Programming of Life

by Donald E. Johnson
Programming of Life
Author: Donald E. Johnson
Publisher: Big Mac Publishers
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2010
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0982355467
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"This is currently the best book covering the relationship between genome and computer architectures." - JOHNATHAN BARTLETT, Author / Publisher / Speaker / Director of Technology ----- This book highlights the informational aspects of life that are generally overlooked or ignored in chemical and biological evolutionary scenarios. Each cell of an organism has millions of interacting computers reading and processing digital information, using digital programs and digital codes to communicate and translate information. Life is an intersection of physical science and information science. Both domains are critical for any life to exist, and each must be investigated using that domain's principles. Yet most scientists have been attempting to use physical science to explain life's information domain, a practice which has no scientific justification. -- As you can tell by the preceding words this research is a fascinating approach to the question of the origin of life. - (PUBLISHER) ----- "Programming of Life is an excellent freshman level review of the formal programming, coding/decoding, integration, organization, Prescriptive Information (PI), memory, regulation and control required for a physical object to find itself 'alive.' DONALD E. JOHNSON is uniquely qualified to unpackage the strong parallels between everyday cybernetic design and engineering and the workings of the cell. I highly recommend this book." -DAVID L. ABEL, Director, The Gene Emergence Project Department of ProtoBioCybernetics and ProtoBioSemiotics The Origin of Life Science Foundation, Inc. ----- (ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ) DR. DON JOHNSON has earned Ph.D.s in both Computer & Information Sciences from the University of Minnesota and in Chemistry from Michigan State University. He was a senior research scientist for 10 years in pharmaceutical and medical / scientific instrument fields, served as president and technical expert in an independent computer consulting firm for many years, and taught for 20 years in universities in Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and Europe. He now maintains scienceintegrity.net to expose unsubstantiated claims in science and has made presentations on most continents.

Programming Our Lives

by Walter Cummins
Programming Our Lives
Author: Walter Cummins
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2006-06-30
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:
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In this timely examination of television and American identity, Cummins and Gordon take readers on an informed walk through the changes that TV has already wrought-and those still likely to confront us. Commercial television in America is less than 60 years old, yet it has had an enormous impact on what we like, what we do, what we know, and how we think. A family transplanted from the 1940s to the present day would certainly be stunned by a fundamentally different world: instead of gathering in the living room for a shared evening of radio, they would be scattered around the house to indulge their individual interests on one of a hundred cable channels; instead of a society with rigid racial and ethnic divisions, they would see people of different ethnicities in passionate embraces; and certainly they would see very different sets of values reflected across the board. They would, in short, find themselves in an unrecognizable America, one both reflected in and shaped by television, a medium that has been shown to have an unprecedented influence on our lives both for better and for worse. By focusing on the development of television within the cultural context that surrounds it, and drawing on such phenomena as quiz shows, comedy hours, the Kennedy assassination, the Olympics, sitcoms, presidential ads, political debates, MTV, embedded journalism, and reality TV, the authors reveal television's impact on essential characteristics of American life. They cover topics as diverse as politics, crime, medicine, sports, our perceptions, our values, our assumptions about privacy, and our unquenchable need for more things. In addition, they consider the future of the medium in the light of the proliferation of programming options, the prevalence of cameras and receivers in our lives, the growing links between TV and computers, and the crossed boundaries of television throughout the world.

The Secret Life of Programs

by Jonathan E. Steinhart
The Secret Life of Programs
Author: Jonathan E. Steinhart
Publisher: No Starch Press
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2019-08-06
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1593279701
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A primer on the underlying technologies that allow computer programs to work. Covers topics like computer hardware, combinatorial logic, sequential logic, computer architecture, computer anatomy, and Input/Output. Many coders are unfamiliar with the underlying technologies that make their programs run. But why should you care when your code appears to work? Because you want it to run well and not be riddled with hard-to-find bugs. You don't want to be in the news because your code had a security problem. Lots of technical detail is available online but it's not organized or collected into a convenient place. In The Secret Life of Programs, veteran engineer Jonathan E. Steinhart explores--in depth--the foundational concepts that underlie the machine. Subjects like computer hardware, how software behaves on hardware, as well as how people have solved problems using technology over time. You'll learn: How the real world is converted into a form that computers understand, like bits, logic, numbers, text, and colors The fundamental building blocks that make up a computer including logic gates, adders, decoders, registers, and memory Why designing programs to match computer hardware, especially memory, improves performance How programs are converted into machine language that computers understand How software building blocks are combined to create programs like web browsers Clever tricks for making programs more efficient, like loop invariance, strength reduction, and recursive subdivision The fundamentals of computer security and machine intelligence Project design, documentation, scheduling, portability, maintenance, and other practical programming realities. Learn what really happens when your code runs on the machine and you'll learn to craft better, more efficient code.

Imperfect C++

by Matthew Wilson
Imperfect C++
Author: Matthew Wilson
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Total Pages: 634
Release: 2005
Genre: Computers
ISBN:
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The historic journey of Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House is memorialized in this fun yet fashionable paper doll book featuring the Obamas. For the millions who can't get enough of this remarkable first family, here's a book containing perforated press-out dolls of Barack and Michelle and over 30mix-and-match coordinated outfits and accessories featuring the Obamas: &mdashon vacation in Hawaii &mdashgolfing at Camp David &mdashon election night &mdashat the extraordinary inauguration and Inaugural Ball &mdashtraveling the world on foreign affairs trip &mdashrolling up their sleeves for a day of service plus much more! Highlighting Barack's uniquely professional, yet down-to-earth wardrobe that reflects his popular persona and Michelle's outstanding taste in fashion, this book is a must for anyone wanting that special "yes we can" kind of day, every day.

The Genesis Machine

by Amy Webb
The Genesis Machine
Author: Amy Webb
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2022-02-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1541797930
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Named one of The New Yorker's BEST BOOKS OF 2022 SO FAR The next frontier in technology is inside our own bodies. Synthetic biology will revolutionize how we define family, how we identify disease and treat aging, where we make our homes, and how we nourish ourselves. This fast-growing field—which uses computers to modify or rewrite genetic code—has created revolutionary, groundbreaking solutions such as the mRNA COVID vaccines, IVF, and lab-grown hamburger that tastes like the real thing. It gives us options to deal with existential threats: climate change, food insecurity, and access to fuel. But there are significant risks. Who should decide how to engineer living organisms? Whether engineered organisms should be planted, farmed, and released into the wild? Should there be limits to human enhancements? What cyber-biological risks are looming? Could a future biological war, using engineered organisms, cause a mass extinction event? Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel’s riveting examination of synthetic biology and the bioeconomy provide the background for thinking through the upcoming risks and moral dilemmas posed by redesigning life, as well as the vast opportunities waiting for us on the horizon.

Bitwise

by David Auerbach
Bitwise
Author: David Auerbach
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2018-08-28
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 110187130X
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An exhilarating, elegant memoir and a significant polemic on how computers and algorithms shape our understanding of the world and of who we are Bitwise is a wondrous ode to the computer lan­guages and codes that captured technologist David Auerbach’s imagination. With a philoso­pher’s sense of inquiry, Auerbach recounts his childhood spent drawing ferns with the pro­gramming language Logo on the Apple IIe, his adventures in early text-based video games, his education as an engineer, and his contribu­tions to instant messaging technology devel­oped for Microsoft and the servers powering Google’s data stores. A lifelong student of the systems that shape our lives—from the psy­chiatric taxonomy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual to how Facebook tracks and profiles its users—Auerbach reflects on how he has experienced the algorithms that taxonomize human speech, knowledge, and behavior and that compel us to do the same. Into this exquisitely crafted, wide-ranging memoir of a life spent with code, Auerbach has woven an eye-opening and searing examina­tion of the inescapable ways in which algo­rithms have both standardized and coarsened our lives. As we engineer ever more intricate technology to translate our experiences and narrow the gap that divides us from the ma­chine, Auerbach argues, we willingly erase our nuances and our idiosyncrasies—precisely the things that make us human.

The Nature of Code

by Daniel Shiffman
The Nature of Code
Author: Daniel Shiffman
Publisher: No Starch Press
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2024-09-03
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1718503717
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All aboard The Coding Train! This beginner-friendly creative coding tutorial is designed to grow your skills in a fun, hands-on way as you build simulations of real-world phenomena with “The Coding Train” YouTube star Daniel Shiffman. What if you could re-create the awe-inspiring flocking patterns of birds or the hypnotic dance of fireflies—with code? For over a decade, The Nature of Code has empowered countless readers to do just that, bridging the gap between creative expression and programming. This innovative guide by Daniel Shiffman, creator of the beloved Coding Train, welcomes budding and seasoned programmers alike into a world where code meets playful creativity. This JavaScript-based edition of Shiffman’s groundbreaking work gently unfolds the mysteries of the natural world, turning complex topics like genetic algorithms, physics-based simulations, and neural networks into accessible and visually stunning creations. Embark on this extraordinary adventure with projects involving: A physics engine: Simulate the push and pull of gravitational attraction. Flocking birds: Choreograph the mesmerizing dance of a flock. Branching trees: Grow lifelike and organic tree structures. Neural networks: Craft intelligent systems that learn and adapt. Cellular automata: Uncover the magic of self-organizing patterns. Evolutionary algorithms: Play witness to natural selection in your code. Shiffman’s work has transformed thousands of curious minds into creators, breaking down barriers between science, art, and technology, and inviting readers to see code not just as a tool for tasks but as a canvas for boundless creativity. Whether you’re deciphering the elegant patterns of natural phenomena or crafting your own digital ecosystems, Shiffman’s guidance is sure to inform and inspire. The Nature of Code is not just about coding; it’s about looking at the natural world in a new way and letting its wonders inspire your next creation. Dive in and discover the joy of turning code into art—all while mastering coding fundamentals along the way. NOTE: All examples are written with p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding, and are available on the book's website.

Human Programming

by Scott Selisker
Human Programming
Author: Scott Selisker
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016-08-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1452951799
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Do our ways of talking about contemporary terrorism have a history in the science, technology, and culture of the Cold War? Human Programming explores this history in a groundbreaking work that draws connections across decades and throughout American culture, high and low. Scott Selisker argues that literary, cinematic, and scientific representations of the programmed mind have long shaped conversations in U.S. political culture about freedom and unfreedom, and about democracy and its enemies. Selisker demonstrates how American conceptions of freedom and of humanity have changed in tandem with developments in science and technology, including media technology, cybernetics, behaviorist psychology, and sociology. Since World War II, propagandists, scientists, and creative artists have adapted visions of human programmability as they sought to imagine the psychological manipulation and institutional controls that could produce the inscrutable subjects of totalitarian states, cults, and terrorist cells. At the same time, writers across the political spectrum reimagined ideals of American freedom, democracy, and diversity by way of contrast with these posthuman specters of mental unfreedom. Images of such “human automatons” circulated in popular films, trials, travelogues, and the news media, giving form to the nebulous enemies of the postwar and contemporary United States: totalitarianism, communism, total institutions, cult extremism, and fundamentalist terrorism. Ranging from discussions of The Manchurian Candidate and cyberpunk science fiction to the cases of Patty Hearst and the “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh, Human Programming opens new ways of understanding the intertwined roles of literature, film, science, and technology in American culture.

Elements of Programming

by Alexander Stepanov
Elements of Programming
Author: Alexander Stepanov
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2019-06-17
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0578222140
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Elements of Programming provides a different understanding of programming than is presented elsewhere. Its major premise is that practical programming, like other areas of science and engineering, must be based on a solid mathematical foundation. This book shows that algorithms implemented in a real programming language, such as C++, can operate in the most general mathematical setting. For example, the fast exponentiation algorithm is defined to work with any associative operation. Using abstract algorithms leads to efficient, reliable, secure, and economical software.