Worlds Colliding

Scientists are building rocket ships for a chosen few to escape planets hurtling toward each other on a direct collision course, leaks out touching off a savage struggle for survival.

A dazzling look at the artists working on the frontiers of science. In recent decades, an exciting new art movement has emerged in which artists utilize and illuminate the latest advances in science. Some of their provocative creations—a live rabbit implanted with the fluorescent gene of a jellyfish, a gigantic glass-and-chrome sculpture of the Big Bang (pictured on the cover)—can be seen in traditional art museums and magazines, while others are being made by leading designers at Pixar, Google’s Creative Lab, and the MIT Media Lab. In Colliding Worlds, Arthur I. Miller takes readers on a wild journey to explore this new frontier. Miller, the author of Einstein, Picasso and other celebrated books on science and creativity, traces the movement from its seeds a century ago—when Einstein’s theory of relativity helped shape the thinking of the Cubists—to its flowering today. Through interviews with innovative thinkers and artists across disciplines, Miller shows with verve and clarity how discoveries in biotechnology, cosmology, quantum physics, and beyond are animating the work of designers like Neri Oxman, musicians like David Toop, and the artists-in-residence at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. From NanoArt to Big Data, Miller reveals the extraordinary possibilities when art and science collide.

This title was first published in 2001. Worlds Colliding argues that the prevailing worldview held by those in positions of power in Western government sets the bounds for religious tolerance. It explores the degree to which a modern liberal state will allow a counter-cultural community the freedom to live according to its concept of the good life.

Simone Marchi presents the emerging story of how cosmic collisions shaped both the solar system and our own planet, from the creation of the Moon to influencing the evolution of life on Earth. The Earth emerged out of the upheaval and chaos of massive collisions in the infancy of the Solar System, more than four billion years ago. The largest of these events sent into orbit a spray of molten rocks out of which the Moon coalesced. As in ancient mythological tales, this giant catastrophe marks the birth of our planet as we know it. Space exploration has shown that signs of ancient collisions are widespread in the Solar System, from the barren and once-habitable Mars to the rugged asteroids. On Earth these signs are more subtle, but still cataclysmic, such as the massive asteroid strike which likely sparked the demise of the dinosaurs and many other forms of life some 66 million years ago. Signatures of even more dramatic catastrophes are concealed in ancient rocks. These events wreaked havoc on our planet's surface, influencing global climate and topography, while also enriching the Earth with gold and other rare elements. And recently, modern science is finding that they could even have contributed to developing the conditions conducive to life. In Colliding Worlds, Simone Marchi explores the key role that collisions in space have played in the formation and evolution of our solar system, the development of planets, and possibly even the origin of life on Earth. Analysing our latest understanding of the surfaces of Mars and Venus, gleaned from recent space missions, Marchi presents the dramatic story of cosmic collisions and their legacies.

Bringing together an outstanding group of thinkers, Worlds in Collision is the essential book for understanding the debate about the future of global order in the wake of international terrorism and the war in Afghanistan. For years to come, if not decades, the 'war on terrorism' will be the defining paradigm in the struggle for global order. When the victim of such horrific terror attacks happens to be the world's only superpower, the agenda is set for the future global order. This book, offering a comprehensive and provocative collection of viewpoints from leading intellectuals from a number of countries, will help readers understand the ways in which our worlds collided on September 11, 2001. Not only does it comprehensively address the first phase of the war against international terrorism, the book also looks at the wider regional and global ramifications. Worlds in Collision is ultimately about more than the war on terrorism, it concerns itself with the possibilities for re-shaping global order on the basis of new kinds of politics.

The epic conclusion to Chris Colfer's No.1 New York Times bestselling series The Land of Stories!In the highly anticipated finale, Conner and Alex must brave the impossible. All of the Land of Stories fairy tale characters - heroes and villains - are no longer confined within their world!With mayhem brewing in the Big Apple, Conner and Alex will have to win their biggest battle yet. Can the twins restore order between the human and fairy-tale world? Breathtaking action mixed with laugh-out-loud moments and lots of heart will make this a gripping conclusion for fans old and new.

Respected scholars provide thorough yet accessible answers to the deep spiritual questions that most often challenge one's faith and the ability to share it with others.