James gleick from the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood talking drums of africa, james gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of human. Making a new science is the bestselling book by james gleick that first introduced the principles and early development of chaos theory to the public. Life and science of richard feynman, and the information. Wilson literary science writing award from the bestselling author of the acclaimed chaos and genius comes a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the big ideas of the modern era.
Mar 07, 2011 the information, by james gleick, is to the nature, history and significance of data what the beach is to sand. A history, a theory, a flood by james gleick in doc, fb2, txt download e book. A historythat reveals the science behind chaos theory a work of popular science in the tradition of stephen hawking and carl sagan, this 20thanniversary edition of james gleicks groundbreaking bestseller chaos introduces a whole new readership to. A history, a theory, a flood ebook written by james gleick. A tutorial introduction, by me jv stone, published february 2015. A former science writer for the new york times, gleick is the author of two bestselling biographies. His books have been translated into 30 more about james gleick. Author and journalist james gleick tells the story of information technologies that, he claims, changed the very nature of human consciousness. James gleick argues that information is more than just the contents of. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Apr 29, 2011 information, it seems, is life itself, and gleick shows how shannons information theory not only led to computers and cyberspace, but also transformed biology into an information science. James gleick is our leading chronicler of science and technology, and the author of chaos and genius, both nominated for the national book award, and isaac. A history, a theory, a flood by gleick, james isbn.
James gleick has such a perspective, and signals it in the first word of the title of his new book, the information, using the definite article we usually reserve for totalities like the. But even as relativity and quantum mechanics undermined that rigid certainty in the first half of the twentieth century, the scientific community. Making a new science, explained chaos theory in laymans terms by focusing on the stories of those scientists who were pioneers in the field and was a finalist for the national book award and the pulitzer prize. I came to this volume with only a vague idea about information and information theory but having been very impressed by gleick s book on chaos chaos. From african talking drums to wikipedia, from morse code to the bit, it is a fascinating account of the modern ages defining idea and a brilliant exploration of how information has revolutionised our lives. Information, communication, and information theory. Three of these books have been pulitzer prize and national book award finalists, and they have been translated into more than twenty languages. From the bestselling author of the acclaimed chaos and genius comes a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the big ideas of the modern era. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Gleick discusses african talking drums, information theory and its contributions to physics and biology, cryptography, alphabets and scripts, dictionaries, telegraphs, and more.
A history, a theory, a flood seeks to place information in historical context. To accomplish that he opens the book by discussing the advent of drumming, signals, telegraph, telephone and the computer. The highly entertaining new york times bestseller, which explains chaos theory and the butterfly effect, from the author of the information chicago tribune. Which is the best introductory book for information theory. The heart of gleicks book is his treatment of the new information theory that shannon and computer scientist and mathematician alan turing. In his latest book, awardwinning author gleick the information. Imagine luxuriating on a wifiequipped desert island with mr. Into the breach steps the gifted science writer james gleick.
None of his discussion will be news to readers of tim wus exemplary the master switch 2010 or of the old coevolution quarterly, but gleick covers the ground in a way that no other. Author james gleick traces informations evolution in new. In his formidable new book, the information, gleick explains how weve progressed from seeing information as the expression of human thought and emotion to looking at it as a commodity that can be processed, like wheat or plutonium. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the information. James gleick born august 1, 1954 is an american author, journalist, and biographer, whose books explore the cultural ramifications of science and technology. James gleick, the author of the best sellers chaos and genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly. A host of forces were converging to transmute the human understanding of time, some philosophical and some technological the electric. Mar 01, 2011 james gleick s bestselling book, chaos. A history, a theory, a flood is a book written in 2011 by james gleick what the telegraph accomplished in years the telephone has done in months. Nov 22, 2012 james gleick science writer, threetime pulitzer prize finalist and author of the information. We sort the mail, build sandcastles, solve jigsaw puzzles, separate wheat from chaff, rearrange chess pieces, collect stamps, alphabetize books. James gleick is our leading chronicler of science and technology, the bestselling author of chaos. One year it was a scientific toy, without infinite possibilities of practical use.
Although accessible and enjoyable, from chapter to chapter the book sometimes feels loose and unstructured, as the author jumps too quickly from one subject to another. A history, a theory, a flood paperback march 6 2012 by james gleick author 4. Information, communication, and information theory acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to. The life and science of richard feynman, and the information. Gleick shows how information theory also breathed new life into psychology, leading to the emergence of cognitive science and the socalled informational turn, where the basic ingredient for. Making a new science is the bestselling book by james gleick that first introduced the principles and early development of chaos theory to. Time travel is another of james gleicks superb, unclassifiable booksrich in obscure and illuminating information, laced with lyricism, wit, and startling and convincing insights. The story of information begins in a time profoundly unlike our own, when every thought and utterance. A history, a theory, a flood met up with sarah crown at the edinburgh international book festival. Mar 01, 2011 james gleick, the author of the best sellers chaos and genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly.
The story of information begins in a time profoundly unlike our own, when every thought and utterance vanishes. The information is so ambitious, illuminating and sexily theoretical that it will amount to aspirational reading for many of those who have the mettle to tackle it. A history, a theory, a flood is a book by science history writer james gleick published in march 2011 which covers the genesis of our current. Mar 20, 2011 james gleick has such a perspective, and signals it in the first word of the title of his new book, the information, using the definite article we usually reserve for totalities like the. A history, a theory, a flood, james gleick describes a technological innovation so transformative that it was heralded as one of the grand waymarks in. Wells writing and rewriting the fantastic tale that became his first book, an international sensation. This is an engaging work that explores our understanding of information and how it has changed over time. A history, a theory, a flood is a book by science history writer james gleick published in march 2011 which covers the genesis of our current information age. A history, a theory, a flood by james gleick in doc, fb2, txt download ebook. In the emergence of claude shannon and alan turings first stirrings of modern information theory, the authors skills as an interpreter of science shine. For centuries, scientific thought was focused on bringing order to the natural world.
Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of. The millioncopy bestseller by national book award nominee and pulitzer prize finalist james gleickthe author of time travel. It was on the new york times bestseller list for three weeks following its debut. This book report was written by laurel brenner, spring 2015. A history, a theory, a flood chronicles the evolution of information. James gleicks story begins at the turn of the 20th century, with the young h. Jeffrey brown talks to the author about how the information superhighway. James gleick, the author of the best sellers chaos and genius, n. James gleick science writer, threetime pulitzer prize finalist and author of the information. A kaleidoscopic look at the concept of time travel. James gleick s story begins at the turn of the 20th century, with the young h.
In the information james gleick tells the story of how human beings use, transmit and keep what they know. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of human consciousness. A history, a theory, a flood, james gleick does not pretend to answer these questions fully. The book is not written as a straightforward history, which might have been a temptation for someone charting the progress of. Rather, he aims to show the possibilities these questions pose for the human race, which evolves from both obvious and obscure forms of information, from the messages carried by drumbeats and emails to the.
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