Reviews for La Science Et La Realite

The average rating for La Science Et La Realite based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-15 00:00:00 Charles Madison Okay, well, first of all, let's be totally honest about how I ended up with this book. One day I was getting ready to go out to lunch solo and realized there was no book in my purse. So I went upstairs to check the Science Store for reading material. Well, 98% of the books are aimed at kids, and of the "grown-up" choices, there was a small stack of these (as opposed to just one or two of the others), so I decided to even out the inventory and bought this. I suppose that it was interesting enough, as I finished it, but it was frightfully dry in places, would have benefited immeasurably by including a few illustrations, and I remain at a loss to understand the logic behind the placement of all (or any) of the sidebars. I do understand that this was "only" the companion book to a PBS program. Perhaps the author believed only those who had seen/were seeing the program would read the book? But as someone who took an optics class fourteen years ago, I was constantly yearning for ray diagrams to show how all the different lenses and lens arrangements actually worked. Not to mention in the more complicated reflector telescopes with compound mirrors and active optics systems... They could have ditched all those stupid sidebars and replaced them with a dozen illustrations and my enjoyment of this book would have doubled. I did find it interested to learn about all the different types of telescopes and what they are all studying. Then again, I have a degree in physics and friends actively working in astronomy. (And I've visited at least two of the telescopes in this book!) So I would hesitate before recommending this book to anyone else, unless they had a similar level of interest. I hate to say it, but I don't see us selling out of this book anytime soon.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-09-11 00:00:00 Lena Shasky Technology in Action does exactly what it says on the tin, offering a basic overview of technology including hardware, software, and networking, in an easily-readable and clearly organized format. Evans presents his text in thirteen chapters, beginning with the importance of technology in changing the world and then building from hardware (your computer and what all its pieces do) to software (application and system), before moving into networking and security and pointers on how to manage a digital lifestyle ethically. The final four behind-the-scenes chapters offer deeper dives into programming, databases, networking and security, and how the internet works. I read this in an Intro to IT class as part of my library science degree, and found it extremely helpful; while I recognized most of the terms and concepts the book featured, my knowledge was usually more of the fuzzy than the full understanding. In terms of practical non-class use, the chapter on understanding and assessing hardware helped me go through and clean up my system in a way I probably wouldn't have otherwise been comfortable doing. While I purchased the digital version of this text, I tended to ignore most of the digital features - explanatory videos make me wild, I'd much prefer to use the text - and while there were end-of-chapter basic programming exercises, I skipped them as they weren't mandated by my instructor. The digital glossary I used extensively, though I noticed it occasionally pulled up the wrong definitions. And if you're wondering about the MyITLab, all it contains is a series of quizzes and simulations (most extremely basic). I didn't find it terribly instructive, but it was necessary as my instructor graded on completion through that interface. While not generally something I'd be interested in curling up with on the sofa, Technology in Action is an extremely useful text that can function either as an introduction for the completely un-savvy or a refresher for those of us who've been using computers for years while treating their inner workings as a form of magic. Despite not being a page turner, it's written clearly and well, and is perfect for librarians looking to make the transition to digital.