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Benner argues that this was a historic mistake.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat we’re looking in the wrong place. Drawing on the Viking archive and explaining how the scientific process failed, he re-examines the mission that first searched for extant Martian life and makes the provocative case that its results were misunderstood. In the decades that have followed, Mars science has focused on water, geology and past habitability, while the most direct question – is anything alive on Mars today? – has been pushed aside.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBenner shows why Mars remains the most accessible place to discover a second origin of life, and why finding even microbial organisms there would transform our understanding of our place in the cosmos. He also asks a deeper question: what counts as life in the first place? From the chemistry that may give rise to living systems to “agnostic” tools capable of detecting unfamiliar biology, he lays out a bold and practical blueprint for the next phase of exploration. At once a scientific detective story, a challenge to decades of orthodoxy, and a lucid guide to one of humanity’s biggest questions, Meet the Neighbors is the definitive, urgent brief on where to go, what to measure, and why the next discovery won’t just change textbooks – it will rewrite our place in the universe.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Book House (Thame)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55843926704513,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0280\/7873\/5421\/files\/9780241808306.jpg?v=1782478296"},{"product_id":"data-empire-9th-july","title":"Data Empire (9th July)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eData shaped empires. Now it's shaping our future. This is the groundbreaking 11,000 year story of how data became the most powerful tool humans have ever created - and how we are sleepwalking into a future where the next global superpower is a tech company.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe live in an era when trading our information for access can feel harmless or inevitable – yet from targeted advertising to mass surveillance, data shapes the course of our lives. How did it gain the power it now holds over us?Long before writing existed, at the dawn of civilisation in Mesopotamia, rulers pressed marks into clay to keep track of land, people and grain.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo rule, they had to keep count. It is no accident, then, that the first written name in human history was neither a god nor a king, but an accountant. As ships and navigation expanded our horizons, a new age of European empires took control of more than 80 per cent of the world’s surface, using colonial censuses, maps and ledgers to decide who belonged, who owed, and who could be sacrificed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eToday, a handful of private brokers increasingly define what we see and what is real. Taking readers from ancient cave markings and knotted strings to the algorithmic state, Dartmouth professor Roopika Risam reveals how data has always been the seed of power: a technology of control that has shaped civilizations and upheld empires. Provocative, humane and sweeping in scope, Data Empire challenges us to decide whether we will allow a new set of data empires to hardwire inequality into the next century, or fight for systems that work for the benefit of all.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt’s time to decide. Will technology serve democracy or replace it? 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Teenagers will have to use their devices differently now and Smartphone Nation provides the practical solutions you and your family need to take back control. In this acclaimed book, Dr Kaityn Regehr, one of the world’s leading digital literacy experts, gives you the knowledge and the language to explain the reasons behind the ban, why social media can be so harmful and the often disturbing reasons why we each see the particular content we do.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe tools in Smartphone Nation are there to help you understand, advocate, and parent around these tricky, constantly changing issues. From issues of misinformation, body dysmorphia, pornography, to online bullying, this essential guide helps you and your family become more intentional over screen usage – whatever the screen you are using. 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