Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
From one of our leading technology thinkers and writers, a guide through the twelve technological imperatives that will shape the next thirty years and transform our lives
Much of what will happen in the next thirty years is inevitable, driven by technological trends that are already in motion. In this fascinating, provocative new book, Kevin Kelly provides an optimistic road map for the future, showing how the coming changes in our lives—from virtual reality in the home to an on-demand economy to artificial intelligence embedded in everything we manufacture—can be understood as the result of a few long-term, accelerating forces. Kelly both describes these deep trends—interacting, cognifying, flowing, screening, accessing, sharing, filtering, remixing, tracking, and questioning—and demonstrates how they overlap and are codependent on one another. These larger forces will completely revolutionize the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate with each other. By understanding and embracing them, says Kelly, it will be easier for us to remain on top of the coming wave of changes and to arrange our day-to-day relationships with technology in ways that bring forth maximum benefits. Kelly’s bright, hopeful book will be indispensable to anyone who seeks guidance on where their business, industry, or life is heading—what to invent, where to work, in what to invest, how to better reach customers, and what to begin to put into place—as this new world emerges.
Gun Digest 2017
Generations of firearms enthusiasts have used Gun Digest as the number one source for information on guns old and new for hunting, target shooting, collecting and personal defense. Whatever your interest is in relation to firearms, you'll find it in these pages. Informative and entertaining articles by the top writers in the field cover the latest rifles, handguns, shotguns and related gear. In this edition there are stories on classic Colts, Winchesters, Lugers, Mausers, Remingtons, Marlins and Springfields. New models are featured from Ruger, Smith & Wesson and Savage, and there is up-to-date information on the growing popularity of suppressors, opinions on survival guns, how to really test your marksmanship, and shooting lessons from some of the world's top shotgunners. All this plus our 160-page catalog and buyer's guide to all of today's guns, updated ballistics tables, and a web directory to the firearms industry. Gun Digest is the most comprehensive collection of firearms information in print today!
IT'S ALL HERE!
- Rifles, Handguns & Shotguns
- Catalog & Buyer's Guide
- Ballistics Tables
- Ammo and Optics
- Gallery of Fine Custom Guns
- Industry Web Directory
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic Bomb
It’s 1942 and the Nazis are racing to be the first to build a weapon unlike any known before. They have the physicists, they have the uranium, and now all their plans depend on amassing a single ingredient: heavy water, which is produced in Norway’s Vemork, the lone plant in all the world that makes this rare substance. Under threat of death, Vemork’s engineers push production into overdrive.
For the Allies, the plant must be destroyed. But how would they reach the castle fortress set on a precipitous gorge in one of the coldest, most inhospitable places on Earth?
Based on a trove of top secret documents and never-before-seen diaries and letters of the saboteurs, The Winter Fortress is an arresting chronicle of a brilliant scientist, a band of spies on skies, perilous survival in the wild, sacrifice for one’s country, Gestapo manhunts, soul-crushing setbacks, and a last-minute operation that would end any chance Hitler could obtain the atomic bomb—and alter the course of the war.
The Road Taken: The History and Future of America's Infrastructure
A compelling work of history, The Road Taken is also an urgent clarion call aimed at American citizens, politicians, and anyone with a vested interest in our economic well-being. Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, and Petroski reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in major infrastructure improvement. The road we take in the next decade toward rebuilding our aging infrastructure will in large part determine our future national prosperity.
Tasting Whiskey: An Insider's Guide to the Unique Pleasures of the World's Finest Spirits
Pour a stiff drink and crack open this comprehensive guide to everything there is to know about the world’s greatest whiskeys. Exploring the traditions behind bourbon, Scotch, Irish, and even Japanese whiskey, you’ll discover how unique flavors are created through variations of ingredients and different distilling techniques. With advice on how to collect, age, and serve whiskey, as well as suggestions for proven food pairings, you’ll be inspired to share your knowledge and invite your friends over for a delicious whiskey tasting party.
The Network: The Battle for the Airwaves and the Birth of the Communications Age
Supercars 2017: 16-Month Calendar September 2016 through December 2017
Hornet 33: Memoir of a Combat Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam
From supporting the 25th Infantry Division's invasion of Cambodia, to flying the lead aircraft in the 101st Airmobile Division's pivotal Operation Lam Son 719 invasion of Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail at LZ Hope, the author recounts the traumatic events of his service from March 1970 to March 1971.
The Virgin Way: Everything I Know about Leadership
Woodworking Basics - Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship - An Integrated Approach With Hand and Power tools
This book provides a step-by-step introduction to all aspects of woodworking, including:
- Safe use of woodworking machinery
- Correct use of hand tools
- Milling a board four-square
- Cutting a mortise-and-tenon joint
- Cutting dovetails
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Truman, here is the national bestselling epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal. In The Path Between the Seas, acclaimed historian David McCullough delivers a first-rate drama of the sweeping human undertaking that led to the creation of this grand enterprise.
The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. Applying his remarkable gift for writing lucid, lively exposition, McCullough weaves the many strands of the momentous event into a comprehensive and captivating tale.
Winner of the National Book Award for history, the Francis Parkman Prize, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the Cornelius Ryan Award (for the best book of the year on international affairs), The Path Between the Seas is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama.
The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses
Praise for The Beekeeper's Bible:
"Jones and Sweeney-Lynch explain the science and society of bees in clear, accessible language. And the recipes are admirably useful: honey scones, honey soap, honey hangover cures. 'Oh, stuff and fluff,' as Pooh might say. Dip a paw into this richly satisfying volume and you won't have to do stoutness exercises."
-The New York Times
“Lip-smackin’ throughout, The Beekeeper's Bible is, at its heart, a glorious invitation into the depths of the honeybee hive.” —Chicago Tribune
"An elegant, information-packed addition to the library of the most serious beekeeper." —Better Homes & Gardens Country Gardens
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Long Range Shooting Handbook: Complete Beginner's Guide to Long Range Shooting
This book is the complete beginner's guide to long range shooting written in simple every-day language so that it's easy to follow. Included are personal tips and best advice from my years of special operations sniper schooling and experience, and as a sniper instructor.
If you are an experienced shooter, this guide will be a resource covering the principles and theory of long range shooting. This is the preliminary book to help you understand fundamental concepts such as MOA vs Mils and external ballistics, that can be like a trusted resource at the range.
Learning to shoot long range isn t that difficult. Once you understand the basics, you can start to master your technique and you ll be hitting targets in no time.
The author has a series of online instructional videos known for their ability to take seemingly complex areas of long range shooting and breaking them down so that they're easy to understand. This book was motivated by the feedback from those videos.
This book is the complete beginner's guide to long range shooting written in simple every-day language so that it's easy to follow. Included are personal tips and best advice from my years of special operations sniper schooling and experience, and as a sniper instructor.
If you are an experienced shooter, this guide will be a resource covering the principles and theory of long range shooting. This is the preliminary book to help you understand fundamental concepts such as MOA vs Mils and external ballistics, that can be like a trusted resource at the range.
Learning to shoot long range isn’t that difficult.Once you understand the basics, you can start to master your technique and you’ll be hitting targets in no time.
The author has a series of online instructional videos known for their ability to take seemingly complex areas of long range shooting and breaking them down so that they're easy to understand. This book was motivated by the feedback from those videos.
The handbook is broken down into three main categories: What it is/How it works, Fundamentals, and How to use it. "What it is/How it works" covers equipment, terminology, and basic principles. "Fundamentals" covers the theory of long range shooting. "How to use it" gives you practical advice on how to implement what you've learned so far to make you a long range shooter.
"Whether you're looking to dip a toe into the complex world of long range shooting, or you're a seasoned shooter with years of trigger time, Ryan Cleckner's book will prove to be excellent reference material. Well written and easy to understand, it covers all the essential topics that a well rounded shooter needs to master." --Iain Harrison, Editor, Recoil Magazine
Harley-Davidson(R) 2017: 16-Month Calendar September 2016 through December 2017
The Disney Book
The Wright Brothers
Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.
On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot.
Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did?
David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the surprising, profoundly American story of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing. The house they lived in had no electricity or indoor plumbing, but there were books aplenty, supplied mainly by their preacher father, and they never stopped reading.
When they worked together, no problem seemed to be insurmountable. Wilbur was unquestionably a genius. Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen. That they had no more than a public high school education, little money and no contacts in high places, never stopped them in their “mission” to take to the air. Nothing did, not even the self-evident reality that every time they took off in one of their contrivances, they risked being killed.
In this thrilling book, master historian David McCullough draws on the immense riches of the Wright Papers, including private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and more than a thousand letters from private family correspondence to tell the human side of the Wright Brothers’ story, including the little-known contributions of their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them.
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
"America's funniest science writer" (Washington Post) Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected, and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war.Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries―panic, exhaustion, heat, noise―and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed movie studio where amputee actors help prepare Marine Corps medics for the shock and gore of combat wounds. At Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, in east Africa, we learn how diarrhea can be a threat to national security. Roach samples caffeinated meat, sniffs an archival sample of a World War II stink bomb, and stays up all night with the crew tending the missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee. She answers questions not found in any other book on the military: Why is DARPA interested in ducks? How is a wedding gown like a bomb suit? Why are shrimp more dangerous to sailors than sharks? Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again. 15 illustrations
Amazon Echo: 2016 Edition - User Guide and Manual - Learn It Live It Love It
Unleash the Full Power of Your Amazon Echo!
How is this book different than all the others?
Amazon Echo: The Ultimate Guide To Amazon Echo – 2016 Edition offers actionable information about this amazing voice-driven device! Unlike other books on this subject, Amazon Echo is comprehensive, up-to-date, and easy-to-read!
Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited – Download Now!
What is the Amazon Echo?
The Echo is a voice-commanded smart speaker. It’s compatible with a vast array of other electronics and online platforms. It can answer questions, control smart devices, play music, and more. It responds to the names “Echo” and “Alexa”.
What does this book offer?
Amazon Echo: The Ultimate Guide To Amazon Echo – 2016 Edition explains how you can best use the Echo’s wealth of powerful features:
- Setting Up Your Echo for the First Time
- Interacting Verbally with Alexa
- Setting Up Pandora on Your Echo
- Connecting your Google Calendar to Your Echo
- Amazon Echo IFTTT Channel Advice
- Fun (and Sleepy time) Echo Activities for Kids!
- Making Echo Part of Your Fitness Routine
- and even Streamlining Your Business with Echo!
Who is Alexa?
Alexa is your cloud-based, voice-activated personal assistant. Unlike other digital assistants, she has a smooth, life-like voice and an incredible variety of skills. She’s your new best friend – in a box! When you download Amazon Echo: The Ultimate Guide To Amazon Echo – 2016 Edition, you’ll find out how to engage with Alexa and maximize your use of her powerful skills. As you use your Echo, Alexa adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences. You can even download and install the Alexa Skills Kit to install her on your other devices!
You deserve this next step in functionality, convenience, and fun!
Don’t Delay - get your copy of this incredible book TODAY! Scroll up and click the “Buy with One Click” button.
Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited – Download Now!
You’ll be so glad you gained this valuable information!
The LEGO Power Functions Idea Book, Vol. 1: Machines and Mechanisms
Amazon Echo Dot: Amazon Dot Advanced User Guide (2016 Updated): Step-by-Step Instructions to Enrich Your Smart Life! (Amazon Echo, Dot, Echo Dot, Amazon Echo User Manual, Echo Dot ebook, Amazon Dot)
Don’t Spend HOURS trying to figure out AMAZON ECHO DOT!
Go from Beginner to EXPERT in 60 minutes- Do you want to Buy Amazon Echo Dot and curious to understand how this device will add more convenience to your Life ?
- Have you bought Echo Dot already and now wondering how to convert this cute little Hockey Puck into your personal assistant?
- Maybe you have read a few Echo Dot guide books but all you got was stale information wrapped in fluffy jargon loaded words?
***Buy the Paperback Copy and Get the Kindle Version FREE - Buy Now!***
How will this Book help you?
- This book will take you from beginner to an Echo Dot EXPERT in less that 60 MINUTES.
- You will setup Echo Dot and start using all your Smart Devices and Applications EFFORTLESSLY.
- You will learn all the latest ADVANCED HACKS known to Expert Echo Dot Users.
- And most of all, you will SAVE HOURS running errands and you will control your home and work life from a simple voice command “Alexa, ……….”
How is this Book Different?
This book is a detailed in DEPTH guide to maximise your ALEXA experience. It has ACTIONABLE tips, tricks and hacks. It contains specific step-by-step instructions that are well organised and easy to read. After reading this book you will- Stream Music and Read Books on Echo Dot
- Control your Home Appliances using Echo Dot
- Setup IFTTT recipes for Advanced Hacks
- Use Alexa Skills to AUTOMATE your errands
- Connect your Google Calendar and Pandora Account to Echo Dot
Make ECHO Dot your Smart Personal Assistant!
- SHOP on Amazon for DIGITAL and PHYSICAL products
- WAKE up to your favourite cup of COFFEE
- PROGRAM Echo to control your Thermostat, Lights and DOOR LOCKS
- Get the latest CUSTOMISED Weather, Traffic and News Updates
- OPEN Google Docs and SIGN IN to your SLACK account
- UPDATE your CALENDAR, TODO and SHOPPING list
- Get ALEXA to tell you a JOKE
- GET the latest SCORES from your FAVOURITE TEAMS
- Use 100+ PRE-TESTED COMMANDS and Easter Eggs.
Don’t hesitate, pick up your copy NOW by clicking the BUY NOW button at the top of this page!
***Buy the Paperback Copy and Get the Kindle Version FREE - Buy Now!***
A Personal Note From the Author
I am a hardware enthusiast and love to play with devices. In fact, figuring out all kinds of mechanical and electronic devices and understanding how they work has been a lifelong passion for me. Recently I came across this new revolutionary set of voice controlled Alexa Devices and love the freedom it gives me. I have done a lot of research on Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot and Amazon Tap and this prompted me to put down my learning in the form of a series of books. This Advanced User Guide for the Amazon Echo Dot is the 2nd in the series of books I have written on Alexa Devices. I hope that this guide helps you in setting up and using your Echo Dot.
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World
From the New York Times–bestselling author of How We Got to Now and Where Good Ideas Come From, a look at the world-changing innovations we made while keeping ourselves entertained.
This lushly illustrated history of popular entertainment takes a long-zoom approach, contending that the pursuit of novelty and wonder is a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. Steven Johnson argues that, throughout history, the cutting edge of innovation lies wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused.
Johnson’s storytelling is just as delightful as the inventions he describes, full of surprising stops along the journey from simple concepts to complex modern systems. He introduces us to the colorful innovators of leisure: the explorers, proprietors, showmen, and artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, and magic shows.
Johnson compellingly argues that observers of technological and social trends should be looking for clues in novel amusements. You’ll find the future wherever people are having the most fun.
Amazon Echo Dot: Amazon Dot Advanced User Guide (2016 Updated): Step-by-Step Instructions to Enrich Your Smart Life! (Amazon Echo, Dot, Echo Dot, Amazon Echo User Manual, Echo Dot ebook, Amazon Dot)
Don’t Spend HOURS trying to figure out AMAZON ECHO DOT!
Go from Beginner to EXPERT in 60 minutes- Do you want to Buy Amazon Echo Dot and curious to understand how this device will add more convenience to your Life ?
- Have you bought Echo Dot already and now wondering how to convert this cute little Hockey Puck into your personal assistant?
- Maybe you have read a few Echo Dot guide books but all you got was stale information wrapped in fluffy jargon loaded words?
***Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited - Download Now!***
How will this Book help you?
- This book will take you from beginner to an Echo Dot EXPERT in less that 60 MINUTES.
- You will setup Echo Dot and start using all your Smart Devices and Applications EFFORTLESSLY.
- You will learn all the latest ADVANCED HACKS known to Expert Echo Dot Users.
- And most of all, you will SAVE HOURS running errands and you will control your home and work life from a simple voice command “Alexa, ……….”
How is this Book Different?
This book is a detailed in DEPTH guide to maximise your ALEXA experience. It has ACTIONABLE tips, tricks and hacks. It contains specific step-by-step instructions that are well organised and easy to read. After reading this book you will- Stream Music and Read Books on Echo Dot
- Control your Home Appliances using Echo Dot
- Setup IFTTT recipes for Advanced Hacks
- Use Alexa Skills to AUTOMATE your errands
- Connect your Google Calendar and Pandora Account to Echo Dot
Make ECHO Dot your Smart Personal Assistant!
- SHOP on Amazon for DIGITAL and PHYSICAL products
- WAKE up to your favourite cup of COFFEE
- PROGRAM Echo to control your Thermostat, Lights and DOOR LOCKS
- Get the latest CUSTOMISED Weather, Traffic and News Updates
- OPEN Google Docs and SIGN IN to your SLACK account
- UPDATE your CALENDAR, TODO and SHOPPING list
- Get ALEXA to tell you a JOKE
- GET the latest SCORES from your FAVOURITE TEAMS
- Use 100+ PRE-TESTED COMMANDS and Easter Eggs.
Don’t hesitate, pick up your copy NOW by clicking the BUY NOW button at the top of this page!
***Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited - Download Now!***
A Personal Note From the Author
I am a hardware enthusiast and love to play with devices. In fact, figuring out all kinds of mechanical and electronic devices and understanding how they work has been a lifelong passion for me. Recently I came across this new revolutionary set of voice controlled Alexa Devices and love the freedom it gives me. I have done a lot of research on Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot and Amazon Tap and this prompted me to put down my learning in the form of a series of books. This Advanced User Guide for the Amazon Echo Dot is the 2nd in the series of books I have written on Alexa Devices. I hope that this guide helps you in setting up and using your Echo Dot.
The Big Book of Kombucha: Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea
“This is the one go-to resource for all things kombucha.”
— Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award–winning author and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods
Pocket Ref 4th Edition
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
For ten months the ice-moored Endurance drifted northwest before it was finally crushed between two ice floes. With no options left, Shackleton and a skeleton crew attempted a near-impossible journey over 850 miles of the South Atlantic’s heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilization. Their survival, and the survival of the men they left behind, depended on their small lifeboat successfully finding the island of South Georgiaa tiny dot of land in a vast and hostile ocean.
In Endurance, the definitive account of Ernest Shackleton’s fateful trip, Alfred Lansing brilliantly narrates the harrowing and miraculous voyage that has defined heroism for the modern age.
The Complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly Updated
The bestselling, most comprehensive guide to home improvements has been revised and updated once again since it's revision in 2005. Over 10 million copies of READER’S DIGEST COMPLETE DO-IT-YOURSELF MANUAL have been sold since it's original publication in 1973. In 2005, the manual got bigger and better than ever, when The Family Handyman and Reader’s Digest joined forces and completely revised, updated, rewrote, and redesigned this home improvement classic. Now in 2014, The Family Handyman has once again updated and revised this do-it-yourself classic to make it relevant to today’s homeowners and DIYers..
Written in a style of text that addresses readers in a very accessible, conversational tone for easy, user-friendly assistance with every do-it-yourself task. All instructions and materials have been updated to address current codes (electrical, plumbing and building), and revised to indicate the very latest in materials, tools, and technology. Suitable for beginners and experts alike, this newly revised edition includes:
• Over 3,000 photos and illustrations to make complex projects and repairs easy to understand
• Twice as many storage projects that help home owners cut clutter
• New building materials that yield great-looking, long-lasting results—and low maintenance!
• New technology that lets homeowners save energy, add convenience or improve security.
• New building codes that make homes safer, more energy-efficient and trouble-free.
The book’s tried-and-true instructions provide do-it-yourself solutions to a ton of problems that could cost a fortune if you had to hire a professional. This manual is a “must-have” reference guide for every home-owning man or woman.
The Science of Good Cooking (Cook's Illustrated Cookbooks)
Unlock a lifetime of successful cooking with this groundbreaking new volume from the editors of Cook's Illustrated, the magazine that put food science on the map.Organized around 50 core principles our test cooks use to develop foolproof recipes, The Science of Good Cooking is a radical new approach to teaching the fundamentals of the kitchen. Fifty unique experiments from the test kitchen bring the science to life, and more than 400 landmark Cook's Illustrated recipes (such as Old-Fashioned Burgers, Classic Mashed Potatoes, andPerfect Chocolate Chip Cookies) illustrate each of the basic principles at work. These experiments range from simple to playful to innovative - showing you why you should fold (versus stir) batter for chewy brownies, why you whip egg whites with sugar, and why the simple addition of salt can make meat juicy.A lifetime of experience isn't the prerequisite for becoming a good cook; knowledge is. Think of this as an owner's manual for your kitchen.
The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Goodnight Brew: A Parody for Beer People
Befuddled about beer ingredients? Puzzled about the brew process?Can’t remember the difference between an ale and a lager? Don’t miss the brew infographics that follow the story!
This humorous parody of a children's literature classic is a "pitcher book" for grown-ups. It's a besotted bedtime story for beer lovers everywhere!
The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book (Full Color): A Beginner's Guide to Building and Programming Robots
Beginwith the basics as you build and program a simple robot to experiment with motors, sensors, and EV3 programming. Then you'll move on to a series of increasingly sophisticated robots that will show you how to work with advanced programming techniques like data wires, variables, and custom-made programming blocks. You'll also learn essential buildingtechniques like how to use beams, gears, and connector blocks effectively in your own designs.
Master the possibilities of the EV3 set as you build and program:
- The EXPLOR3R, a wheeled vehicle that uses sensors to navigate around a room and follow lines
- The FORMULA EV3 RACE CAR, a streamlined remote-controlled race car
- ANTY, a six-legged walking creature that adapts its behavior to its surroundings
- SK3TCHBOT, a robot that lets you play games on the EV3 screen
- The SNATCH3R, a robotic arm that can autonomously find, grab, lift, and move the infrared beacon
- LAVA R3X, a humanoid robot that walks and talks
Requirements: One LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 set (LEGO SET #31313)
The LEGO Architect
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
New York Times Bestseller
A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life — and threaten to rip apart our social fabric
We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated.
But as Cathy O’Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and uncontestable, even when they’re wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination: If a poor student can’t get a loan because a lending model deems him too risky (by virtue of his zip code), he’s then cut off from the kind of education that could pull him out of poverty, and a vicious spiral ensues. Models are propping up the lucky and punishing the downtrodden, creating a “toxic cocktail for democracy.” Welcome to the dark side of Big Data.
Tracing the arc of a person’s life, O’Neil exposes the black box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society. These “weapons of math destruction” score teachers and students, sort résumés, grant (or deny) loans, evaluate workers, target voters, set parole, and monitor our health.
O’Neil calls on modelers to take more responsibility for their algorithms and on policy makers to regulate their use. But in the end, it’s up to us to become more savvy about the models that govern our lives. This important book empowers us to ask the tough questions, uncover the truth, and demand change.