Virtual Unreality

The bestselling author of Proofiness and Zero explains how to separate fact from fantasy in the digital world Digital information is a powerful tool that spreads unbelievably rapidly, infects all corners of society, and is all but impossible to control—even when that information is actually a lie. In Virtual Unreality, Charles Seife uses the skepticism, wit, and sharp facility for analysis that captivated readers in Proofiness and Zero to take us deep into the Internet information jungle and cut a path through the trickery, fakery, and cyber skullduggery that the online world enables. Taking on everything from breaking news coverage and online dating to program trading and that eccentric and unreliable source that is Wikipedia, Seife arms his readers with actual tools—or weapons—for discerning truth from fiction online.

The award-winning author of Proofiness and Zero explains how to separate fact from misinformation online, covering a wide range of interests from breaking news stories and online dating to program trading and Wikipedia.

"The idea that reality is subjective, constructed from our own perceptions, is an ancient concept. "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world," said the Buddha. In the same vein, Anais Nin's observation above originated in the Hebrew Talmud"--

In this book is revealed the Democratic Deception (the Democratic Matrices). Here is explained the technology of the democratic fraud and the Post-Truth. It has been clarified that wihtin a socio-cultural system from the Power-Subjects type, Democracy is impossible. The Democracy (just like the Communism) is an utopy...

The future of communication and cultural literacy, reading, and the book in the 21st century is investigated along a wide spectrum, from multimedia packages to reading on the World Wide Web.

Volume # 31 of "The IT Revolution in Architecture," "Moving Layers" explores the stratified language of the electronic image and its ability to redefine architectonic space, giving it new meaning. From the prehistory and genetics of Video Art to the origins of video installations, site specific installations, interactive environments and Public Video Art, all the way to the applications of advanced technology in the new media.This is an artistic study of the elasticity of video surfaces, of the possibility of rethinking and re-dimensioning the experience of space through the use of images in motion. The authors Alexandro Ladaga, and Silvia Manteiga founded ELASTIC Group of Artistic Research in 1999. Their contributions to the international art scene are works with highly conceptual aspects, the fruit of careful analysis of their surroundings.

The newest addition to our Influential Video Game Designers series explores the work of Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Studios, known for how he consistently pushes the boundaries of open-world gaming and player agency. Howard's games create worlds in which players can design their own characters and tell their own stories. While many games tell the story of the game's main character, Todd Howard's worldbuilding approach to game design focuses more on telling the story of the game's world, whether it be the high fantasy environments of the Elder Scrolls series or the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Fallout series. This focus on sculpting the world allows for remarkable amounts of player freedom and choice in an expansive game environment by creating a landscape rich with open opportunity. Drawing on both academic discussions of narrative, world design, and game design, as well as on officially released interviews, speeches, and presentations given by Howard and other designers at Bethesda Games, Wendi Sierra highlights three core areas set Howard's design perspective apart from other designers: micronarratives, iterative design, and the sharing of design tools. Taken as a whole, these three elements demonstrate how Howard has used a worldbuilding perspective to shape his games. In doing so, he has impacted not only Bethesda Studios, but also the landscape of game design itself.