Click
By Bill Tancer
Online trends sometimes speak boldly about our society. For example, Internet searches about political candidates are paired more frequently with questions about their character, appearance, or religion than their stance on particular issues. Marketing researcher and self-proclaimed data junkie Bill Tancer shows how he mines consumer trends, as well as unexpected insights into human nature, from the vast and anonymous Web.
Using search-engine data from 10 million surfers, Tancer shares information about our aspirations, insecurities, and curious diversions. (Three of the top 10 "how to" searches: how to tie a tie, how to have sex, how to levitate. "How to" queries make up 3 percent of all searches, by the way.) We want to be healthy and look good, but Tancer's data show that we're often looking for a quick fix to our problems. (Searches to help "stop smoking" are often tied to pharmaceutical keywords.) With personal anecdotes and a dose of humor, Tancer shows how much we can learn from a billion little mouse clicks. —Brian Andrew
Rapture for the Geeks
By Richard Dooling
Will the future be a blissful era of automated assistance or a dystopian world bereft of human interaction? Will we see flawless virtual reality and fleets of robot servants or humanity oppressed by evil supercomputer overlords? Dooling confronts the thrilling (and worrisome) rate at which technology is evolving. Rife with philosophical considerations (can silicon be conscious?), supplemented by both wit and footnotes, Rapture for the Geeks should please anyone with interest in AI or science fiction. Dooling even offers a section on how to prepare for the future, with advice including: Learn a programming language or try Linux. —Ferris Jabr
iBrain
By Gary Small, M.D. and Gigi Vorgan
Technology has certainly changed things—even our brains, according to memory and aging researcher Small and his co-author. Underused brain circuits for social skills, for example, may weaken in the tech savvy, while chronic gaming may bolster multitasking skills. Small and Vorgan essentially roll two handbooks into one to bridge the "brain gap" between the Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, encouraging each to exercise their less-developed abilities. Tips help with both technophobia and -philia, a glossary translates high-tech language and texting lingo, and myriad studies attest to the brain's startling flexibility. —Rachel Mahan
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