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Nature and Science August 2025 |
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How things are made : a journey through the hidden world of manfacturing
by Tim Minshall
"An illuminating journey through the world of manufacturing and its seismic influence on our lives, from internationally renowned expert Tim Minshall We live in a manufactured world. Unless you are floating naked through space, you are right now in direct contact with multiple manufactured products, including furniture, technology, clothing, and even food. And yet the processes by which these things appear in our lives are virtually invisible. How often do we stop to think: Where do the things we buy actually come from? How are they made, and how do they make their way into our hands? The answers can be found in How Things Are Made, which traces the surprising paths taken by everyday items to reach consumers, from design to creation to delivery. Expert Tim Minshall takes us on a journey through the manufacturing world, from the smallest job-shops to mega-factories, from global shipping hubs to local delivery at your door, revealing the inner workings of the system that runs 24-7-365 to make and deliver the things we need-or want-to live our daily lives, including cars, cakes, phones, planes, drugs, and medical devices. Along the way, he explores how we can improve the fragility of our global manufacturing system and the impact it has on the natural world, revealing a path to a truly sustainable future. Brimming with energy and lively examples, How Things Are Made maps the awe-inspiring global system of manufacturing that enables virtually every aspect of our existence. By making sense of this surprising and hidden world, we are able to make better choices for ourselves, our communities, and the planet"-- Provided by publisher
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These strange new minds : how AI learned to talk and what it means
by Christopher Summerfield
"An insider look at the Large Language Models (LLMs) that are revolutionizing our relationship to technology, exploring their surprising history, what they can and should do for us today, and where they will go in the future--from an AI pioneer and neuroscientist. In this accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative examination of the world's most radical technology, neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield explores what it really takes to build a brain from scratch. We have entered a world in which disarmingly human-like chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Bard, appear to be able to talk and reason like us--and are beginning to transform everything we do. But can AI 'think', 'know' and 'understand'? What are its values? Whose biases is itperpetuating? Can it lie and if so, could we tell? Does their arrival threaten our very existence? These Strange New Minds charts the evolution of intelligent talking machines and provides us with the tools to understand how they work and how we can use them. Ultimately, armed with an understanding of AI's mysterious inner workings, we can begin to grapple with the existential question of our age: have we written ourselves out of history or is a technological utopia ahead?"
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Clouds : how to identify nature's most fleeting forms
by Edward Graham
"The mystery of clouds has captivated scientists and artists alike. This unique book shows you how to use the meteorological techniques of nephology to identify these elusive and transmutable shapes. It curates, classifies, and measures every species--including those recently discovered--considering the height, size, texture, arrangement, modifications, and movement of their many shifting forms. Clouds blends a lively and engaging narrative by one of today's leading meteorologists with an essay on historic cloud art, and includes a wealth of breathtaking cloud studies by some of the greatest artists ever to look skyward."
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How we grow up : understanding adolescence
by Matt Richtel
"The transition from childhood to adulthood is a natural, evolution-honed cycle that now faces radical change and challenge. The adolescent brain, sculpted for this transition over eons of evolution, confronts a modern world that creates so much social pressure as to regularly exceed the capacities of the evolving mind. The problem comes as a bombardment of screen-based information pelts the brain just as adolescence is undergoing a second key change: puberty is hitting earlier. The result is a neurological mismatch between an ultra-potent environment and a still-maturing brain that can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. It is a crisis that is part of modern life but can only be truly grasped through a broad, grounded lens of the biology of adolescence itself. Through this lens, Richtel shows us how adolescents can understand themselves, and parents and educators can better help"
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Ocean : Earth's last wilderness
by David Attenborough
"Through personal stories, history and cutting-edge science, Ocean uncovers the mystery, the wonder, and the frailty of the most unexplored habitat on our planet--the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate, and creates the air we breathe. This book showcase the oceans' remarkable resilience: they can, and in some cases have, recovered the fastest, if we only give them the chance. Drawing a course across David Attenborough's own lifetime, Ocean takes readers on an adventure-laden voyage through eight unique ocean habitats, countless intriguing species, and the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world--one even more spectacular than we could possibly hope for. Ocean reveals the past, present and potential future of our blue planet. It is a book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed"
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| Supermassive: Black Holes at the Beginning and End of the Universe by James Trefil and Shobita SatyapalPhysicists James Trefil and Shobita Satyapal do an admirable job of explaining the complex astronomical phenomena known as black holes, as well as the astrophysical theories that underpin them and the advancements that led to their discovery. The authors’ evident passion for this difficult subject matter brings their “thrilling tour of the universe” (School Library Journal) to life. For another accessible yet informative read on this topic, try Einstein’s Monsters: The Life and Times of Black Holes by Chris Impey. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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