The Rapture of the Nerds

The Rapture of the Nerds PDF

Author: Cory Doctorow

Publisher: Tor Books

Published: 2012-09-04

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1429944919

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Welcome to the fractured future, at the dusk of the twenty-first century. Earth has a population of roughly a billion hominids. For the most part, they are happy with their lot, living in a preserve at the bottom of a gravity well. Those who are unhappy have emigrated, joining one or another of the swarming densethinker clades that fog the inner solar system with a dust of molecular machinery so thick that it obscures the sun. The splintery metaconsciousness of the solar-system has largely sworn off its pre-post-human cousins dirtside, but its minds sometimes wander...and when that happens, it casually spams Earth's networks with plans for cataclysmically disruptive technologies that emulsify whole industries, cultures, and spiritual systems. A sane species would ignore these get-evolved-quick schemes, but there's always someone who'll take a bite from the forbidden apple. So until the overminds bore of stirring Earth's anthill, there's Tech Jury Service: random humans, selected arbitrarily, charged with assessing dozens of new inventions and ruling on whether to let them loose. Young Huw, a technophobic, misanthropic Welshman, has been selected for the latest jury, a task he does his best to perform despite an itchy technovirus, the apathy of the proletariat, and a couple of truly awful moments on bathroom floors. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Utopias

Utopias PDF

Author: Howard P. Segal

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-03-02

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1118234316

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This brief history connects the past and present of utopianthought, from the first utopias in ancient Greece, right up topresent day visions of cyberspace communities and paradise. Explores the purpose of utopias, what they reveal about thesocieties who conceive them, and how utopias have changed over thecenturies Unique in including both non-Western and Western visions ofutopia Explores the many forms utopias have taken – propheciesand oratory, writings, political movements, world's fairs, physicalcommunities – and also discusses high-tech and cyberspacevisions for the first time The first book to analyze the implicitly utopian dimensions ofreform crusades like Technocracy of the 1930s and ModernizationTheory of the 1950s, and the laptop classroom initiatives of recentyears

The Firm

The Firm PDF

Author: Duff McDonald

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-09-10

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1439190976

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A revelatory history of the controversial consulting firm traces its decades-long influence in both business and political arenas, citing its role in the establishment of mainstream practices and modern understandings about capitalism.

Nerds

Nerds PDF

Author: David Anderegg

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2011-03-03

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1101479140

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A lively, thought-provoking book that zeros in on the timely issue of how anti-intellectualism is bad for our children and even worse for America. Why are our children so terrified to be called "nerds"? And what is the cost of this rising tide of anti-intellectualism to both our children and our nation? In Nerds, family psychotherapist and psychology professor David Anderegg examines why science and engineering have become socially poisonous disciplines, why adults wink at the derision of "nerdy" kids, and what we can do to prepare our children to succeed in an increasingly high-tech world. Nerds takes a measured look at how we think about and why we should rethink "nerds," examining such topics as: - our anxiety about intense interest in things mechanical or technological; - the pathologizing of "nerdy" behavior with diagnoses such as Asperger syndrome; - the cycle of anti-nerd prejudice that took place after the Columbine incident; - why nerds are almost exclusively an American phenomenon; - the archetypal struggles of nerds and jocks in American popular culture and history; - the conformity of adolescents and why adolescent stereotypes linger into adulthood long after we should know better; and nerd cultural markers, particularly science fiction. Using education research, psychological theory, and interviews with nerdy and non-nerdy kids alike, Anderegg argues that we stand in dire need of turning around the big dumb ship of American society to prepare rising generations to compete in the global marketplace. Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book.

Consuming Youth

Consuming Youth PDF

Author: Rob Latham

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2002-05-15

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9780226468914

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From the novels of Anne Rice to The Lost Boys, vampires and cyborgs have become strikingly visible figures within popular culture. In this work Rob Latham explains why, giving a perspective on youth culture and the media.

How the Mind Works

How the Mind Works PDF

Author: Steven Pinker

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2009-06-02

Total Pages: 673

ISBN-13: 0393334775

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Explains what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and ponder the mysteries of life.

Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity PDF

Author: Bradley Schauer

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2017-01-03

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0819576603

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Today, movie theaters are packed with audiences of all ages marveling to exciting science fiction blockbusters, many of which are also critically acclaimed. However, when the science fiction film genre first emerged in the 1950s, it was represented largely by exploitation horror films—lurid, culturally disreputable, and appealing to a niche audience of children and sci-fi buffs. How did the genre evolve from B-movie to blockbuster? Escape Velocity charts the historical trajectory of American science fiction cinema, explaining how the genre transitioned from eerie low-budget horror like It Came from Outer Space to art films like Slaughterhouse-Five, and finally to the extraordinary popularity of hits like E.T. Bradley Schauer draws on primary sources such as internal studio documents, promotional materials, and film reviews to explain the process of cultural, aesthetic, and economic legitimation that occurred between the 1950s and 1980s, as pulp science fiction tropes were adapted to suit the tastes of mainstream audiences. Considering the inescapable dominance of today's effects-driven blockbusters, Escape Velocity not only charts the history of science fiction film, but also gives an account of the origins of contemporary Hollywood.

Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids

Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids PDF

Author: Murray Milner

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-20

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 1317746600

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In Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids, Second Edition, award-winning sociologist Murray Milner tries to understand why teenagers behave the way they do. The first edition drew upon two years of intensive fieldwork in one high school and 300 written interviews about high schools across the country, where he argued that consumer culture greatly impacts the way our youth relate to one another and understand themselves and society. Milner now expands on that concept with a new year of fieldwork fifteen years after he began. He has uncovered in teens a move away from consumerism and towards the cultural capital of information in a time of social media and standardized tests.

News Nerds

News Nerds PDF

Author: Allie Kosterich

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0197500358

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News nerds -- Institutional change and the profession of journalism -- Destabilization of established journalism practices -- Experimentation and evaluation in the profession of journalism -- Legitimization of news nerds -- Diffusion of news nerds -- Institutional augmentation and the future of news nerds -- Appendix: data and methods.

Black Magic

Black Magic PDF

Author: Krin Gabbard

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780813533841

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Krin Gabbard explores the often hidden & unacknowledged contribution of African American culture to Hollywood movies. Although relying heavily on African American music, language & street culture, the old racial hierarchies often seem preserved.