{"title":"Books by Stephen Webb","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9783030031947","title":"New Light Through Old Windows","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book presents the reader with some of the earliest classic SF short stories – all of them published between 1858 and 1934, featuring both well-known and long-forgotten writers – dealing for the first time with topics to which science had (some) answers only at much later stages. This includes aspects of alien life forms, transmogrification, pandemics, life on Mars, android robots, big data, matter transmission and impact events to name but a few.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe short stories are reprinted in full alongside extensive commentaries which also examine some of the latest scientific thinking surrounding the story’s main theme and provide the reader with suggestions for further reading.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56309836284277,"sku":"9783030031947","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783030031947_82e20b1e-2d8f-489d-bc40-c5f239bbf54a.jpg?v=1786031909"},{"product_id":"9783319713496","title":"Clash of Symbols","description":"From the ampersat and amerpsand, via smileys and runes to the ubiquitous presence of mathematical and other symbols in sciences and technology: both old and modern documents abound with many familiar as well as lesser known characters, symbols and other glyphs. \u003cp\u003eYet, who would be readily able to answer any question like: ‘who chose p to represent the ratio of a circle’s diameter to its circumference?’ or ‘what’s the reasoning behind having a ? key on my computer keyboard?’  This book is precisely for those who have always asked themselves this sort of questions.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eSo, here are the stories behind one hundred glyphs, the book being evenly divided into five parts, with each featuring 20 symbols. Part 1, called \u003ci\u003eCharacter sketches\u003c\/i\u003e, looks at some of the glyphs we use in writing. Part 2, called \u003ci\u003eSigns of the times\u003c\/i\u003e, discusses some glyphs used in pol­itics, religion, and other areas of everyday life. Some of these symbols are common; others are used only rarely. Some are modern inventions; others, which seem contemporary, can be traced back many hundreds of years. Part 3, called \u003ci\u003eSigns and wonders\u003c\/i\u003e, explores some of the symbols people have developed for use in describing the heavens. These are some of the most visually striking glyphs in the book, and many of them date back to ancient times. Nevertheless their use — at least in professional arenas — is diminishing. Part 4, called \u003ci\u003eIt’s Greek to me\u003c\/i\u003e, examines some symbols used in various branches of science. A number of these symbols are employed routinely by professional scientists and are also familiar to the general public; others are no longer applied in a serious fashion by \u003ci\u003eanyone \u003c\/i\u003e— but the reader might still meet them, from time to time, in older works. The final part of the book, \u003ci\u003eMeaningless marks on paper\u003c\/i\u003e, looks at some of the characters used in mathematics, the history of which one can easily appreciate with only a basic knowledge of mathematics.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThere are obviously countless others symbols. In recent years the computing industry has devel­oped Unicode and it currently contains more than 135 000 entries. This book would like to encourage the curious reader to take a stroll through Unicode, to meet many characters that will delight the eye and, researching their history, to gain some fascinating insights. ?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56310467887477,"sku":"9783319713496","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783319713496_18422fab-69a2-46cf-8777-ba6dd4c3e72e.jpg?v=1786031557"},{"product_id":"1956-a-year-of-wonder-in-science-fiction-and-beyond","title":"1956: A Year of Wonder in Science Fiction and Beyond","description":"1956 was a momentous year for science fiction, with the release of timeless films and the publication of classic novels and stories. It was also a pivotal year for the world at large, with events producing ripples we still feel seven decades later.   This book explores how the year’s landmark works – films such as Forbidden Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and stories such as Asimov’s The Last Question and Clarke’s The City and the Stars – emerged from their cultural context. Writers, artists, and film directors reflected the era’s tension between optimism and anxiety, between the promise and peril of progress.   The book traces, month-by-month, events in five themes: science and technology; politics and the economy; entertainment and arts; celebrity culture; and competitive sport. This was a climate defined by rapid change – from the Suez Crisis to Elvis Presley’s meteoric rise; from early computers to space race dreams. The science fiction emerging from this turbulent year helped form our collective imagination of tomorrow.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57492429898101,"sku":"9783032165732","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783032165732.jpg?v=1786529272"},{"product_id":"cyberspace-social-theory-and-social-justice","title":"Cyberspace, Social Theory and Social Justice","description":null,"brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682884460917,"sku":"9780761951537","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57499368227189,"sku":"9780761951520","price":45.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"if-the-universe-is-teeming-with-aliens-where-is-everybody","title":"If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?","description":"\u003cp\u003eGiven the fact that there are perhaps 400 billion stars in our Galaxy alone, and perhaps 400 billion galaxies in the Universe, it stands to reason that somewhere out there, in the 14-billion-year-old cosmos, there is or once was a civilization at least as advanced as our own. The sheer enormity of the numbers almost demands that we accept the truth of this hypothesis. Why, then, have we encountered no evidence, no messages, no artifacts of these extraterrestrials?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this second, significantly revised and expanded edition of his widely popular book, Webb discusses in detail the (for now!) 75 most cogent and intriguing solutions to Fermi's famous paradox: If the numbers strongly point to the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations, why have we found no evidence of them?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReviews from the first edition:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Amidst the plethora of books that treat the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence, this one by Webb ... is outstanding. ... Each solution is presented in a very logical, interesting, thorough manner with accompanying explanations and notes that the intelligent layperson can understand. Webb digs into the issues ... by considering a very broad set of in-depth solutions that he addresses through an interesting and challenging mode of presentation that stretches the mind. ... An excellent book for anyone who has ever asked 'Are we alone?'.\" (W. E. Howard III, Choice, March, 2003)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Fifty ideas are presented ... that reveal a clearly reasoned examination of what is known as 'The Fermi Paradox'. ... For anyone who enjoys a good detective story, or using their thinking faculties and stretching the imagination to the limits ... 'Where is everybody' will be enormously informative and entertaining. ... Read this book, and whatever your views are about life elsewhere in the Universe, your appreciation for how special life is here on Earth will be enhanced! A worthy addition to any personal library.\" (Philip Bridle, BBC Radio, March, 2003)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince gaining a BSc in physics from the University of Bristol and a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Manchester, Stephen Webb has worked in a variety of universities in the UK. He is a regular contributor to the Yearbook of Astronomy series and has published an undergraduate textbook on distance determination in astronomy and cosmology as well as several popular science books. His interest in the Fermi paradox combines lifelong interests in both science and science fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57503798526325,"sku":"9783319132358","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783319132358.jpg?v=1786867510"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-stephen-webb.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}