How computer games can be designed to create ethically relevant experiences for players."Today's blockbuster video games -- and their never-ending sequels, sagas, and reboots -- provide plenty of excitement in high-resolution but for the most part fail to engage a player's moral imagination. In Beyond Choices, Miguel Sicart calls for a new generation of video and computer games that are ethical…
"In Dark Fiber, Lovink combines aesthetic and ethical concerns and issues of navigation and usability without ever losing sight of the cultural and economic agendas of those who control hardware, software, content, design, and delivery. He examines the unwarranted faith of the cyber-libertarians in the ability of market forces to create a decentralized, accessible communication system. He studi…
Life hacking as self-help for the creative class in the digital age: using systems in pursuit of health, wealth, and productivity. Life hackers track and analyze the food they eat, the hours they sleep, the money they spend, and how they're feeling on any given day. They share tips on the most efficient ways to tie shoelaces and load the dishwasher; they employ a tomato-shaped kitchen timer as …
"Logo for the Macintosh teaches the art of programming to first time programmers. It begins with Turtle Geometry, a series of exercises involving both Logo programming and geometric concepts. Later chapters illustrate more advanced topics, such as the famous DOCTOR program with its simulated psychotherapist and an INSTANT program that enables parents and teachers to create a programming environ…
The philosophical significance of place—in Heidegger's work and as the focus of a distinctive mode of philosophical thinking. The idea of place—topos—runs through Martin Heidegger's thinking almost from the very start. It can be seen not only in his attachment to the famous hut in Todtnauberg but in his constant deployment of topological terms and images and in the situated, “placedâ…
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The controversial subject of this book is the permissible use of animals by humans. Lewis Petrinovich argues that humans have a set of cognitive abilities, developing from a suite of emotional attachments, that make them unique among species. Although other animals can think, suffer, and have needs, the interests of members of the human species should triumph over comparable interests of member…
"This is a complete presentation of all important theoretical and experimental work done on low-density codes. Low-density coding is one of the three techniques thus far developed for efficient communication over noisy channels with an arbitrarily low probability of error. A principal result of information theory is that if properly coded information is transmitted over a noisy channel at a rat…
"Machine Models of Music brings together representative models ranging from Mozart's "Musical Dice Game" to a classic article by Marvin Minsky and current research to illustrate the rich impact that artificial intelligence has had on the understanding and composition of traditional music and to demonstrate the ways in which music can push the boundaries of traditional Al research. Major section…
"Musicians begin formal training by acquiring a body of musical concepts commonly known as musicianship. These concepts underlie the musical skills of listening, performance, and composition. Like humans, computer music programs can benefit from a systematic foundation of musical knowledge. This book explores the technology of implementing musical processes such as segmentation, pattern process…