About this ebook
A generation from now, every individual will have personally tailored access to the whole of knowledge . . . the sooner we all begin to think about how we got here, and where we're going, the better. This exciting book is an essential
first step."
—From the Foreword by James Burke
Many people envision scientists as dispassionate characters who slavishly repeat experiments until "eureka"—something unexpected happens. Actually, there is a great deal more to the story of scientific discovery, but seeing "the big picture" is not easy. Connections: Patterns of Discovery uses the primary tools of forecasting and three archetypal patterns of discovery—Serendipity, Proof of Principle, and 1% Inspiration and 99% Perspiration—to discern relationships of past developments and synthesize a cohesive and compelling vision for the future. It challenges readers to think of the consequences of extrapolating trends, such as Moore's Law, to either reach real machine intelligence or retrench in the face of physical limitations. From this perspective,the book draws "the big picture" for the Information Revolution's innovations in chips, devices, software, and networks.
With a Foreword by James Burke and bursting with fascinating detail throughout, Connections: Patterns of Discovery is a must-read for computer scientists, technologists, programmers, hardware and software developers, students, and anyone with an interest in tech-savvy topics.
About the author
H. Peter Alesso is an innovator with twenty years of research experience at LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL, he has leda team of computer scientists and engineers in a wide range of successful software and hardware research projects. He has published several software titles, numerous scientific journaland conference articles, and four books.
Craig F. Smith, PhD, is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement ofScience and is the Lawrence Livermore Chair Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His areas of interest include sensors, robotics, and automated systems; information technology applications; and future energy systems. Dr. Smith has coauthoredthree books and has published numerous scientific journal and conference articles on advanced engineering topics.
