The Curiosity Machine


Book Description

The Billionaire Series Book 6. With the strange plans for an even stranger machine in his possession, along with a coded message from a long-dead castaway that could be the key to unlocking its secrets, Gerald finds himself at the centre of a web of mystery and danger. Masked gunmen have taken over his luxury yacht. His parents have been kidnapped. And one of his closest friends has betrayed him. His old enemy Sir Mason Green seems to be pulling all the strings. Or is he? Gerald, Ruby, Sam and Felicity take off on their final exciting adventure, from glaciers to jungles and the depths of the Pacific Ocean to an island teeming with the most bizarre creatures on earth. Richard Newsome lives in Brisbane with his family. He won the inaugural Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing for The Billionaire’s Curse, the first book in the acclaimed Billionaire series. It was soon followed by The Emerald Casket, The Mask of Destiny, The Crystal Code, The House of Puzzles, and, finally, The Curiosity Machine, which brings the boy billionaire’s thrilling adventures to a satisfying close. ‘Move over, Tomb Raider, and stand back Indiana Jones. Gerald and his friends are hot on the action and exotic adventure in this pacey final installment of the Billionaire series.’ Reading Time ‘Ridiculously entertaining fun...A fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek romp.’ Magpies




The Design and Engineering of Curiosity


Book Description

This book describes the most complex machine ever sent to another planet: Curiosity. It is a one-ton robot with two brains, seventeen cameras, six wheels, nuclear power, and a laser beam on its head. No one human understands how all of its systems and instruments work. This essential reference to the Curiosity mission explains the engineering behind every system on the rover, from its rocket-powered jetpack to its radioisotope thermoelectric generator to its fiendishly complex sample handling system. Its lavishly illustrated text explains how all the instruments work -- its cameras, spectrometers, sample-cooking oven, and weather station -- and describes the instruments' abilities and limitations. It tells you how the systems have functioned on Mars, and how scientists and engineers have worked around problems developed on a faraway planet: holey wheels and broken focus lasers. And it explains the grueling mission operations schedule that keeps the rover working day in and day out.




Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover


Book Description

“A handsome and engaging children’s book. . . . This accessible look at interplanetary exploration will appeal to a broad range of young space enthusiasts.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) On August 6, 2012, the rover Curiosity touched down on the rocky surface of Mars—and now she’s ready to guide you through her journey. From idea to creation and beyond, this fact-filled, stylish book introduces readers to Curiosity and her mission: to discover more about the red planet and search for evidence of life. How did Curiosity get her name? What tools does she use to carry out her tasks? The popular NASA rover narrates how and why she traveled more than 350,000,000 miles to explore a planet no human has ever visited . . . and what she has been doing there for the past decade or so. Markus Motum brings Curiosity’s story to life in vivid color: the deep blues of space set off the warm, rusted hues of Mars’s dusty red surface, marking this lovable rover and her mission as something special—truly a world apart.




Behavioral Operational Research


Book Description

This edited collection addresses the question of which capabilities and competencies enable Behavioral Operational Research to provide sustained improvement to decision processes. The aim is to show how a focus on capability and competency will not only meet short-term requirements for problem solving and decision support, but also build a solid foundation for the future. The contributors present recent advances in Behavioral OR, with a focus on the ways in which users of models deal with incomplete and imprecise information, subjective boundaries and uncertainty. These chapters are structured around three key dimensions of BOR: capabilities, cognition and aspects of practice.




The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values


Book Description

A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them. Today’s “machine-learning” systems, trained by data, are so effective that we’ve invited them to see and hear for us—and to make decisions on our behalf. But alarm bells are ringing. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances. When the systems we attempt to teach will not, in the end, do what we want or what we expect, ethical and potentially existential risks emerge. Researchers call this the alignment problem. Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Algorithms decide bail and parole—and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands. The mathematical and computational models driving these changes range in complexity from something that can fit on a spreadsheet to a complex system that might credibly be called “artificial intelligence.” They are steadily replacing both human judgment and explicitly programmed software. In best-selling author Brian Christian’s riveting account, we meet the alignment problem’s “first-responders,” and learn their ambitious plan to solve it before our hands are completely off the wheel. In a masterful blend of history and on-the ground reporting, Christian traces the explosive growth in the field of machine learning and surveys its current, sprawling frontier. Readers encounter a discipline finding its legs amid exhilarating and sometimes terrifying progress. Whether they—and we—succeed or fail in solving the alignment problem will be a defining human story. The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity’s biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture—and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful.




Promising Practices for Engaging Families in STEM Learning


Book Description

The technology revolution has made it critical for all children to understand science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or risk being left behind. Promising Practices for Engaging Families in STEM Learning explores how families, schools, and communities can join together to promote student success in STEM by building organized and equitable pathways for family engagement across all of the settings in which students learn – including, schools, early childhood programs, homes, libraries and museums –from the earliest years through adolescence. This thought-provoking monograph includes three main sections with chapters from leading thinkers in the field: > The first section provides the theoretical and research base for the importance of family engagement in STEM and draws out the challenges and opportunities that exist– from the transmission of adults’ anxiety and lack of confidence in their own STEM skills, to inequalities in out-of-school learning opportunities, to biases and misconceptions about the kinds of STEM supports offered by families from low-income and immigrant homes. > The second section builds on this research by presenting success stories, best practices, and approaches to engaging families in STEM. > The final section focuses on how policies at the local, state, and federal level can support the promotion of family engagement in STEM. Taken together, the monograph shows that STEM is a powerful mechanism to connect, engage, and empower families. > STEM provides opportunities for parents and children to spend time together asking fun and meaningful questions that link in-and out-of-school learning. > STEM creates new experiences for families to co-construct and support learning with their children from the earliest years throughout formal schooling and onto college and career pathways. > STEM also presents possibilities for families to build confidence and agency in supporting children’s interests; especially those families who might be marginalized because of their economic or language status, race, or culture.




The House of Puzzles


Book Description

A mysterious coded message. A search for a fabled perpetual motion machine. A horse ride from hell. And a night in the exclusive Billionaire's Club House of Puzzles. If Gerald thought his term in a Scottish Highlands school camp was going to be all snow-covered heather and tartan rugs he couldn't have been more wrong. With Professor McElderry in the clutches of Gerald's nemesis Sir Mason Green and a seemingly impossible task required to save his life, the stakes are high and the heat is on. In The House of Puzzles, the fifth book of the Billionaire Series, Gerald, Ruby Sam and Felicity face their greatest challenge yet. Richard Newsome lives in Brisbane with his family. He won the inaugural Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing for The Billionaire's Curse, the first book in the acclaimed Billionaire series. Praise for the Billionaire Series: 'What do you get when you mix Tintin, James Bond, and The Famous Five together? You get Richard Newsome's Billionaire series...The Crystal Code is Richard Newsome at his best!' Christchurch Kids Blog 'Filled with secret passageways and deadly booby traps, you'll be on the edge of your seat!' K-Zone 'Weird dreams, kidnapping, attacks by bandits, hectic chases and eerie explorations in archaeological sites...slapstick humour, verbal wit and a pervasive spirit of youthful exuberance.' Magpies 'A rollicking good yarn.' Weekend Herald 'I loved this book. I really did. Ever since I got the first book in this series, I was on the lookout for more! The characters - Gerald getting tangled up in relationships - and the plots were just fantastic.' YAAR-A reviews Corinna, age 13, Canberra, Australia 'An irresistibly fun-tastic tale that's virtually guaranteed to keep youngsters reading, chuckling and desperately waiting for the next book in the series.' Independent Weekly 'It has humour that is just off centre enough to appeal to children as well as a few pearls of wisdom thrown into the mix. Fans of the series will lap it up and those who haven't read the earlier books will no doubt want to go back and read the rest. Good fun that could equally be enjoyed by anyone young at heart.' OrangeDale blog 'Plenty of plot twists to keep readers guessing and eager for Gerald's next adventure.' Magpies







The Hundred-page Machine Learning Book


Book Description

Provides a practical guide to get started and execute on machine learning within a few days without necessarily knowing much about machine learning.The first five chapters are enough to get you started and the next few chapters provide you a good feel of more advanced topics to pursue.