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Ilya Prigogine
The End of Certainties
As we come to the end of the century, the question of the future of science is often posed. I believe we are just at the beginning of a new endeavour. We are witnessing the development of a science which is no longer limited to simplified, idealised situations, but makes us face the complexity of the real world. This new science will allow human creativity to be experienced as the unique expression of a fundamental trait common to all aspects of nature. Ive tried to present this conceptual transformation, which implies the beginning of a new chapter in the fruitful relations between physics and mathematics, in a manner that will be comprehensible and accessible to all readers interested in the evolution of our ideas of nature. We are but at the threshold of a new chapter in the history of our dialogue with nature, writes Ilya Prigogine. Ilya Prigogine, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, teaches at the Free University of Brussels and at the University of Texas, in Austin.
Jean-Didier Vincent
The Flesh and the Devil
"If I did not exist, nothing would exist, because there would be nothing to which oppose oneself", writes Fernando Pessoa in the devil's name. Is this the invention of a poet? Nothing is less sure. The scientist confirms the notion that life is born from the confrontation between molecules. J.D. Vincent invites us here to explore with him all the aspects, the ramifications, from animal life to the human brain, which are nurtured by this principle of opposition. The devil is constantly at work in the heart of the living, and neurobiologist Jean-Didier Vincent demonstrates this evidence with humor in his book, a continuation of the spirit present in his Biology of Passions.
Luca Cavalli-Sforza
Genes, People and Languages (Work of the Collège de France)
How is culture passed on ? Is it possible to reconstruct the history of the evolution of the human species using genetic information from existing populations ?
Hervé de Carmoy
The Bank of the 21st Century USA, Great Britain, Japan, France
This past decade has seen a profound modification of the banking environment due to technological mutations and a globalization of economy. What is the future of one of the oldest trades in the world, the money trade? What will tomorrow's bank look like?Hervé de Carmoy gives a thorough account of the recent banking evolutions in the United States, in London, in Japan, as well as in countries in full expansion, such as China. He takes stock of the setting up of bank industry in France. He questions the impact of drug money on financial circulation and diagnoses the emergence of a new banking model, the "Dividend-Bank", centered around transparence, rigour, profit and the obsession with clients. Former administrator-in-chief of the Midland Bank in London, Hervé de Carmoy is currently chairman of the BIMP. He is the author of "Banking Strategy".
