Ocean State Libraries

"From one of the world's most highly regarded social scientists, a transformative book on the habits of mind that lead to the best predictions. Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week's meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts' predictions...

"From world-renowned economist Paul Collier, a candid diagnosis of the many failures of the greatest economic system in history, and a pragmatic and realistic vision for how we can repair it. Western society, once thriving, is being torn apart by deep new rifts in its social and economic fabric. It's now populous cities versus rural counties; the highly skilled elite versus the less educated; wealthy versus developing countries. As these breaks have...

"Lizbeth Rose is hired onto a new crew for a seemingly easy protection job, transporting a crate into Dixie, just about the last part of the former United States of America she wants to visit. But what seemed like a straight-forward job turns into a massacre as the crate is stolen. Up against a wall in Dixie, where social norms have stepped back into the last century, Lizbeth has to go undercover with an old friend to retrieve the crate as what's...

"Predictive analytics unleashes the power of data. With this technology, computers literally learn from data how to predict future behaviors of individuals. In this updated and revised edition of Predictive Analytics, former Columbia University professor and Predictive Analytics World founder Eric Siegel reveals the power and perils of prediction. New material includes: - The Real Reason the NSA Wants Your Data: Automatic Suspect Discovery. A special...

The author of the bestselling "The Future of Freedom" describes a world in which the U.S. will no longer dominate the global economy. He sees the "rise of the rest" as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world.

"From a top scientist and the creator of the hugely popular web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a hilariously illustrated investigation into future technologies--from how to fling a ship into deep space on the cheap to 3D organ printing. What will the world of tomorrow be like? How does progress happen? And why do we not have a lunar colony already? What is the holdup? In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and...

"An expert tech writer discusses the forces and trends that will revolutionize daily life through the upcoming technological advances of the next thirty years." -- "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...

"One of the most stunning achievements of moral philosophy is something we take for granted: moral universalism, or the idea that every human has equal moral worth. In What We Owe the Future, Oxford philosopher William MacAskill demands that we go a step further, arguing that people not only have equal moral worth no matter where or how they live, but also no matter when they live. This idea has implications beyond the obvious (climate change) - including...

"The acclaimed author of the influential bestseller The Black Swan, Nicholas Nassim Taleb takes a next big step with a deceptively simple concept: the "antifragile." Like the Greek hydra that grows two heads for each one it loses, people, systems, and institutions that are antifragile not only withstand shocks, they benefit from them. In a modern world dominated by chaos and uncertainty, Antifragile is a revolutionary vision from one of the most subversive...