Archives de catégorie : Popular Science

INTERSTELLAR de Avi Loeb

From the New York Times bestselling author of Extraterrestrial comes a mind-expanding new book explaining why becoming an interstellar species is imperative for humanity’s survival and detailing a game plan for how we can settle among the stars.

INTERSTELLAR:
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars
by Avi Loeb
‎ Mariner Books, August 2023
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

In the New York Times bestseller Extraterrestrial, Avi Loeb, the longest serving Chair of Harvard’s Astronomy Department, presented a theory that shook the scientific community: our solar system, Loeb claimed, had likely been visited by a piece of advanced alien technology from a distant star. This provocative and persuasive argument opened millions of minds internationally to the vast possibilities of our universe and the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth. But a crucial question remained: now that we are aware of the existence of extraterrestrial life, what do we do next? How do we prepare ourselves for interaction with interstellar extraterrestrial civilization? How can our species become interstellar?
Now Loeb tackles these questions in a revelatory, powerful call to arms that reimagines the idea of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. Dismantling our science-fiction fueled visions of a human and alien life encounter, INTERSTELLAR provides a realistic and practical blueprint for how such an interaction might actually occur, resetting our cultural understanding and expectation of what it means to identify an extraterrestrial object. From awe-inspiring searches for extraterrestrial technology, to the heated debate of the existence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, Loeb provides a thrilling, front-row view of the monumental progress in science and technology currently preparing us for contact. He also lays out the profound implications of becoming—or not becoming—interstellar; in an urgent, eloquent appeal for more proactive engagement with the world beyond ours, he powerfully contends why we must seek out other life forms, and in the process, choose who and what we are within the universe.
Combining cutting edge science, physics, and philosophy, INTERSTELLAR revolutionizes the approach to our search for extraterrestrial life and our preparation for its discovery. In this eye-opening, necessary look at our future, Avi Loeb artfully and expertly raises some of the most important questions facing us as humans, and proves, once again, that scientific curiosity is the key to our survival

Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University and bestselling author of Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth (on lists of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, L’Express and more). He received a PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative, and was subsequently a longterm member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Loeb wrote 8 books and more than 800 papers on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, and the future of the Universe. He was the longest serving Chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy, Founding Director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative, and is Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. Loeb is a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies and a current member of the Advisory Board for « Einstein: Visualize the Impossible » of the Hebrew University. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space. Smithsonian Magazine printed a 12-page feature on Loeb and his work in their October 2021 issue.

Andrew Knoll, l’auteur de A BRIEF HISTORY OF EARTH, remporte le prix Crafoord en géosciences

L’Académie royale des sciences de Suède vient de décerner le prestigieux prix Crafoord 2022 dans la catégorie Géosciences à Andrew Knoll « pour les contributions fondamentales qu’il a apportées à notre compréhension des trois premiers milliards d’années de la vie sur Terre et des interactions du vivant avec l’environnement physique au fil du temps. » Ce prix, qui vise chaque année à promouvoir certaines disciplines scientifiques à travers le monde depuis 1982, est considéré comme un complément, voire dans certains cas un prix annonciateur, du Nobel. Il est accompagné d’une récompense de six millions de couronnes suédoises, soit plus de cinq cent mille euros.

Pour plus d’informations, voir le communiqué de presse sur le site officiel.

Andrew Knoll est professeur à Harvard dans les départements de Biologie organismique et évolutive et des Sciences de la terre et des planètes. Il a notamment travaillé sur les microfossiles et développé des méthodes innovantes pour mettre en lumière leur évolution biochimique. En outre, il est l’un des chercheurs ayant présenté une explication probable à la troisième extinction de masse, qui s’est produite il y a 252 millions d’années – elle aurait été due à des éruptions volcaniques en Sibérie ayant provoqué l’émission d’énormes quantités de dioxyde de carbone dans l’atmosphère et entraîné une augmentation de la température moyenne sur Terre. Depuis vingt ans, Andrew Knoll fait également partie de l’équipe de recherche qui aide la NASA à analyser les images et autre données géologiques provenant de Mars.

Son livre A BRIEF HISTORY OF EARTH est paru en avril 2021 chez Custom House aux États-Unis. Les droits de langue française sont toujours disponibles.

Liste des cessions étrangères :
Chine (Ginkgo)
Corée (Dasan)
Espagne (Ediciones Pasado&Presente)
Estonie (Julius Press)
Grèce (Psichogios)
Hongrie (Open Books)
Italie (HarperItalia)
Japon (Bunkyosha)
Pays-Bas (Thomas Rap/Bezige Bij)
Pologne (Copernicus Center Press)
Portugal (Saida D’Emergencia)
Roumanie (Litera)
Russie (Portal Publishing)
Slovaquie (Albatros Slovakia)
Thaïlande (Amarin)
Turquie (Ayrıntı)

DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE d’Erica Dhawan

The definitive guide to communicating and connecting in a hybrid world.

DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE:
How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance
by Erica Dhawan
St. Martin’s Press, May 11 2021

Email replies that show up a week later. Video chats full of “oops sorry no you go” and “can you hear me?!” Ambiguous text-messages. Weird punctuation you can’t make heads or tails of. Is it any wonder communication takes us so much time and effort to figure out? How did we lose our innate capacity to understand each other?
Humans rely on body language to connect and build trust, but with most of our communication happening from behind a screen, traditional body language signals are no longer visible―or are they? In DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE, Erica Dhawan, a go-to thought leader on collaboration and a passionate communication junkie, combines cutting edge research with engaging storytelling to decode the new signals and cues that have replaced traditional body language across genders, generations, and culture. In real life, we lean in, uncross our arms, smile, nod and make eye contact to show we listen and care. Online, reading carefully is the new listening. Writing clearly is the new empathy. And a phone or video call is worth a thousand emails.
DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE will turn your daily misunderstandings into a set of collectively understood laws that foster connection, no matter the distance. Dhawan investigates a wide array of exchanges―from large conferences and video meetings to daily emails, texts, IMs, and conference calls―and offers insights and solutions to build trust and clarity to anyone in our ever changing world.

Erica Dhawan is a globally recognized leadership expert and keynote speaker helping organizations and leaders innovate faster and further, together. Erica has spoken, worldwide, to organizations and enterprises that range from the World Economic Forum to U.S. and global Fortune 500 companies, associations, sports teams, and government institutions. Named as one of the top management professionals around the world by Global Gurus, she is the founder and CEO of Cotential―a company that has helped leaders and teams leverage twenty-first-century collaboration skills globally. Her writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including Fast Company and Harvard Business Review. She has an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, MBA from MIT Sloan, and BS from The Wharton School.

QUANTUM BULLSH*T de Chris Ferrie

From bestselling author and physicist Chris Ferrie comes a book perfect for people with a sense of humor who f*cking love science.

QUANTUM BULLSH*T
by Chris Ferrie
Sourcebooks, June 2022

Quantum physics is weird and spooky and mystical and if you only understood it, you’d be rich and beautiful and have great sex, right? Wrong. Quantum physics is a wellunderstood science that professional bullshitters use to dupe unsuspecting victims with get-rich-quick scams and bogus self-help advice. This book is a no-nonsense explanation of what quantum physics is and is not, told in an accessible, humorous style with just the right amount of curse words. If you f*cking love science and want to be slightly less dumb than you were when you woke up this morning, this is the goddamn book for you.
Truly hilarious and witty content elevates this book from merely a joke or gift item to a very useful and enjoyable book to keep on your shelf longterm.

Chris Ferrie is an award-winning physicist and is the senior lecturer for quantum software and information at the University of Technology Sydney. He has a masters in applied mathematics, BMath in mathematical physics and a PhD in applied mathematics. He lives in Australia with his wife and children.

ATTENTION SPAN de Gloria Mark

A book on the crisis of focus, by Dr. Gloria Mark, Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research, and a leading expert in the fields of attention, multitasking, and human-computer interaction.

ATTENTION SPAN:
The Surprising Science of How We Focus, Why That’s Changing, and How Rhythm Became the New Flow
by Gloria Mark
Hanover Square Press, early 2023
(via Park & Fine)

Psychologist Gloria Mark began researching how technology affects human attention when the first personal computers were beginning to arrive in offices. Over the last 30 years, she has tracked changes in our attention spans, stress levels, and the fundamental way our brains process information.
Now in ATTENTION SPAN, Dr Mark shows how much of what we think we know about attention is wrong. She explores the current crisis of focus and productivity that is so deeply entwined with rising rates of anxiety and depression, and investigates what we might be able to do about it. Delving into the newly celebrated concept of ‘kinetic attention’, she introduces a more balanced understanding of the rhythm between deep focus and less focused states, which may actually serve to make us happier and more productive in the long term.

« Gloria Mark is the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking in our increasingly digital world. Her book is a must-read for anyone concerned about our diminishing attention span. » —Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of A World Without Email and Deep Work

Dr. Gloria Mark is Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research, and a leading expert in the fields of attention, multitasking, and human-computer interaction. Dr. Mark has spoken on stages that include SXSW, Talks at Google, Microsoft Faculty Summit, and the Aspen Ideas Festival, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, NPR, Quartz, Slate, and more.