Trust in Numbers

Trust in Numbers
Author: Theodore M. Porter
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2020-08-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691210543

A foundational work on historical and social studies of quantification What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for research on human societies, and examines why the natural sciences are highly quantitative in the first place. Theodore Porter argues that a better understanding of the attractions of quantification in business, government, and social research brings a fresh perspective to its role in psychology, physics, and medicine. Quantitative rigor is not inherent in science but arises from political and social pressures, and objectivity derives its impetus from cultural contexts. In a new preface, the author sheds light on the current infatuation with quantitative methods, particularly at the intersection of science and bureaucracy.

AC/DC

AC/DC
Author: Tom McNichol
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2011-01-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1118047028

AC/DC tells the little-known story of how Thomas Edison wrongly bet in the fierce war between supporters of alternating current and direct current. The savagery of this electrical battle can hardly be imagined today. The showdown between AC and DC began as a rather straightforward conflict between technical standards, a battle of competing methods to deliver essentially the same product, electricity. But the skirmish soon metastasized into something bigger and darker. In the AC/DC battle, the worst aspects of human nature somehow got caught up in the wires; a silent, deadly flow of arrogance, vanity, and cruelty. Following the path of least resistance, the war of currents soon settled around that most primal of human emotions: fear. AC/DC serves as an object lesson in bad business strategy and poor decision making. Edison's inability to see his mistake was a key factor in his loss of control over the ?operating system? for his future inventions?not to mention the company he founded, General Electric.

Steward

Steward
Author: Gordon Jaremko
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013-04
Genre: Energy development
ISBN: 9780991873425

Transport and Urban Development

Transport and Urban Development
Author: David Banister
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2003-12-16
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1135819939

This book takes an international perspective on the links between land use, development and transport and present the latest thinking, the theory and practice of these links.

Historic Texarkana

Historic Texarkana
Author: Beverly J. Rowe
Publisher: HPN Books
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2009
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1935377019

Basic Economics

Basic Economics
Author: Thomas Sowell
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 990
Release: 2014-12-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0465056849

The bestselling citizen's guide to economics Basic Economics is a citizen's guide to economics, written for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations. Bestselling economist Thomas Sowell explains the general principles underlying different economic systems: capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In readable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the goals they proclaim. With clear explanations of the entire field, from rent control and the rise and fall of businesses to the international balance of payments, this is the first book for anyone who wishes to understand how the economy functions. This fifth edition includes a new chapter explaining the reasons for large differences of wealth and income between nations. Drawing on lively examples from around the world and from centuries of history, Sowell explains basic economic principles for the general public in plain English.

Camino Del Norte

Camino Del Norte
Author: Howard J. Erlichman
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 1603445463

Some five hundred miles of superhighway run between the Rio Grande and the Red River-present-day Interstate 35. This towering achievement of modern transportation engineering links 7.7 million people, yet it all evolved from a series of humble little trails.

God's Gold

God's Gold
Author: John T. Flynn
Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute
Total Pages: 554
Release: 1932
Genre: Capitalists and financiers
ISBN: 1610164113