Inventory of Taxes Levied by the State and the Local Authorities in the Member States of the European Communities, 1985/1986 Edition for 1985 Facts

Book Description

This lavish volume takes an in-depth look at the history of comics in a manner decidedly unlike the dry timelines and profiles of most reference-style titles. Via alphabetical entries, the authors take an irreverent, often hilarious, behind-the-scenes look at creators, companies, characters, collectors, and conventions, pulling no punches when exposing some of the darker sides of the industry. Containing countless stories gleaned from over 150 interviews of comics industry veterans, Comics Between the Panels is loaded with more than half a century of insider information on the talented and eccentric creators who forged the comics industry and art form. Features 670 illustrations and photos - including dynamic and bizarre cover art compiled under such curious headings as Atomic Bombs, Death with Indignity, Gorillas, Headlights, Hooded Menaces, and Skulls.

Customer Reviews:

Delightful insider's view of the comics industry.......2005-12-21

Please, please don't let the two negative customer reviews ("Marred by negativity" and "Too anecdotic, too unbalanced") dissuade you from finding and enjoying this wonderful book on comics.

The more you love comics, the more you will love this book; and the more you know about comics, the more you will appreciate the information presented in this "encyclopedia," brilliantly edited by Jackie Estrada.

The book's encyclopedia format deliberately mocks the serious, all-inclusive reference-book model. Entries are arranged alphabetically, yes, but the subject headings are often quite arbitrary and whimsical. Comics: Between the Panels is NOT intended as a comprehensive history of comics, nor has it any pretensions of being one.

It is a bit of an insider's take, since co-author Mike Richardson is president of Dark Horse Comics, and a lifelong comics enthusiast and student of the medium. He is well acquainted with many of the comics creators profiled in these pages, and the entries contain excerpts from hundreds of interviews featuring personal recollections, reflections and minutiae that make the hobby come alive. Gossipy? Absolutely.

The book has a very contemporary slant, and takes a geek's-eye view of the comics industry, comic collecting, comic book grading, and creators' pecadillos. If the tone is often breezy and irreverent, it is nonetheless witty, well-written, and sometimes poignant, as when recounting the tragic falling-out between longtime collaborators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It can also be wickedly snarky, as in the entry for early mail-order comics mogul "Rogofsky, Howard."

The book is chock-full of color plates, sidebars, photographs and drawings. It's visually exciting and invites casual browsing, with an attractive page layout and design.

First published in 1998, the book holds up very well seven years later, validating Duin & Richardson's rather jaded view of the industry as a whole. Plus ca change...

Still, it is a sense of joyful appreciation that comes through most clearly in this book. Comics: Between the Panels is an indispensable book for anyone who loves the medium, warts and all.

Too anecdotic, too unbalanced.......2000-10-17

500 pages and 670 illustrations about comics might seem like a good deal for comic lovers, but think again before you invest in this encyclopedic volume, unless you have an obsession for details and writers of the 30s.

No matter if you know a little about every Marvel, DC, EC and Image Comic book ever published, you will still find plenty of information about rare titles and anecdotic situations of the industry you never heard before. That on the positive side. On the negative side, it is not very encouraging to read only 50 or so pages about your favorite topics, and spend the rest of the book learning about rare cult titles and "legend" writers.

Also, the book is a little or too much unbalanced. There are six pages, four illustrations and two text boxes devoted to the story of mile high comics. On the other side, there is less than one page dedicated to The Fantastic Four, one of the key titles to understand comic book history. Spider Man is mentioned only nine times in 500 pages, while Frank Frazetta (who?) appears 46 times. Jimmy Hendrix is mentioned one time.

Good for a library. Too much detail for the average reader.

Too anecdotic, too unbalanced.......2000-10-17

Good for a library. Too much detail for the average reader.

THE BIBLE FOR EVERY COMIC BOOK FAN.......2000-07-25

Curious about the behind-the-scenes to the wondrous world of comics? Look no further! This massive book is everything you wanted to know about comic books, but were afraid to ask! What's great about this read, is the stories behind the creators are pratically more fantastic than the comics they're creating. Mike Richardson and Steve Duin add a stylish and humorous flare to the writing, making it the most enjoyable encyclopedia I've ever read. Comic book fans beware! Within a matter of hours, this book could transform you from a mild-mannered comic reader, into an omniscient virtuso with the comic book medium. This book must be read!

Marred by negativity.......2000-04-05

The author assumes an almost cynical and throwaway air in many of his discussions of personalities both living and dead that are highly opiniated and frequently unfair. As an attempt at encyclopedic scope it fails because of a lack of objectivity, as a book of opinion it also fails because it is too longwinded and not insightful when it presumes to spend a lot of time discussing the psychology of artists instead of focusing on their work and its merits. The author clearly struggles in a finding a voice that he hopes to be both sophisticated and informed, but which is neither. Puzzling entries include the one on Alex Schomburg that makes highly negative allusions to the latter years of his life -- he lived to 92! -- when he was becoming senile, instead of detailing his enormous achievement as one of the best Golden Age cover artists who left his indelible mark on the era. And God knows where he got his opinion of Al Feldstein, who he apparently has never met, because his pop psychology analysis of him would fall apart when confronted by the man who wrote and drew for EC and then edited MAD during its heyday. Only the comics industry, with its devout fanboys who devour everything printed about it would tolerate such a sloppy and frequently silly compendium as this.

Book Description

Several years ago, a New York high school teacher began using the Internet to post strange-but-true history and science factoids for his students to read. What began as an interesting Web site for students at Chatham High School soon became an internationally recognized page that garnered numerous awards, including Yahoo's Site of the Week. In 2001, some of the stories were assembled into Einstein's Refrigerator, which has been translated into Korean and Chinese.Now comes silliness squared with Lindbergh's Artificial Heart, author Steve Silverman's second collection of offbeat and often hilarious stories that offer a fascinating side of history that's not usually taught in school. o Lindbergh's artificial heart: Few people know it, but the famous aviator spent considerable time working on an artificial heart.o Exploding whale: What did the Oregon Department of Transportation do with a dead whale that washed up on one of its beaches? Suffice it to say their decision to blow it up was quite the blubber blunder.o Nose picking: Delve into the humorous findings of a study of this bad habit conducted by one of our institutions of higher learning.o The fastest charcoal lighter ever: Using liquid oxygen at your family barbecue may speed up the cooking, but it does have it's drawbacks . . . such as the fact that it vaporizes your grill. Carefully researched and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, the entertaining and educational stories within this book's 192 pages-many never before shared on-line or otherwise-will delight students and teachers alike.

Customer Reviews:

I wish I had a science teacher as cool in high school.......2004-03-28

Science to me as a history major is just alot of math, and then some good stuff behind it, but you have to pass the math first (which I could never do). These stories were hilarious, and showed me that science could be interesting if presented correctly. This past semester I took my first science course in 6 years - Intro to Physics! Like Steve Silverman, I have a professor who is hiliarious and makes the topics interesting enough that I muddle through the math to get to the good stuff. Here's to an excellent book that with humor has inspired many!

Stevie "The Rock" Silverman is SO COOL!.......2003-08-03

When I was in 9th grade I was told by my teacher to read a book of non-ficiton. I spent minutes in the library searching for the perfect book. Suddenly I came upon Einstein's Fridge. I was stunned. I though this was great. Abook that seemd good and would take no time to read. Also it is known to little I could just make up the stories to my teacher and she wouldn't know.
It was at this time that I found out that the book was written by a teacher in my school, Steve Silverman. I didn't realy know who he was, but by his book I could imagine he was the coolest. For months all I did was carry aroung his book dreaming of the day I could neet him. Finally the day came.
When I walked into class on the first day of school I was nervouse. When it came time to go to Silverman's class I was nervouse. Walking into the room a sense of astonishment came over me. The first time I layed eyes on Stevie I almost fanted. COuld hardly imagine that this adonis would be my teacher for the whole year.
Usually in class it was hard to pay attention to "The Rock" but there was one thing I did pay attention to. When "The Rock" told us he was coming out with a new book I almost cried. This was the news I have been waiting for my whole life. A few months later the book was out and I got my copy. The first thing I did was run to Stevie's room to get him to sign my copy. upon arriving I found my idol entangled with another. My heart was broken. I dropped the book and ran from the room. I thought my life was over until the next day. While handing out the tests, Stevie looked down at me with a smile. I turned away as he handed me the test. Just then I felt something strange. I looked down to find my book. I opend the cover to find an inscription from Steve.
What he wrote is to personal to share but what I can tell is it was amazing. Reading Limburg's Heart has changed my life greatly. This is the greatets book I have ever read.

steve silverman is so cool.......2003-05-27

when i read the first one, (einstein's refrigerator) all i could think about was what an awesome science teacher steve silverman must be. he must be so incredibly interesting. now that he put out a second book i wasnt expecting, i am just so glad he is able to share his stories with me.

if you love trivia or just interesting random facts/stories, you'll adore this book. i do.

Customer Reviews:

You will enjoy this book from a SuperStar teacher..........2002-08-21

Kathy Greeley narrates her year-long journey with a group of "typical" eighth graders in Cambridge, MA. This group had a six-year span in reading levels (and presumably math, too, but her job was Engligh/history/language arts). Coming with the "social-emotional learning" focus and Coalition of Essential Schools tenents, she crafted a marvelous experience for these kids--one well worth reading.

She shows what a very bright, dedicated, and resourceful teacher can do.

She clearly is above-the-norm.

It appears that her classroom was pre-MCAS, which is the standardized testing that takes place throughout Massachusetts at the end of the eighth grade. Therefore, her evidence of growth is limited to her description, which is moving and compelling. The biggest gap in the social-emotional learning "camp," however, is the lack of documentation of superior growth on standardized measures. This reflects the fractious divide in American education, unfortunately, between the "conservative" back-to-basics and Let's-test-'em crowd and the more "liberal" multiple-intelligences and learn-better-when-you-work-well-together group. Could we not ask the conservatives and liberals to show multiple outcomes to the good work they both do? Greeley cannot be faulted for this problem, obviously, and her work deserves serious thought.

It appears from the back of the book that Ms. Greeley is still teaching. Good for her! Good luck!

Stirring Adventures in Teaching.......2001-07-10

Sooner or later, every teacher encounters the class from hell. This book is Ms. Greeley's account of the year it happened to her.

The story is told in a fast-paced and engaging style, and it is a great read as a tale of academic adventure. But it is also the story of a group of middle school students who learned deep and surprising lessons, and the reader learns along with them: the intangibles at the core of a really good education that no test will ever be able to measure, the difference between a "values education" that teaches *about* values, and one that provides a hands-on engagement with lived values learned in real time.

Above all, it provides a model, concrete and down to earth rather than airily utopian, of how the pious adult slogan of "no child left behind" can take on flesh and bone; how the determination to leave none of the others behind can become the real social cement that binds a classroom of students to each other, and to the enterprise of learning. This book flies in the face of the current conventional wisdoms that make education a matter of pouring a sufficient quantity of sufficiently standardized facts into the inert heads of students. But it is presented with such freshness and clarity, so free of educatorese or political cant, so focused on walking, talking, breathing children, that even the most ardent proponents of schools as efficient knowledge factories are likely to find themselves disarmed.

Book Description

Join Commander Boston Law and the crew of the Atlantis as they rush to derail an asteroid that?s on a collision course with Earth. If you succeed in your mission, you?ll want to investigate those strange readouts coming from the asteroid?s interior. But be careful—solvethe alien puzzle and you?ll be thrown light-years through space onto the surface of what looks like a deserted planet.

Before you can make it back home, you must unlock the mysteries of this distant world; What are those ghostly visitations? How can you travel from spire to spire? And why is geologist Ludger Brink beginning to behave...unusually?

The Dig Official Player?s Guide, written in cooperation with LucasArts Entertainment Company, holds the key to all the riddles you?ll encounter in this challenging and beautifully rendered graphic adventure.

Inside you?ll find:

• A comprehensive walkthrough of the game, complete with all puzzle solutions.
• Indispensable maps covering The Dig?s rooms, caves, spires, and waterfalls.
• Tiered hints that take you from earth to deep space and back again.
• Tons of original sketches and paintings from the game?s artists.
• A revealing look behind the scenes at the LucasArts wizards who brought The Dig to life.

Customer Reviews:

I need a copy of this book.......1999-07-27

any one who has a copy of this book new or used please contact me at mlwenger@bellatlantic.net

It was great.......1999-06-03

I loved this book! I want a copy as quikly as possible

Customer Reviews:

Helpful to me as a workstation user! Recommended!.......2007-01-26

I agree with the three previous reviewers that this book had covered the majority of questions one can think of about Outlook and gave easy and direct answers through its FAQ format. The chapters on security and backup might even delight many. However, I am obliged to suggest to the authors, if there will be an updated version, to add some notes on the usage of some specific functions on the Tool Bar, say, the "Rules Wizard" under "Tools", which can be used to set the criteria of forwarding specific email(s) to specific persons. The administrators may find it too simple. IMHO, it's very helpful for any workstation user. Recommended!

Outlook gets a second chance..........2006-03-01

To be honest with you, I had always hated Outlook. Hated it.

So it was with some scepticism that I opened this book to see if I could glean some tips and tricks to improve my Outlook experience. And boy, am I glad I did. This book takes the inherent complexity of Microsoft's propriety email client and turns it into a simple to use and feature packed email and organisation package.

If you only use Outlook purely for its email capabilities, chances are that a lot of this book will be lost on you initially. However the more you read this book, the more impressed you will grow with Outlook's features. I can't tell you the number of times I had "I didn't know Outlook could do that!" moments!

The language used in the book, is clear, concise and to the point. It emphasises the important aspects of the software, but still gives information about the smaller, almost forgotten features. The vast gulf left by Microsoft's refusal to package an Outlook instruction book with its software has left many users with gaps in their knowledge of the software. This book fills that gap admirably, causing this reviewer to wish that all Microsoft software came with such clear and well written instructions.

Whether you are a casual home user or an over-worked professional, you will find something of value in this book. Highly recommended.

Outlook Explained.......2006-01-17

If you've got a question about Outlook whether you are a beginner or advanced this is the book for you. Curious about the array of features available to you in Outlook or have a specific question about Journals then this book will cover both needs.

This book is well written and logically structured. Personally I really like the FAQ style format and Useful tips. Invaluable tippets of information that Microsft never seem to bother telling you about.

I found the chapters on data security, archiving and backups an invaluable source of information. Areas that I had always questions about but could never get clear and concise explainations. An excellent refernce book on Outlook.

Not just Outlook!.......2005-12-29

Think of a question about Outlook and this book truly has the answer! The book is logically structured and covers everything from starting with Outlook all the way up to designing forms and creating macro's. It not only covers HOW you should use a certain functionality but also WHY and WHEN you want to use it.

Make sure you don't skip the last 2 chapters as they cover security and backups. Although these topics sound dull and complicated it is not something where you want to go wrong on. Both get covered in the easy step-wise approach like the rest of the book and you'll find it no more difficult than creating a new contact.

I was a bit surprised to see Outlook Express and Outlook Web Access (OWA) being covered as well but then I realized that they both have "Outlook" in their name as well (I guess I'm just too much Microsoft Office Outlook minded :-D).

The book is targetted to the end-user (both home and corporate) so don't expect too much admin stuff in it. I still really recommend having a copy available on your Service Desk especially if your Service Desk more or less only has time to deal with technical instead of functional issues. The addition of Outlook Express and OWA makes sense here again because that is most likely how they deal with the company e-mail at home.

The Outlook Answer Book: Useful Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Microsoft Outlook 2003

Average customer rating:

The Outlook Answer Book: Useful Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Microsoft Outlook 2003
Tom (Author) Delahunty, Brian (Author) Archer
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUMMWU

Customer Reviews:

Historical Consciousness.......2003-06-23

While studying for a Master's degree in history in the 90s, I found John Lukacs "Historical Consciousness" one of two influential contemporary history books (the other being Ernst Breisach's "Historiography") that influenced my views on historiography - the study or view of history.

While I am a conservative Protestant and he is a conservative Roman Catholic, I found his view of historical consciousness or, perhaps rather, imagination - one of the truest written in contemporary times. This is perhaps, because he holds a Pauline or Augustinian view of human nature - which sees people in their true human condition, yet doesn't blanch at human inconsistency.

Added to that his observation that history is made up of so many elements in a person's and a people's collective history or memory, wherever they are from, and that it is important for a person to know his history, to help him move on in his own history. This text is useful for any developing historiography.

Against leading current trends that spend too much time spinning political spins, Lukacs' is the notion that history is personal.

No matter where a person is from - it is what they think and believe that defines their path. But, for him the pursuit of the historian is the pursuit of truth, as best can be achieved. The historian must understand his limited capacity, as only God holds the total story.

His ruthless pursuit of getting it right is similar to that of the late-George Orwell, yet in a different fashion (this will appear pedantic to some). This is also a good book for aspiring journalists, so they are wise enough not to burn out in a profession that has been defined, for too many years, by political cynicism.

Historical Consciousness: Or the Remembered Past

Average customer rating:

Historical Consciousness: Or the Remembered Past
John Lukacs
Manufacturer: Pendulum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

Prince Hall, a black veteran of the American Revolution, was insulted and disappointed but probably not surprised when white officials refused his offer of help. He had volunteered a troop of 700 Boston area blacks to help quell a rebellion of western Massachusetts farmers led by Daniel Shays during the economic turmoil in the uncertain period following independence. Many African Americans had fought for America's liberty and their own in the Revolution, but their place in the new nation was unresolved. As slavery was abolished in the North, free blacks gained greater opportunities, but still faced a long struggle against limits to their freedom, against discrimination, and against southern slavery. The lives of these men and women are vividly described in In Hope of Liberty, spanning the 200 years and eight generations from the colonial slave trade to the Civil War. In this marvelously peopled history, James and Lois Horton introduce us to a rich cast of characters. There are familiar historical figures such as Crispus Attucks, a leader of the Boston Massacre and one of the first casualties of the American Revolution; Sojourner Truth, former slave and eloquent antislavery and women's rights activist whose own family had been broken by slavery when her son became a wedding present for her owner's daughter; and Prince Whipple, George Washington's aide, easily recognizable in the portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware River. And there are the countless men and women who struggled to lead their daily lives with courage and dignity: Zilpha Elaw, a visionary revivalist who preached before crowds of thousands; David James Peck, the first black to graduate from an American medical school in 1848; Paul Cuffe, a successful seafaring merchant who became an ardent supporter of the black African colonization movement; and Nancy Prince, at eighteen the effective head of a scattered household of four siblings, each boarded in different homes, who at twenty-five was formally presented to the Russian court. In a seamless narrative weaving together all these stories and more, the Hortons describe the complex networks, both formal and informal, that made up free black society, from the black churches, which provided a sense of community and served as a training ground for black leaders and political action, to the countless newspapers which spoke eloquently of their aspirations for blacks and played an active role in the antislavery movement, to the informal networks which allowed far-flung families to maintain contact, and which provided support and aid to needy members of the free black community and to fugitives from the South. Finally, they describe the vital role of the black family, the cornerstone of this variegated and tightly knit community In Hope of Liberty brilliantly illuminates the free black communities of the antebellum North as they struggled to reconcile conflicting cultural identities and to work for social change in an atmosphere of racial injustice. As the black community today still struggles with many of the same problems, this insightful history reminds us how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go.

Customer Reviews:

An Important Statement on the Role of African Americans in the Antebellum North.......2006-02-06

One of the most important developments in the historiography of the antebellum abolitionist crusade is the emphasis on the role of free blacks in the North as shapers of the national agenda. We have long known of Frederick Douglass's role in this regard, of course, but in the 1960s historians began to appreciate in much greater depth the role of northern African Americans in the antislavery struggle. Leon F. Litwack's "North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States, 1790-1860" (University of Chicago Press, 1961) and Benjamin Quarles's "The Negro in the American Revolution" (University of North Carolina Press, 1961) were both undeniably significant benchmarks in this historiography. Historians James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton now provide a much richer perspective and make clear the effort was much broader than most have appreciated. The Hortons integrate a broad body of secondary literature on free blacks in the antebellum North with their own research into an elegantly crafted narrative.

The Hortons take as their thesis that northern African Americans not in bondage embraced the ideals of the American Revolution and the early republic for "liberty" and "freedom." As disinherited sons and daughters of the Revolution their constant critique served to remind and press the status quo of white America throughout the antebellum period. As the Hortons write, "American ideals were not bounded by color, and the desire for liberty and equality was strongest to those whom they were denied" (p. xii). Taking a generally chronological approach they trace the cause of freedom and liberty among free northern African Americans from the Revolution to the4 civil War. Along the way they tell the story of Crispis Attucks, an African American killed in the Boston Massacre, those who fought in the Revolution, and those who embrace the antislavery crusade and sought both legal and extralegal means to end its hold over human beings in the United States. Much of this is now familiar terrain, but the Hortons bring a depth to the story not present elsewhere and that, coupled with an elegance of style makes this an excellent reading experience.

More significant is the authors' portrait of the lives of north free blacks. To a degree not seen previously, the Hortons explore the themes of the new social history--especially issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender--in relation to the lives of this community. To a very real extent they depict the world the free African Americans made in a nation increasingly hostile to their objectives of freedom and liberty in the first half of the nineteenth century. Issues of family lifestyles, kinship, work relations, political power both in the larger society and within the black community, religion, social organizations, the question of re-colonization of Africa, and the abolitionist cause are the meat of this book.

As a unit this is an exceptionally valuable work. I recommend it as a highly successful discussion of one significant aspect of the reform movements of antebellum American society.

Amazon.com

This is science fiction without the fiction--and more mind-bending than anything you ever saw on Star Trek. Moravec, a professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, envisions a not-too-distant future in which robots of superhuman intelligence have picked up the evolutionary baton from their human creators and headed out into space to colonize the universe.

This isn't anything that a million sci-fi paperbacks haven't already envisioned. The difference lies in Moravec's practical-minded mapping of the technological, economic, and social steps that could lead to that vision. Starting with the modest accomplishments of contemporary robotics research, he projects a likely course for the next 40 years of robot development, predicting the rise of superintelligent, creative, emotionally complex cyberbeings and the end of human labor by the middle of the next century.

After Moravec makes this point, his projections start to get really wild: robot corporations will take up residence in outer space with rogue cyborgs; planet-size robots will cruise the solar system looking for smaller bots to assimilate; and eventually every atom in the entire galaxy will be transformed into data-storage space, with a full-scale simulation of human civilization running as a subroutine somewhere.

His last chapter, which mingles the latest in avant-garde physics with hints of Borges's most intoxicating metaphysical conceits, is a breathtaking piece of hallucinatory eschatology. Moravec concludes by reminding us that even the wildest long-range predictions about the technological future never turn out to be as unhinged as they should have been. --Julian Dibbell

Book Description

In this compelling book, Hans Moravec predicts that machines will attain human levels of intelligence by the year 2040, and that by 2050, they will surpass us. But even though Moravec predicts the end of the domination by human beings, his is not a bleak vision. Far from railing against a future in which machines rule the world, Moravec embraces it, taking the startling view that intelligent robots will actually be our evolutionary heirs. "Intelligent machines, which will grow from us, learn our skills, and share our goals and values, can be viewed as children of our minds." And since they are our children, we will want them to outdistance us. In fact, in a bid for immortality, many of our descendants will choose to transform into "ex humans," as they upload themselves into advanced computers. This provocative new book, the highly anticipated follow-up to his bestselling volume Mind Children, charts the trajectory of robotics in breathtaking detail. A must read for artificial intelligence, technology, and computer enthusiasts, Moravec's freewheeling but informed speculations present a future far different than we ever dared imagine.

Customer Reviews:

Exceeds expectations created by its title.......2006-09-04

With high praise from such giants as Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Doctor David Brin on the dust jacket, I asked myself where I, unlettered and relative to them barely conscious, think I'm going trying to write a review. I have a friend who likes to say he never lets ignorance stop him from expressing his opinion on a subject. Guess I remember that one `cause it fits me so well, so here goes.
In his 1950 paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing grouped the arguments opposing the possibility of machine intelligence into the following nine categories:
1- The Theological Objection - thinking is a function of the soul. Machines have no souls, so cannot think.
2 - The "Heads in the Sand" Objection - Thinking machines cannot be possible because the consequences would be too dreadful.
3 - The Mathematical Objection - Mechanical reasoning has certain provable limitations that human thought may not share.
4 - The Argument from Consciousness - Machines have no inner experiences to give meaning to their utterances, actions, or internal operations.
5 - Arguments from Various Disabilities - Machines will never be kind, moral, joyous, perceptive, original, etc.
6 - Lady Lovelace's Objection - Computers do only what we program them to do.
7 - The Argument from Continuity in the Nervous System - Nerves respond to arbitrarily tiny signal differences, while computers work in fixed-size steps.
8 - The Argument from Informality of Behavior - It is not possible to specify for a machine what to do in every possible circumstance a human might encounter.
9 - The Argument from Extrasensory Perception - Humans sometimes sense remote or future information unavailable to deterministic processes in computers.

Moravec provides current arguments countering each item above, but central to all seems to be this: the principle difference between human and machine is we are conscious. This state, however, is so complex we are unable to explain it. Neither do we understand how or from where it arises in our brains.
The author offers a compelling posit; If as of Robot's publication (1999), the most powerful computers could process a million MIPS (million instructions per second), computers capable of a billion MIPS should be just over the horizon. It will be then, Moravec projects, that the mysterious and exclusively human state we call "consciousness" will be revealed to be not exclusive at all, but merely the capacity to accumulate, process, and interpret sufficient amounts of data in the span of each instant of time - and that when this is achieved, computers will sense the state of their surroundings and thus become "conscious" in the same way we are.
He lays the groundwork for this leap carefully, detailing his personal experiences in robotics and the pace of advances in the field. Arriving at the present day situation, he then takes us step by careful step into the future. It's all completely understandable and reasonable. He's right - know what I'm saying?
Eventually though, his vision of the future exceeds my ability to absorb. I confess to less than a complete understanding of his universe of the future. One thing I did get loud and clear: there were no humans there.
Consider robots an intellectual mutation. These creatures we make will first surpass and then replace us, become us, probably in very much the same way we ourselves replaced the less capable lifeforms we arose from in the distant past. It's not a grim future the author envisions for humanity; it's a comfortable even spiritual retirement. Refuse to accept this, and you'll need to deny Darwin's theories too. Think about it.

Art Tirrell is the author of the underwater adventure novel "The Secret Ever Keeps" which does not contain robotics but does contain "...Simply put, the best underwater scenes I've ever read..." Meg W, reviewer.

IS.......2006-02-10

Hans Moravec 3D mapping technology will give computer depth perception; the capability of identify objects; and the ability to recognize texture, color, and material composition. Moravec initial 3D map prototype constructed a 256x256x64 cell volume equating to 4 million plus cells; the prototype used three cameras, produced a stereoscopic range, and generated 5,000 evidence rays in 5 seconds. The hope was the 3D map would allow robots to navigate effectively. CPU power was needed. 1,000 MIP is the minimum powered required to create the 3D map; the robot speed is a slow travel at this computational threshold; the 3D map will allow the robot to find doors, stairs, walls, and other 3D objects. 3D maps robots will be used by industrial companies and these robots will take the form of Automatic Ground Vehicles and fork-lift trucks and simple consumer vacuum cleaners.

Moravec three rules of robot success are: 1) The robot must be reasonable priced 2) The customer should not have to call in specialist to put a robot to work or to change its routine 3) The robot must be reliable for at least six months before encountering a problem or a situation requiring downtime for reprogramming or other alterations.

In the 90s, Dean Pomerleau built ALVINN, a neural network with 5,000 adjustable connections, whose desired desire was built to imitate a human driver; the NN output determined the steering position; some of the camera pictures simulated being further left in the lane with corresponding adjustments in steering; NN time to learn new roads was reduced to 5 minutes; the system provided neural interconnection weights for many road types. A new road type was determined by comparing the lower half of the image with the upper half and if they matched the road up ahead was the same locally, otherwise the new road type was added to the library. The NN input was a low resolution of the road using the blue from green substitution. In 1991, ALVINN traversed a busy 30km highway at 70km/h and Pomerleau earned his PHd.

Todd Jochem, a student of Pomerleau, built the next generation of code called RALPH. RALPH used 32x32 pixel low resolution picture of the road. The land ahead appeared as a wedge in the distance. If the road angles left or right, it estimated the blur in brightness changes, one cell from the next and the sharpest vector was kept. RALPH learning was instantaneous and driving became a technique of sliding over memorized vectors. RALPH drove from Washington DC to San Diego, 98.2% of the time in control, at an average speed of 100km/hr.

Rod Brooks declared the model based approach to robotics was unworkable. Brooks designed behavior control through layers, he called reflexes, for example, one behavior might cause the robot to steer away from an obstacle and another keep the robot traveling along the wall. The limiting ability to reflexive modeling was a limitation in cognitive ability, like a moth trapped in a street light. Brooks designed Cog which represented a larger number of learning reflexes allowing the robot to learn visually by imitation. Moravec thinks that reflexive technology will accomplish its desired goal, however, states, "I think there is a faster route, on that imitates at a higher level of abstraction" referencing conditioning modeling. Moravec concludes most practical automatic machines are behavior based.

The retina modeling is the benchmark breakthrough for the beginning of modern robotics. The retina is a centimeter across and a half millimeter thick and has 100 million neurons: horizontal cells which are light sensitive, narrower bipolar cells connected by Amacrine cells, and ganglion cell, which bundle to form the optic nerve. A million ganglion cells measure light intensity and differences over space and time. A 1000 MIPs machine could match the 10 scans a second.

1st generation robots will emerge around 2010 and possess 3,000 mips computation power; their size, shape, and strength will be human like; they will be efficient mobile devices on flat ground and able to traverse stair and manipulate everyday objects; and 2,4, and 6 legged robots will be able to cross most terrains and carry their own power supply, moving slowly, and for short distances. The robots will be heavy with perhaps three motors per limb. Movement may be done through shape bending alloys. A "Shape Bending alloy" bends at room temperature, but when heat is applied, it will return to its original shape with force. Robots will be able to perceive their surroundings with sensors, video camera configured for stereoscopic vision necessary to construct a 3D map and from the map it will be able to recognize locations, plan trajectories, and detect objects by color, shape, and location.

2nd generation robots will emerge around 2020 and have 100,000 MIPS, a 30 fold increase in computation power. 2nd gen robots will be capable of adaptive learning; the robots will adjust its behavior in response to the action past effectiveness, as the robot actual behavior is nudged closer to the human ideal. Robots will be packaged with learning models and probably be capable of being trained by humans through conditioning modules and these conditioning modules watch for desirable and undesirable situations that act on task oriented programs. Conditioning signals come in two categories: positive which raise the probabilities and negative which lowers the probabilities; character is a product of the suite of condition modules of he host. 2nd gen robots will be able to learned from 1st gen robots. 2nd gen robots will use central computer stimulations of robots, in action, to approximate results by gathering data and generalizing from the data, of other robots. A proper simulation would the result of thousands of learned models for various basic interactions and these simulations would be used to effectively construct condition suite by super central computers. 2nd generation robots will find jobs everywhere.

3rd generation robots will have 3 million MIPS and they will learn by faster through trial and error simulation, done by human supervision and super computers at the factory which will be capable of stimulating in real time. The robot will be able to recognize objects for what it is, so the proper interaction modules can be brought up called perception modules. Because these robots will be processing faster than real time they can run prediction simulations to determine if a response will turn out badly and alter its plan of action. In the spare time the computer could preplay previous experiences and try variations on them, learning new ways to improve performance and invent its own simple programs in response to a specialized conditioning module. Adaption is a process of corrective sequences of robot actions and how close they are to the desired end, very similar to the affects of genetic algorithms. These robots will need time to play and use their ability to adapt, imitate, and create simple programs of its own. They will have a theorm prover to find an absolutely correct solution, of arbitrary generality, subtlety, and deviousness, if one exists.

The 4th generation machine will have 100 million MIPS and advanced mechanized reasoning. These robots will write their own programs, understand natural languages, and understand concept and statements more deeply.

Philosophically Moravec wrestles with the word "IS". What is the purpose of this life? Mans purpose is too be born, learn good over evil, and gain increase through a family. Man environment provides beauty and enjoyment for man. A machine should never have dominion over a man. Moravec explains the purpose of man within the context of natural laws. He calls the natural laws stable, measurable, definable, and reliable. Any rationale beyond natural law is considered obscured. Existence cannot be explained by natural laws only. Even Moravec cannot advocate annihilation and clings to the idea that his consciousness will continue either in another form or through robots. God is the reason for mans existence and man exists to become like God. Since God exists than natural laws must be lower level laws. Moravec theorm is incomplete considering the final destination of man.

Man exists to chose between Good from Evil. A conditioning robot cannot expect to achieve this discernment unless higher moral laws govern it. The acquisition of intelligence is beneficial within a natural law sphere but does not necessary suggest the robot will be capable of choosing good over evil. The devil is very intelligent, yet he did not chose good over evil. If a man is more intelligent than his parents, do we call him better?

Suppose, a mans interactions are evil but the results are good, do we call him justified? If robots convert all matter into digital virtual reality, do we say ou existence has improved? An existence that is force upon us. Intelligence must yield to agency which is the freedom to act and not be acted upon. Intelligence alone can not to the reason for existing, intelligence is only part of the meaning of existence, choice and accountability is the larger portion of existence. Man choice is to learn and to discover the "why and how" knowledge necessary, too reject evil. This is not an automated task which can be programmed because opposition and temptation complicate the algorithm into a chaotic mess, of uncertain and solid morality, for an hedonist. A robot will not know how to choice good and evil because it can know sense a higher purpose and morality, so its action will not follow a higher purpose.

On Speculating about the ultimate future of intelligence.......2005-06-22

We all wish to know what will ultimately become of us, of that which we care about, the people we love.
One way Mankind has of receiving answers to this is through Religion.
Another way is through speculating on the basis of scientific knowledge and understanding.
Here the Speculations are preceded by a survey of the current state of Robotics.
This is preliminary to a set of projections of the distant future in which biologically- based beings i.e. us , are going to be not supplemented but essentially transcended and replaced by silicon- system artificial intelligences, robots of Intelligence far beyond our own.
The old- style humans , those who choose not to somehow transmit their identities into the new ' super- silicon beings' will kind of hang on as patronized parasites enjoying life as one big freebie thanks to their successful successors.
At this point some of us ' cool' to what is to come.
Magnificent minds simulating scenarios of infinite alternative lives simply do not warm our old aging hearts.
The prospect of monstrously beautiful recombinations in hyperspace of cyberbeings just does not turn us on.
Our minds are in the more mundane, the smaller seeings of our own inner poetries, the lives we make the people we love.
This kind of speculative stuff seems a minor curiosity when measured against the thick, dense , impossibly , non- controllable unpredictability of our small everyday lives.
Forgive us, Future- see-ers of the great Machine- meaning, we are staying home with our own for now.

Very intriguing read.......2005-04-04

I'll readily and happily admit that I'm no expert in robotics or the theory of Artificial Intelligence; I've had exactly one course in the subject, and know most of what I know thanks to Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, and the like. With that caveat out of the way, I can say with absolute certainty that THIS BOOK IS RIGHT! THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Whoops, sorry, that's just wishful thinking. Seriously, this is a good book, well-written and interesting throughout. Though I personally felt that Moravec got a bit spacey (pun intended, if you've read the book) towards the end, the possibilities he raises are fascinating. As to how temporally accurate his predictions are, again, I can't say, though robotic vacuums did arrive essentially on schedule, and in general most of what he suggests seems feasible.

Like some of the other reviewers, I appreciate a book that runs counter, in large part, to the 'end-of-humanity' theme that seems to accompany the idea of robots gaining mind. As cool as "The Matrix," "Terminator," or "I, Robot" might be on the screen, a real-life instantiation of those themes would be less than cool. Being a fan of Occam's razor myself, I don't know that I'd expect the robots to expend enormous amounts of energy to enslave or exterminate us, assuming we didn't make ourselves too much of a nuisance, an this seems to be the tune Moravec himself sings.

Anyhow, this is a book that is occasionally puissant, hardly ever dull, and often thought-provoking. Any potential buyers may want to wait a few years, though, to see if Moravec keeps on schedule and releases a new version, as per his established pattern.

Automation and quality of life.......2004-09-11

The best book on the future of robotics and automation! However, Hans believes robots are our wonderful mind children and should grow into powerful machines that evolve quickly past us. He is then horrified that some humans may transform themselves into machines and become very dangerous. Why won't his mind children be just as dangerous or more dangerous? At least a mind-transferred human might seek pleasure and fun. While Hans' logical AI robots make their galactic invasion plans!

Why not engineer automation to its pleasure giving limits? Instead of giving robots a high quality of life, design automation to increase EVERYONE quality of life and wealth on Earth???

Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind

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Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind
Hans Moravec
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GVDVP4

Average customer rating:

Robot Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind
Hans Moravec
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKDK58

Average customer rating:

Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind
Hans P.; Moravec, Hans Moravec
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKBBE0

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