Professor Philip Engstrand loses the love of his life, a particle physicist named Professor Alice Coombs, to an artificially created nothingness she and her colleagues call Lack, a rift in the universe that acts much like nothing

New York Times , Wired , Atlantic Monthly , Discover bestselling author Steven Kotler has written extensively about those pivotal moments when science fiction became science fact...and fundamentally reshaped the world. Now he gathers the best of his best, updated and expanded upon, to guide readers on a mind-bending tour of the far frontier, and how these advances are radically transforming our lives. From the ways science and technology are fundamentally altering our bodies and our world (the world's first bionic soldier, the future of evolution) to those explosive collisions between science and culture (life extension and bioweapons), we're crossing moral and ethical lines we've never faced before. As Kotler writes, "Life is tricky sport--and that's the emotional core of this story, the real reason we can't put Pandora back in the box. When you strip everything else away, technology is nothing more than the promise of an easier tomorrow. It's the promise of hope. And how do you stop hope?" Join Kotler in this fascinating exploration of our incredible next: a deep dive into those future technologies happening now--and what it means to be a part of this brave new world.

This fascinating exploration of the great discoveries of history's most important mathematicians seeks an answer to the eternal question: Does mathematics hold the key to understanding the mysteries of the physical world?

Science was wrong is a fascinating collection of stories about the pioneers who created or thought up the "impossible" cures, theories, and inventions "they" said couldn't work--Cover.

Was treibt Wissenschaftler an? Der Konkurrenzkampf, das Bestreben etwas Neues als erster zu entdecken, ist eine wichtige Motivation. Die moralischen Konsequenzen werden in dem Stück "Oxygen" behandelt, in dem es um die Entdeckung von Sauerstoff geht, dem für das Leben auf der Erde wichtigsten Element. Im Zentrum des Stückes stehen chemische und politische Revolutionen sowie der Nobel-Preis, der 2001 zum 100. Mal vergeben wird. Das Stück spielt 1777 und 2001; zur Aufführung werden drei Schauspieler und drei Schauspielerinnen benötigt, die elf Personen darstellen. Die Urauffühung wird im Frühjahr 2001 in San Diego stattfinden, die deutsche Premiere im September. Die weltberühmten Autoren Carl Djerassi und Roald Hoffmann bürgen aufgrund ihrer Erfahrungen als Wissenschaftler - Carl Djerassi ist bekannt als "Vater der Pille" und Roald Hoffmann erhielt 1982 den Nobelpreis für Chemie - und als Schriftsteller - Djerassi schrieb mehrere erfolgreiche Romane, Hoffmann viel beachtete Lyrik - für Kompetenz und Spannung.

From Copernicus to Darwin, to current-day thinkers, scientists have always promoted theories and unveiled discoveries that challenge everything society holds dear; ideas with both positive and dire consequences. Many thoughts that resonate today are dangerous not because they are assumed to be false, but because they might turn out to be true. What do the world's leading scientists and thinkers consider to be their most dangerous idea? Through the leading online forum "Edge" (www.edge.org), the call went out, and this compelling and easily digestible volume collects the answers. From using medication to permanently alter our personalities to contemplating a universe in which we are utterly alone, to the idea that the universe might be fundamentally inexplicable, "What Is Your Dangerous Idea?" takes an unflinching look at the daring, breathtaking, sometimes terrifying thoughts that could forever alter our world and the way we live in it.

Turok explores the transformative scientific discovers of the past three centuries, from classical mechanics to the nature of light and the evolution of the cosmos, and shows how they created shifts in the organization of society. He argues that we are on the cusp of another major transformation: the coming quantum revolution that will supplant our current digital age.

This milestone extensive work combines the essentials of history – biography, chronology, political and economic background – with the observations, theories, principles, laws and equations that constitute the specifics of science. The 5800-page Encyclopedia arises from the conviction that the optimal perspective on science is through the lens of history, setting aside traditional divisions of discipline and specialty, and rising above geopolitical boundaries. Reaching from 4,200 BCE to the 21st century CE, the Encyclopedia tells (as the author himself puts it) "not only who did it and when it was done but also precisely what was done." The author, Ari Ben-Menahem, surveys 100 generations of great thinkers, offering 2070 detailed biographies of scientists, engineers, explorers and inventors, who left their mark on the history of science and technology. The span of coverage is all-encompassing: mathematics, philosophy, logic, physical and environmental sciences (including physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth and space sciences and cosmology), life sciences (biology, medicine, physiology, botany, zoology and biochemistry), associated engineering disciplines, and the social sciences (among them economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics and more). The six-volume Encyclopedia also includes 380 articles summarizing the time-line of ideas in the leading fields of science, technology, mathematics and philosophy, plus useful tables, figures and photos, and 20 ‘Science Progress Reports’ detailing scientific setbacks. Interspersed throughout are quotations, gathered from the wit and wisdom of sages, savants and scholars throughout the ages from antiquity to modern times.