Seven Games: A Human History

Seven Games: A Human History
Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages : 326
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781324003786
ISBN-13 : 1324003782
Rating : 4/5 (86 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Seven Games: A Human History by : Oliver Roeder

Download or read book Seven Games: A Human History written by Oliver Roeder and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2022-01-25 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A group biography of seven enduring and beloved games, and the story of why—and how—we play them. Checkers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In Seven Games, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable. Roeder introduces thrilling competitors, such as evangelical minister Marion Tinsley, who across forty years lost only three games of checkers; Shusai, the Master, the last Go champion of imperial Japan, defending tradition against “modern rationalism”; and an IBM engineer who created a backgammon program so capable at self-learning that NASA used it on the space shuttle. He delves into the history and lore of each game: backgammon boards in ancient Egypt, the Indian origins of chess, how certain shells from a particular beach in Japan make the finest white Go stones. Beyond the cultural and personal stories, Roeder explores why games, seemingly trivial pastimes, speak so deeply to the human soul. He introduces an early philosopher of games, the aptly named Bernard Suits, and visits an Oxford cosmologist who has perfected a computer that can effectively play bridge, a game as complicated as human language itself. Throughout, Roeder tells the compelling story of how humans, pursuing scientific glory and competitive advantage, have invented AI programs better than any human player, and what that means for the games—and for us. Funny, fascinating, and profound, Seven Games is a story of obsession, psychology, history, and how play makes us human.


Seven Games: A Human History Related Books

Into the Mist
Language: en
Pages: 353
Authors: P. C. Cast
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-07-12 - Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast comes INTO THE MIST, the first book in a pulse-pounding dystopian duology for our times. Practical Magic me
Out of the Dawn
Language: en
Pages: 332
Authors: P. C. Cast
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-08-08 - Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the thrilling sequel to #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast’s Into the Mist, a group of women fight for a just future in the wake of global des
Deerhead
Language: en
Pages: 54
Authors: Blair Cousins
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: - Publisher: Office Space Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A young couple goes camping in a national park, but the forest has plans of their own. Will the duo make it out of the backcountry alive, or is their fate alrea
Uniquely Yours
Language: en
Pages: 216
Authors: Corene A. Patterson
Categories: Literary Criticism
Type: BOOK - Published: 2003-12 - Publisher: Trafford Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Have you ever read a poem, but weren't quiet sure what the author was talking about? Uniquely yours: A Poem for Every Occasion is written with the reader's pers
Modern HERstory
Language: en
Pages: 210
Authors: Blair Imani
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-10-16 - Publisher: Ten Speed Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An inspiring and radical celebration of 70 women, girls, and nonbinary people who have changed—and are still changing—the world, from the Civil Rights Movem