Cylinders, spheres and cubes are a small handful of shapes that can be defined by a single word. However, most shapes cannot be found in a dictionary. They belong to an alternative plastic world defined by trigonometry: a mathematical world where all shapes can be described under one systematic language and where any shape can transform into...

Geologist Jan Zalasiewicz takes the reader on a fascinating trip one hundred million years into the future--long after the human race becomes extinct--to explore what will remain of our brief but dramatic sojourn on Earth. He describes how geologists in the far future might piece together the history of the planet, and slowly decipher the...

Evanescent. Restrained. Ethereal. These are some of the words used to describe the architecture of Kengo Kuma, one of the most heralded of a new generation of Japanese architects. A recent article in Architecture writes of Kuma that "he strives to give his buildings the qualities of a rainbow, composed of shimmering particles,...

Thousands of robot hobbyists -- and robots -- grew up on the first two editions on this book. Now Gordon McComb has partnered with fellow robotics enthusiast Myke Predko -- and together they've...

Boring, boring, boring. Isn’t this what immediately comes to mind when one sees books on foundational concepts of information security? Monotonous coverage of theory, dry details of history, brief yet inadequate coverage of every topic known to man, even though you know that you’ll never be hired by the NSA as a...