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The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific Speculation

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The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific SpeculationIn this narrative tour de force, gifted scientist and author John L. Casti contemplates an imaginary evening of intellectual inquiry a sort of "My Dinner with" not Andre, but five of the most brilliant thinkers of the twentieth century. Imagine, if you will, one stormy summer evening in 1949, as novelist and scientist C. P. Snow, Britain's distinguished wartime science advisor and author of The Two Cultures, invites four singular guests to a sumptuous

In this narrative tour de force, gifted scientist and author John L. Casti contemplates an imaginary evening of intellectual inquiry--a sort of "My Dinner with" not Andre, but five of the most brilliant thinkers of the twentieth century.Imagine, if you will, one stormy summer evening in 1949, as novelist and scientist C. P. Snow, Britain's distinguished wartime science advisor and author of The Two Cultures, invites four singular guests to a sumptuous seven-course dinner at his alma mater, Christ's College, Cambridge, to discuss one of the emerging scientific issues of the day: Can we build a machine that could duplicate human cognitive processes? The distinguished guest list for Snow's dinner consists of physicist Erwin Schrodinger, inventor of wave mechanics; Ludwig Wittgenstein, the famous twentieth-century philosopher of language, who posited two completely contradictory theories of human thought in his lifetime; population geneticist/science popularizer J.B.S. Haldane; and Alan Turing, the mathematician/codebreaker who formulated the computing scheme that foreshadowed the logical structure of all modern computers. Capturing not only their unique personalities but also their particular stands on this fascinating issue, Casti dramatically shows what each of these great men might have argued about artificial intelligence, had they actually gathered for dinner that midsummer evening.With Snow acting as referee, a lively intellectual debate unfolds. Philosopher Wittgenstein argues that in order to become conscious, a machine would have to have life experiences similar to those of human beings--such as pain, joy, grief, or pleasure. Biologist Haldane offers the idea that mind is a separate entity from matter, so that regardless of how sophisticated the machine, only flesh can bond with that mysterious force called intelligence. Both physicist Schrodinger and, of course, computer pioneer Turing maintain that it is not the substance, but rather the organization of that substance, that makes a mind conscious.With great verve and skill, Casti recreates a unique and thrilling moment of time in the grand history of scientific ideas. Even readers who have already formed an opinion on artificial intelligence will be forced to reopen their minds on the subject upon reading this absorbing narrative. After almost four decades, the solutions to the epic scientific and philosophical problems posed over this meal in C. P. Snow's old rooms at Christ's College remains tantalizingly just out of reach, making this adventure into scientific speculation as valid today as it was in 1949.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 04/23/1999
ISBN: 9780738201382
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.14h x 5.94w x 0.26d
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SKU: 84816396452

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Clean ingredients, great price, but...
I want to love this product but I personally can't stand the oily texture and the smell. Maybe if you have super dry skin it will feel great on your skin PROS: The ingredients are great! super clean, the percentage of zinc oxide is perfect and almost the highest % recommended by dermatologists, so it protects the skin really well, no white cast because it's slightly tinted (a little cast at the beginning then it fades away) CONS (in my skin): it leaves my face super oily I have to use rice paper after I apply it to absorb the oiliness [sigh], I don't like the smell it bothers me a lot, it smells like old makeup.
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Perfect Everyday Tinted Face Sunscreen
I am a long-time user of Think body sunscreen and tried this to replace my current department store tinted face sunscreen, which is being discontinued. I was amazed how well this performed, given the low price! It is literally 1/4 of the cost of my current face sunscreen and I am almost as happy with it! It was much lighter in tint than I was expecting, but blended easily and provided more "cosmetic" coverage than my current tinted face sunscreen, but without looking making me look made-up. My skin is light with reddish undertones, and it really helped to tone the red down as well, an unexpected bonus. That said, I typically use make up that is either the 2nd (or occasionally 3rd) from the fairest shade in the line, regardless of brand, and I am not sure how well this product would work on someone whose skin is even a little darker than mine, without being obvious. It is definitely too light for my sons, who have more olive-toned complexions. This product is highly moisturizing, and does take about 10 minutes to "set" before I feel comfortable applying powder to cover up the shine it leaves (a little more than a "glow"). Its efficacy is excellent--I really put it to the test outdoors and was pleased to see I had not to picked up any color from the sun when I washed it off. The other big plus is that it did not make me break out, and I have what my dermatologist calls, "reactive skin," which means anything from chemicals in face products to the hairdryer at the salon have been known to set it off. Finally, like their body sunscreen this face sunscreen gets a safety rating of "1" from the Environmental Working Group. I think I have found a winner!
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Port Orchard, US
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Nice face sunscreen!
Great face sunscreen! It has high zinc and looks nice under makeup. I will continue to purchase. Not sure why it’s only a SPF of 30. It has 24% zinc which is higher. It’s a little thicker than some of the thinner ones I’ve used but I like that. I feel I’m getting good coverage
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Natrona Heights, US
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An Effective Sunscreen With Some Drawbacks
I like the safety and effectiveness of Thinksport tinted sunscreen. It's formulated carefully and I found it quite effective; I appreciate that it's not tested on animals. It is easy to apply and blends in with no chalky or white residue and doesn't come off easily (in fact washing it off later is not especially easy). I very much appreciated its effectiveness as I didn't ever burn when using this tube. With all that in mind why did I give it only three stars and throw away the tube before I even used half of it? Two reasons: I frequently run while wearing sunscreen and that, obviously, leads to sweating. When you sweat with this anything that you touch with a treated surface will be smeared with the brown tint of the sunscreen (particularly your shirt when your face, neck, or arms contact it, which may be more than you think). This looks akin to pancake makeup on clothes. It washed out of the shirts I got it on, but they did seem to get dingier after multiple cycles (especially around the collar). The second reason I didn't like this sunscreen is that when applied to the forehead and then perspiring this product really stung my eyes. I have had that product with some other brands as well, so it's definitely not a Thinksport exclusive issue, but still it's annoying. I used almost half the tube then switched back to my normal brand, which while also not ideal in some ways, doesn't have these issues. I have not given up on the Thinksport brand entirely, as I have recently purchased some of their untinted sunscreen. I have only used it a few times, but initial impressions are good. If you are unconcerned about the issues of staining from this product or you don't plan to wear it while doing anything strenuous, the tinted Thinksport sunscreen product may work great for you: it's easy to apply and quite effective.
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Have to protect our skin! This works
My daughter in law recommended this. It is light weight but gives good Sun protection. The color tint is perfect. Easy to add to the morning skin routine
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2026

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