|
Nature and Science April 2020
|
|
|
|
| Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental... by Lydia DenworthWhat it is: a cross-disciplinary survey of the science of social bonds -- and a powerful argument for friendship as the standard by which all relationships should be measured.
What it does: examines a growing body of research that suggests friendship is a biological necessity for humans and animals.
Want a taste? "Friendship...is a matter of life and death. It is carried in our DNA, in how we're wired. Social bonds have the power to shape the trajectories of our lives." |
|
|
Lifespan : why we age--and why we don't have to by David A. SinclairThe acclaimed Harvard professor and one of Time’s “Most Influential People” identifies common misconceptions about aging, sharing provocative insights into the cutting-edge, global effort to slow, stop and reverse aging.
|
|
|
American Sherlock : murder, forensics, and the birth of American CSI
by Kate Winkler Dawson
Describes the life of America’s first forensic scientist, who invented tools that are still being used today—including blood-spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests and fingerprints—and solved at least 2,000 cases over 40 years. By the author of Death in the Air. Illustrations.
|
|
| Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'NeilWhat it's about: Big Data's capacity for reinforcing and exacerbating existing social inequalities, due to its scale and lack of transparency.
About the author: Mathematician Cathy O'Neil was a professor and a Wall Street quantitative analyst before becoming a blogger and activist.
You might also like: Shoshana Zuboff's The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Virginia Eubanks' Automating Inequality, or John Cheney-Lippold's We Are Data. |
|
| Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-PerezIntroducing: the "default male," a construct that sets the standards in everything from automobile safety to medical research to urban planning.
Why it matters: Journalist Caroline Criado-Perez argues that an emphasis on male data creates a gender data gap that renders women doubly invisible: their absence from research data is compounded by their occasional inclusion in research data that isn't dis-aggregated by sex.
The takeaway: "the consequences of living in a world built around male data can be deadly." |
|
| Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World by Bruce SchneierContains: everything you should know about data, metadata, and surveillance (both government and corporate).
About the author: Self-described "public-interest technologist" Bruce Schneier is the creator of the popular website Schneier on Security.
Did you know? In a 2012 study, researchers were able to use cell phone data to predict where individuals would be 24 hours later, within a radius of 20 meters. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|