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Horror cinema is a genre that is undergoing constant evolution, from the sub-genre of 'found footage,' to post-cinematic new media forms such as Youtube horror, horror video games and cinematic virtual reality horror. By investigating how these new forms alter the dynamics of spectatorship, this book charts how cinema's affective capacities have shifted in relation to these modifications in the forms of cinematic horror. It applies a rich theoretical synthesis of phenomenological and Deleuzian approaches to a number of case studies, including films like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Creep as well as video games such as Alien: Isolation and new media forms such as Youtube horror and virtual reality horror.

Technology and Gendered Genre Evolution in Latin America

Technology and Gendered Genre Evolution in Latin America PDF Author: Kelly Suero
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793615454
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
Technology and Gendered Genre Evolution in Latin America: Writers, Bloggers, Activists, and Floggers analyzes the link between gender and technology to explain the mechanisms underlying the association of specific genders with literary genres. Kelly Suero argues that as the democratic effect of the internet affords one the potential to obtain a space of adequate representation, Latin American women—in particular, Argentine women—have come to use technology as a medium through which to obtain a voice through the genres of cyberliterature and cyberculture. Increasing numbers of Argentine women are making an impact on both the literary and virtual spheres as they take technology to new, unexplored areas, such as the flogger youth movement led by Agustina Vivero, and the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo’s discovery of the ability of DNA mitochondrial analysis to help find missing grandchildren from Argentina’s last dictatorship. As technology continues to influence a free Argentine society, Argentinian women will keep utilizing the medium to become innovative voices in fields previously unavailable to them. Scholars of Latin American studies, media studies, gender and women’s studies, and cultural studies will find this book particularly useful.

The Biology and Evolution of Trematodes

The Biology and Evolution of Trematodes PDF Author: K. V. Galaktionov
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401732477
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 592

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Book Description
The book by K. V. Galaktionov and A. A. Dobrovolskij maintains the tra- tion of monographs devoted to detailed coverage of digenetic tr matodes in the tradition of B. Dawes (1946) and T. A. Ginetsinskaya (1968). In this - spect, the book is traditional in both its form and content. In the beginning (Chapter 1), the authors provide a consistent analysis of the morphological features of all life cycle stages. Importantly, they present a detailed char- terization of sporocysts and rediae whose morphological-functional orga- zation has never been comprehensively described in modern literature. The authors not only list morphological characteristics, but also analyze the functional significance of different morphological structures and hypothesize about their evolution. Special attention is given to specific features of m- phogenesis in all stages of the trematode life cycle. On this basis, the authors provide several original suggestions about the possible origins of morp- logical evolution of the parthenogenetic (asexual) and the hermaphroditic generations. This is followed by a detailed consideration of the various m- phological-biological adaptations that ensure the successful completion of the complex life cycles of these parasites (Chapter 2). Life cycles inherent in different trematodes are subject to a special analysis (Chapter 3). The authors distinguish several basic types of life cycles and suggest an original interpretation of their evolutionary origin. Chapter 4 features the analysis of structure and the dynamics of trematode populations and is unusual for a monograph of this type.

Evolution

Evolution PDF Author: Monroe W. Strickberger
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
ISBN: 9780763738242
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 742

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Book Description


Virtual Futures

Virtual Futures PDF Author: Joan Broadhurst Dixon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134784597
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Virtual Futures explores the ideas that the future lies in its ability to articulate the consequences of an increasingly synthetic and virtual world. New technologies like cyberspace, the internet, and Chaos theory are often discussed in the context of technology and its potential to liberate or in terms of technophobia. This collection examines both these ideas while also charting a new and controversial route through contemporary discourses on technology; a path that discusses the material evolution and the erotic relation between humans and machines. Virtual Futures brings together diverse fields such as cyberfeminism, materialist philosophy, postmodern fiction, computing culture and performance art, with essays by Sadie Plant, Stelarc and Manuel de Landa (to name a few). The collection heralds the death of humanism and the ride of posthuman pragmatism. The contested zone of debate throughout these essays is the notion of the posthuman, or the possibility of the cyborg as the free human. Viewed by some writers as a threat to human life and humanism itself, others in the collection describe the posthuman as a critical perspective that anticipates the next step in evolution: the integration or synthesis of humans and machines, organic life and technology. This view of technology and information is heavily influenced by Anglo American literature, especially cyberpunk, Pynchon and Ballard, as well as the materialist philosophies of Freud, Deleuze, and Haraway, Virtual Futures provides analyses by both established theorists and the most innovative new voices working in conjunction between the arts and contemporary technology.