Igor Aleksander's Books

The World in My Mind, My Mind in the World

By: Igor Aleksander

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The World in My Mind, My Mind in the World

By: Igor Aleksander

Not consciousness, but knowledge of consciousness: that is what this book communicates in a fascinating way. Consciousness is the thread that links the disappearing gorilla with the octopus suffering from a stomach ache, and the person under anaesthetic with a new born baby. How these are different, yet illustrative of consciousness, is revealed in this accessible book by one of the world's leading thinkers and neural computing engineers. Igor Aleksander addresses this enigmatic topic, by making us understand the difference between what happens to us when thinking consciously and when sort of thinking when dreaming or when not conscious at all, as when sleeping, anaesthetised or knocked out by a blow on the head. The book also tackles the larger topics of free will, choice, God, Freud (what is 'the unconscious'?), inherited traits and individuality, while exploding the myths and misinformation of many earlier mind-hijackers. He shares the journey towards building a new model of consciousness, with an invitation to understand 5 axioms or basic ideas, which we easily recognise in ourselves.

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201

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Andrews UK Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1845406079

ISBN 13

9781845406073

How to Build a Mind

Toward Machines with Imagination

By: Igor Aleksander

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How to Build a Mind

Toward Machines with Imagination

By: Igor Aleksander

One of the pioneers of neural computers that borrow heavily on the brain's design" ("New Scientist"), this volume helps unravel the debate on replicating human consciousness.

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205

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Maps of the Mind

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231120133

ISBN 13

9780231120135

Aristotle's Laptop

The Discovery of Our Informational Mind

By: Igor Aleksander,Helen Morton

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Aristotle's Laptop

The Discovery of Our Informational Mind

By: Igor Aleksander,Helen Morton

Aristotle''s convincing philosophy is likely to have shaped (even indirectly) many of our current beliefs, prejudices and attitudes to life. This includes the way in which our mind (that is, our capacity to have private thoughts) appears to elude a scientific description. This book is about a scientific ingredient that was not available to Aristotle: the science of information. Would the course of the philosophy of the mind have been different had Aristotle pronounced that the matter of mind was information? This OC mind is informationOCO assertion is often heard in contemporary debates, and this book explores the verities and falsehoods of this proposition.

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241

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World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9814343501

ISBN 13

9789814343503

The World in My Mind, My Mind in the World

By: Igor Aleksander

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The World in My Mind, My Mind in the World

By: Igor Aleksander

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201

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Andrews UK Limited

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ISBN 10

1845406079

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9781845406073

Impossible Minds: My Neurons, My Consciousness (Revised Edition)

By: Igor Aleksander

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Impossible Minds: My Neurons, My Consciousness (Revised Edition)

By: Igor Aleksander

Impossible Minds: My Neurons, My Consciousness has been written to satisfy the curiosity each and every one of us has about our own consciousness. It takes the view that the neurons in our heads are the source of consciousness and attempts to explain how this happens. Although it talks of neural networks, it explains what they are and what they do in such a way that anyone may understand. While the topic is partly philosophical, the text makes no assumptions of prior knowledge of philosophy; and so contains easy excursions into the important ideas of philosophy that may be missing in the education of a computer scientist. The approach is pragmatic throughout; there are many references to material on experiments that were done in our laboratories.The first edition of the book was written to introduce curious readers to the way that the consciousness we all enjoy might depend on the networks of neurons that make up the brain. In this second edition, it is recognized that these arguments still stand, but that they have been taken much further by an increasing number of researchers. A post-script has now been written for each chapter to inform the reader of these developments and provide an up-to-date bibliography. A new epilogue has been written to summarize the state-of-the art of the search for consciousness in neural automata, for researchers in computation, students of philosophy, and anyone who is fascinated by what is one of the most engaging scientific endeavours of the day.This book also tells a story. A story of a land where people think that they are automata without much in the way of consciousness, a story of cormorants and cliffs by the sea, a story of what it might be like to be a conscious machine …

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450

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World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

178326571X

ISBN 13

9781783265718

How to Build a Mind

Toward Machines with Imagination

By: Igor Aleksander

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How to Build a Mind

Toward Machines with Imagination

By: Igor Aleksander

Igor Aleksander heads a major British team that has applied engineering principles to the understanding of the human brain and has built several pioneering machines, culminating in MAGNUS, which he calls a machine with imagination. When he asks it (in words) to produce an image of a banana that is blue with red spots, the image appears on the screen in seconds. The idea of such an apparently imaginative, even conscious, machine seems heretical, and its advocates are often accused of sensationalism, arrogance, or philosophical ignorance. Part of the problem, according to Aleksander, is that consciousness remains ill defined. Interweaving anecdotes from his own life and research with imagined dialogues between historical figures -- including Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Wittgenstein, Francis Crick, and Steven Pinker -- Aleksander leads readers toward an understanding of consciousness. He shows not only how the latest work with artificial neural systems suggests that an artificial form of consciousness is possible but also that its design would clarify many of the puzzles surrounding the murky concept of consciousness itself. How to Build a Mind also examines the presentation of "self" in robots, the learning of language, and the nature of emotion, will, instinct, and feelings.

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230

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Columbia University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231120125

ISBN 13

9780231120128

Impossible Minds: My Neurons, My Consciousness

By: Igor Aleksander

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Impossible Minds: My Neurons, My Consciousness

By: Igor Aleksander

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364

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World Scientific

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ISBN 10

1783262664

ISBN 13

9781783262663

Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe

From Post-Socialist Transition to the Global Financial Crisis

By: Igor Guardiancich

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Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe

From Post-Socialist Transition to the Global Financial Crisis

By: Igor Guardiancich

This book traces and analyzes the legislation and implementation of pension reforms in four Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries: Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. By comparing the political economy of their policymaking processes, it seeks to pinpoint regularities between institutional settings, actor constellations, decision-making strategies and reform. Guardiancich employs a historical institutionalist framework to analyze the policies, actors and institutions that characterized the period between the collapse of socialism and the global financial crisis of 2008-2011. He argues that viable pension reforms should not be seen simply as an event, but rather as a continuing process that must be fiscally, socially and politically sustainable. In particular, the primary goal of a pension scheme is to reduce poverty, provide adequate retirement income and insure against the risks of old age within given fiscal constraints, and this will happen only if the scheme enjoys continuing political support at all levels. To this end the author individuates those institutional characteristics of countries that increase the consistency of reforms and lower the likelihood of policy reversals in time. Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, political economy, social policy and economics.

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322

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415688981

ISBN 13

9780415688987

Complex-Valued Neural Networks with Multi-Valued Neurons

By: Igor Aizenberg

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Complex-Valued Neural Networks with Multi-Valued Neurons

By: Igor Aizenberg

Complex-Valued Neural Networks have higher functionality, learn faster and generalize better than their real-valued counterparts. This book is devoted to the Multi-Valued Neuron (MVN) and MVN-based neural networks. It contains a comprehensive observation of MVN theory, its learning, and applications. MVN is a complex-valued neuron whose inputs and output are located on the unit circle. Its activation function is a function only of argument (phase) of the weighted sum. MVN derivative-free learning is based on the error-correction rule. A single MVN can learn those input/output mappings that are non-linearly separable in the real domain. Such classical non-linearly separable problems as XOR and Parity n are the simplest that can be learned by a single MVN. Another important advantage of MVN is a proper treatment of the phase information. These properties of MVN become even more remarkable when this neuron is used as a basic one in neural networks. The Multilayer Neural Network based on Multi-Valued Neurons (MLMVN) is an MVN-based feedforward neural network. Its backpropagation learning algorithm is derivative-free and based on the error-correction rule. It does not suffer from the local minima phenomenon. MLMVN outperforms many other machine learning techniques in terms of learning speed, network complexity and generalization capability when solving both benchmark and real-world classification and prediction problems. Another interesting application of MVN is its use as a basic neuron in multi-state associative memories. The book is addressed to those readers who develop theoretical fundamentals of neural networks and use neural networks for solving various real-world problems. It should also be very suitable for Ph.D. and graduate students pursuing their degrees in computational intelligence.

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273

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Springer Science & Business Media

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ISBN 10

3642203523

ISBN 13

9783642203527

The Balkan Wars in the Eyes of the Warring Parties

Perceptions and Interpretations

By: Igor Despot

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The Balkan Wars in the Eyes of the Warring Parties

Perceptions and Interpretations

By: Igor Despot

In the fall of 1912, the Ottoman Empire was in turmoil. In addition to the Albanian and the Yemen rebellions, the Empire was at war with Italy over the Libyan territory. Worse yet, cholera was spreading throughout the country, leaving a decimated population in its wake. In its weakness, the Ottoman Empire was ripe to be attacked, and the Balkan countries did so. On October 8, 1912, Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, beginning the first of the Balkan Wars. Embracing maturity and setting their differences aside, four nations joined together to form the Balkan League-Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. Despite the tremendous land victory celebrated by the Balkan League, disputes over dividing the won territory soon arose. Dissatisfied with its share of the Macedonia, Bulgaria attacked its former allies Serbia and Greece. On August 10, 1913, the Treaty of Bucharest ended the second conflict, but it did not bring the peace. In the First World War, which was initiated by Sarajevo assassination, Balkan again became theater of the war. The Balkan wars have been a popular topic for scholarly research since their resolution. Despite the attention this topic has received, however, the research is far from complete. In this study contributing to the documentation and understanding of this conflict, author Igor Despot has not only reviews the events of the wars, but also considers these events in light of pertinent cultural aspects, identifying the commonalities and differences that may have determined alliances or sparked conflict throughout Balkan history.

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308

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iUniverse

Published Date

ISBN 10

1475947038

ISBN 13

9781475947038

The Enterprisers

The Politics of School in Early Modern Russia

By: Igor Fedyukin

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The Enterprisers

The Politics of School in Early Modern Russia

By: Igor Fedyukin

The Enterprisers traces the emergence of the "modern" school in Russia during the reigns of Peter I and his immediate successors, up to the accession of Catherine II. Creation of the new, secular, technically-oriented schools based on the imported Western European blueprints is traditionally presented as the key element in Peter I's transformation of Russia. The tsar, it is assumed, needed schools to train officers and engineers for his new army and the navy, and so he personally designed these new institutions and forced them upon his unwilling subjects. In this sense, school also stands in as a metaphor for modern institutions in Russia in general, which are likewise seen as created from the top down, by the forceful state, in response to its military and technological needs. Yet, in reality, Peter I himself never wrote much about education, and while he championed "learning" in a broad sense, he had remarkably little to say about the ways schools and schooling should be organized. Nor were his general and admirals, including foreigners in Russian service, keen on promoting formal schooling: for them, practical apprenticeship still remained the preferred method of training. Rather, as Fedyukin argues in this book, the trajectories of institutional change were determined by the efforts of "administrative entrepreneurs"-or projecteurs, as they were also called-who built new schools as they sought to achieve diverse career goals, promoted their own pet ideas, advanced their claims for expertise, and competed for status and resources. By drawing on a wealth of unpublished archival sources, Fedyukin explores the "micropolitics" behind the key episodes of educational innovation in the first half of the eighteenth century and offers an entirely new way of thinking about "Petrine revolution" and about the early modern state in Russia.

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329

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190845015

ISBN 13

9780190845018

Multi-Valued and Universal Binary Neurons

Theory, Learning and Applications

By: Igor Aizenberg,Naum N. Aizenberg,Joos P.L. Vandewalle

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Multi-Valued and Universal Binary Neurons

Theory, Learning and Applications

By: Igor Aizenberg,Naum N. Aizenberg,Joos P.L. Vandewalle

Multi-Valued and Universal Binary Neurons deals with two new types of neurons: multi-valued neurons and universal binary neurons. These neurons are based on complex number arithmetic and are hence much more powerful than the typical neurons used in artificial neural networks. Therefore, networks with such neurons exhibit a broad functionality. They can not only realise threshold input/output maps but can also implement any arbitrary Boolean function. Two learning methods are presented whereby these networks can be trained easily. The broad applicability of these networks is proven by several case studies in different fields of application: image processing, edge detection, image enhancement, super resolution, pattern recognition, face recognition, and prediction. The book is hence partitioned into three almost equally sized parts: a mathematical study of the unique features of these new neurons, learning of networks of such neurons, and application of such neural networks. Most of this work was developed by the first two authors over a period of more than 10 years and was only available in the Russian literature. With this book we present the first comprehensive treatment of this important class of neural networks in the open Western literature. Multi-Valued and Universal Binary Neurons is intended for anyone with a scholarly interest in neural network theory, applications and learning. It will also be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the fields of image processing, pattern recognition, control and robotics.

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274

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Springer Science & Business Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1475731159

ISBN 13

9781475731156

The Ethics of Patriotism

A Debate

By: John Kleinig,Simon Keller,Igor Primoratz

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The Ethics of Patriotism

A Debate

By: John Kleinig,Simon Keller,Igor Primoratz

The unique approach taken within The Ethics of Patriotism brings together the differing perspectives of three leading figures in the philosophical debate who deliver an up-to-date, accessible, and vigorous presentation of the major views and arguments. Brings together the differing perspectives of three leading philosophers, who, together, explore the major positions on the ethics of patriotism Connects with several burgeoning fields of interest in philosophy and politics, including nationalism, civic virtue, liberalism and republicanism, loyalty, and cosmopolitanism Demonstrates that it is possible to make progress on the question of the ethics of patriotism while taking an ecumenical approach to larger theoretical questions A timely and relevant response to the upsurge of interest in nationalism, patriotism, and secessions

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197

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John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

0470658851

ISBN 13

9780470658857

Attacking the Strongpoint

The Philosophy of Chess

By: Igor Zaitsev

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Attacking the Strongpoint

The Philosophy of Chess

By: Igor Zaitsev

A Remarkable Book by One of the Game’s Most Creative Minds Grandmaster Igor Zaitsev ranks as one of the most creative chess minds ever in the history of the royal game. This is his book of secrets and methods, his remarkable life’s work. Zaitsev unearthed astonishing ideas which even giants of the game had overlooked. World champions Tigran Petrosian and Anatoly Karpov insisted on Zaitsev’s analytical help in their matches, wanting to be first to play his profound discoveries, such as the famous Zaitsev Variation of the Ruy Lopez. Zaitsev was himself a tournament champion. With his sharp, combinative style, he won dozens of “Most Beautiful Game” awards. Many of these games provide context for his lessons. But Zaitsev is even more than a renowned coach and competitor. Part analyst, part champion, part chess philosopher, and part chess poet, he reveals the underlying logic and beauty of chess in a way no one else has ever done. In his eye-opening title chapter, “Attacking the Strongpoint,” Zaitsev makes explicitly clear a common strategic element never formalized until this book. Often overlooked by amateurs and even GMs, the idea can lead to winning tactics in many games! Backed up by top-level games, Zaitsev also provides deep-level explanations about: • Combinations and Piece Harmony • Strategy and Structure • Learning from the Cycle of Chess Epochs • The Role of Reason and Judgment • The Chess Law of Conservation of Energy • Strategy: Evolution vs. Revolution, Recognizing a Favorable Structure As you read Zaitsev, you’ll often find yourself thinking, “Ah, now I get it!” The volume is topped off by supplemental games, a complete autobiography by Zaitsev, a special foreword by world champion Garry Kasparov, as well as tributes and memories from world champion Anatoly Karpov and famed coach Mark Dvoretsky. A signed and numbered limited hardcover edition will be simultaneously released. Each book is signed by Igor Zaitsev. There will be only 200 of these unique collectors’ editions. Reserve your copy now from you favorite chess book dealer.

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313

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SCB Distributors

Published Date

ISBN 10

1949859142

ISBN 13

9781949859140

Multigrammatical Framework for Knowledge-Based Digital Economy

By: Igor A. Sheremet

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Multigrammatical Framework for Knowledge-Based Digital Economy

By: Igor A. Sheremet

This monograph introduces a novel multiset-based conceptual, mathematical and knowledge engineering paradigm, called multigrammatical framework (MGF), used for planning and scheduling in resource-consuming, resource-producing (industrial) and resource-distributing (economical) sociotechnological systems (STS). This framework is meant to enable smart operation not only in a “business-as-usual” mode, but also in extraordinary, highly volatile or hazardous environments. It is the result of convergence and deep integration into a unified, flexible and effectively implemented formalism operating on multisets of several well-known paradigms from classical operations research and modern knowledge engineering, such as: mathematical programming, game theory, optimal scheduling, logic programming and constraint programming. The mathematical background needed for MGF, its algorithmics, applications, implementation issues, as well as its nexus with known models from operations research and theoretical computer science areas are considered. The resilience and recovery issues of an STS are studied by applying the MGF toolkit and on paying special attention to the multigrammatical assessment of resilience of energy infrastructures. MGF-represented resource-based games are introduced, and directions for further development are discussed. The author presents multiple applications to business intelligence, critical infrastructure, ecology, economy and industry. This book is addressed to scholars working in the areas of theoretical and applied computer science, artificial intelligence, systems analysis, operations research, mathematical economy and critical infrastructure protection, to engineers developing software-intensive solutions for implementation of the knowledge-based digital economy and Industry 4.0, as well as to students, aspirants and university staff. Foundational knowledge of set theory, mathematical logic and routine operations on data bases is needed to read this book. The content of the monograph is gradually presented, from simple to complex, in a well-understandable step-by-step manner. Multiple examples and accompanying figures are included in order to support the explanation of the various notions, expressions and algorithms.

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468

Publisher

Springer Nature

Published Date

ISBN 10

3031138589

ISBN 13

9783031138584

The Black Sea Encyclopedia

By: Sergei R. Grinevetsky,Igor S. Zonn,Sergei S. Zhiltsov,Aleksey N. Kosarev,Andrey G. Kostianoy

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The Black Sea Encyclopedia

By: Sergei R. Grinevetsky,Igor S. Zonn,Sergei S. Zhiltsov,Aleksey N. Kosarev,Andrey G. Kostianoy

This publication is devoted to the natural feature – the Black Sea and its littoral states. At the same time the Azov Sea is also considered here. This region is the focus of many geopolitical, economic, social and environmental issues that involve not only the countries coming out to the Black and Azov Seas, but other world countries, too. This publication contains over 1500 articles and terms providing descriptions of geographical and oceanographic features, cities, ports, transport routes, marine biological resources, international treaties, national and international programs, research institutions, historical and archaeological monuments, activities of prominent scientists, researchers, travelers, military commanders, etc. who had relation to the Black Sea. It includes a multi-century chronology of the events that became the outstanding milestones in the history of development of the Black Sea – Azov Sea region.

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885

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Springer

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ISBN 10

3642552277

ISBN 13

9783642552274

Hostile Waters

By: Peter A. Huchthausen,Peter Huchthuasen,Igor Kurdin,R. Alan White

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Hostile Waters

By: Peter A. Huchthausen,Peter Huchthuasen,Igor Kurdin,R. Alan White

In 1986, the Cold War was winding down, yet under the seas the game of cat and mouse between Soviet and American submarines continued unabated. Off the coast of North Carolina, an aging Soviet ballistic missile submarine suffered a catastrophe accident and came within moments of melting down. Had it exploded, the entire East Coast of the U.S. would have been blanketed in radioactive fallout. The death toll would have made Chernobyl seem like a traffic accident. This is the gripping, true story of 60 young Soviet men who fought--and died--to save our lives. Photo insert. Foreward by Tom Clancy. Martin's Press.

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364

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Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

0312966121

ISBN 13

9780312966126

Synergetics of Measurement, Prediction and Control

By: Igor Grabec,Wolfgang Sachse

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Synergetics of Measurement, Prediction and Control

By: Igor Grabec,Wolfgang Sachse

In this monograph, a statistical description of natural phenomena is used to develop an information processing system capable of modeling non-linear relationships between sensory data. The system, based on self-organized, optimal preservation of empirical information, applies these relationships for prediction and adaptive control. This monograph is written for students, scientists and engineers in academia and industry who are interested in experimental work related to the adaptive modeling of natural laws, the development of sensory-neural networks, intelligent control, synergetics and informatics. No specific knowledge of advanced mathematics is presupposed. Examples taken from physics, engineering, medicine and economics demonstrate the applicability of such intelligent systems.

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470

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Springer Science & Business Media

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ISBN 10

364260336X

ISBN 13

9783642603365

The King's Indian according to Tigran Petrosian

By: Igor Yanvarjov

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The King's Indian according to Tigran Petrosian

By: Igor Yanvarjov

Welcome to Tiger’s Den! Tigran Petrosian, the ninth world chess champion, was one of the deepest thinkers the chess world has ever seen. His handling of complex strategic positions was legendary. Now, for the first time, Russian international master Igor Yanvarjov has put together a superb collection of virtually all the known games played by Petrosian – with both colors – in the King’s Indian Defense and other closely related Indian structures. The author’s objective was, first of all, to reveal the richness of Petrosian’s chess world and to follow the strategic development of the King’s Indian Defense through the prism of Petrosian’s creative work. He does this with the presentation of almost 300 deeply annotated, complete games. Contents include: Preface by Levon Aronian; Foreword by Igor Zaitsev; The Classical Variation; The Sämisch System ; The Fianchetto Variation; The Benoni; Other Systems; Portrait of a Chess Player; Lessons from Petrosian; The Problem of the Exchange; “Furman’s Bishop”; “Pawns are the soul of chess”; Playing by Analogy; Maneuvering Battle; Experiments; Realist or Romantic?; The King’s Indian with Colors – and Flanks – Reversed; Appendix; Index of Tabiyas; ECO/Opening/Tabiya Indexes. This splendid collection of annotated games will not only have enormous appeal to King’s Indian aficionados, but to all chessplayers who wish to expand their understanding of the strategic concepts underpinning the royal game as a whole.

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1025

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SCB Distributors

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ISBN 10

1941270581

ISBN 13

9781941270585

A Ransomed Dissident

A Life in Art Under the Soviets

By: Igor Golomstock

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A Ransomed Dissident

A Life in Art Under the Soviets

By: Igor Golomstock

In 1939, a ten-year-old Igor Golomstock accompanied his mother, a medical doctor, to the vast network of labour camps in the Russian Far East. While she tended patients, he was minded by assorted 'trusty' prisoners – hardened criminals – and returned to Moscow an almost feral adolescent, fluent in obscene prison jargon but intellectually ignorant. Despite this dubious start he became a leading art historian and co-author (with his close friend Andrey Sinyavsky) of the first, deeply controversial, monograph on Picasso published in the Soviet Union. His writings on his 43 years in the Soviet Union offer a rare insight into life as a quietly subversive art historian and the post-Stalin dissident community. In vivid prose Golomstock shows the difficulties of publishing, curating and talking about Western art in Soviet Russia and, with self-deprecating humour, the absurd tragicomedy of life for the Moscow intelligentsia during Khruschev's thaw and Brezhnev's stagnation. He also offers a unique personal perspective on the 1966 trial of Sinyavsky and Yuri Daniel, widely considered the end of Khruschev's liberalism and the spark that ignited the Soviet dissident movement. In 1972 he was given 'permission' to leave the Soviet Union, but only after paying a 'ransom' of more than 25 years' salary, nominally intended to reimburse the state for his education. A remarkable collection of artists, scholars and intellectuals in Russia and the West, including Roland Penrose, came together to help him pay this astronomical sum. His memoirs of life once in the UK offer an insider's view of the BBC Russian Service and a penetrating analysis of the notorious feud between Sinyavsky and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Nominated for the Russian Booker Prize on its publication in Russian in 2014, The Ransomed Dissident opens a window onto the life of a remarkable man: a dissident of uncompromising moral integrity and with an outstanding gift for friendship.

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291

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1786734494

ISBN 13

9781786734495

LABOUR CAMP JASENOVAC

By: Igor Vuki_

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LABOUR CAMP JASENOVAC

By: Igor Vuki_

The Ustasha camp in Jasenovac is a sensitive historical theme, which still provokes strong political conflicts more than 70 years after the closure of the camp. During the time of the second Yugoslavia, the camp was made into a myth and one of the main levers for disciplining the society of the time. The Communist Party imposed the number of 700,000 victims and an exaggerated view of the alleged crimes and methods of killing inmates. The aim was to present itself as sole guarantor of security, because in the case of its "reigning-in", the fratricidal war would happen again, with Jasenovac as its main symbol. Before 1990, an attempt to point out the absurdity of the 700,000 alleged victims of Jasenovac entailed going to prison or compulsory psychiatric treatment. The documents referenced in this book indicate the need to continue with research of the Jasenovac camp and that in a democratic atmosphere, as far as possible, its realistic historical picture may be reached.

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322

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Lulu.com

Published Date

ISBN 10

0359952089

ISBN 13

9780359952083

Russia’s New Ground Forces

Capabilities, Limitations and Implications for International Security

By: Igor Sutyagin,Justin Bronk

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Russia’s New Ground Forces

Capabilities, Limitations and Implications for International Security

By: Igor Sutyagin,Justin Bronk

This Whitehall Paper provides an in-depth analysis of Russia’s Ground Forces, including airborne and naval troops. It examines their role in Russian foreign policy, reforms to units’ equipment and operational roles, performance during combat operations against Ukraine, and current unit deployment locations and purposes in the Central, Southern and Western Military Districts. Russia perceives itself as operating from a position of weakness and surrounded by superior NATO forces. It is pursuing a programme of military reform, both in terms of equipment and structures. The Russian Ground Forces are being geared towards fighting in aggressive, short, sharp and complex operations into enemy territory, as well as being streamlined to increase readiness levels and deployability at short notice. However, operations against Ukraine have required force generation efforts from almost every Russian Ground Forces formation, including those in the Far East, which is evidence that the Kremlin’s ability to sustain even a moderate tempo of operations in the medium term is limited. Furthermore, chronic undermanning and morale issues remain, which will be exacerbated by the political decision to re-establish division-scale formations. In addition, Western sanctions and Russia’s difficult economic situation are severely hampering efforts to extend equipment reforms across the whole force. Russian Ground Forces should not be seen by the West as an unstoppable colossus. However, the West must not ignore the unmistakable Russian efforts to prepare for offensive, high-tempo operations against NATO, and the formidable political will that will use them if given the opportunity.

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120

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351018523

ISBN 13

9781351018524

Red Devils over the Yalu

A Chronicle of Soviet Aerial Operations in the Korean War 1950-53

By: Stuart Britton,Igor Seidov

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Red Devils over the Yalu

A Chronicle of Soviet Aerial Operations in the Korean War 1950-53

By: Stuart Britton,Igor Seidov

The Korean War (1950-1953) was the first - and only - full-scale air war in the jet age. It was in the skies of North Korea where Soviet and American pilots came together in fierce aerial clashes. The best pilots of the opposing systems, the most powerful air forces, and the most up-to-date aircraft in the world in this period of history came together in pitched air battles. The analysis of the air war showed that the powerful United States Air Force and its allies were unable to achieve complete superiority in the air and were unable to fulfill all the tasks they'd been given. Soviet pilots and Soviet jet fighters, which were in no way inferior to their opponents and in certain respects were even superior to them, was the reason for this. The combat experience and new tactical aerial combat tactics, which were tested for the first time in the skies of Korea, have been eagerly studied and applied by modern air forces around the world today. This book fully discusses the Soviet participation in the Korean War and presents a view of this war from the opposite side, which is still not well known in the West from the multitude of publications by Western historians. The reason for this, of course, is the fact that Soviet records pertaining to the Korean War were for a long time highly classified, since Soviet air units were fighting in the skies of North Korea "incognito", so to speak or even more so to write about this was strictly forbidden in the Soviet Union right up to its ultimate collapse. The given work is in essence the first major work in the post-Soviet era. First published in a small edition in Russian in 1998, it was republished in Russia in 2007. For the first time, the Western reader can become acquainted with the most detailed and informative work existing on the course of the air war from the Soviet side, now in English language. The work rests primarily on the recollections of veterans of this war on the so-called 'Red' side - Soviet fighter pilots, who took direct part in this war on the side of North Korea. Their stories have been supplemented with an enormous amount of archival documents, as well as the work of Western historians. The author presents a literal day-by-day chronicle of the aerial combats and combat work of Soviet fighter regiments in the period between 1950 and 1953, and dedicates this work to all the men on both sides who fought and died in the Korean air war.

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601

Publisher

Helion and Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

1910294314

ISBN 13

9781910294314

Thinking Machines

The Search for Artificial Intelligence

By: Igor Aleksander,Piers Burnett

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Thinking Machines

The Search for Artificial Intelligence

By: Igor Aleksander,Piers Burnett

Designed for anyone with a general interest in science; students and researchers in computer studies, artificial intelligence, mathematics; psychologists and physiologists interested in attempts to make machines mimic brain function.

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216

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Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0192177559

ISBN 13

9780192177551

How to Build a Mind

By: Igor Aleksander

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How to Build a Mind

By: Igor Aleksander

Imagine a banana. What colour is it? Yellow, of course. Now try to form a picture of one that doesn't exist, that can't exist: a blue banana with red spots. Imagine that. How did you do? If you found it hard, perhaps you ought to know that Igor Aleksander has a machine which can do that easily. When he asks it (in words) to produce an image of 'banana' that is 'blue with red spots', the image swims on to the screen in seconds. The idea of such a conscious machine seems absurd and almost heretical, and its advocates are often accused of sensationalism, arrogance or philosophical ignorance. Part of the problem is that consciousness remains ill-defined: many people argue that it will always lie beyond the remit of science, in the realm of philosophical speculation, too mysterious and complex for human understanding. Aleksander, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, now attempts to unravel these arguments dispassionately for a general audience and provide a rigorous definition of consciousness. He shows how the latest work with artificial neural systems suggests not only that an artificial form of consciousness is possible but also that its design would clarify many of the puzzles surrounding the concept. A centrepiece of the book is Magnus, the author's 'conscious' computer program. But the book also looks at the representation of 'self' in robots, the learning of language, and the nature of abstract concepts such as emotion, will, instinct and feelings. The book is more than a comprehensive survey of modern ideas and research. It also provides a cultural history of the field, putting in broader context the work of pioneering scientists and philosophers.

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181

Published Date

ISBN 10

029784296X

ISBN 13

9780297842965

Book's by Igor Aleksander

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