Vocab for
Why the future doesn't need us?

Ludd·ite
Etymology: perhaps from Ned Ludd, 18th century Leicestershire workman who destroyed machinery
Date: 1811
: one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest; broadly : one who is opposed to especially technological change

nano·tech·nol·o·gy
Date: 1987
: the art of manipulating materials on an atomic or molecular scale especially to build microscopic devices (as robots)

dys·to·pia
Etymology: New Latin, from dys- + -topia (as in utopia)
Date: circa 1950
1 : an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives

cas·cade
Etymology: French, from Italian cascata, from cascare to fall, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin casicare, from Latin casus fall
Date: 1641
1 : a steep usually small fall of water; especially : one of a series
2 a : something arranged or occurring in a series or in a succession of stages so that each stage derives from or acts upon the product of the preceding <blood clotting involves a biochemical cascade> b : a fall of material (as lace) that hangs in a zigzag line

tran·scen·dent
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin transcendent-, transcendens, present participle of transcendere
Date: 1598
1 a : exceeding usual limits : SURPASSING b : extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience c in Kantian philosophy : being beyond the limits of all possible experience and knowledge
2 : being beyond comprehension
3 : transcending the universe or material existence

co·erce
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): co·erced; co·erc·ing
Etymology: Latin coercEre, from co- + arcEre to shut up, enclose -- more at ARK
Date: 15th century
1 : to restrain or dominate by force <religion in the past has tried to coerce the irreligious -- W. R. Inge>
2 : to compel to an act or choice
3 : to bring about by force or threat <coerce the compliance of the rest of the community -- Scott Buchanan>

Complex Systems is a new field of science studying how parts of a system give rise to the collective behaviors of the system, and how the system interacts with its environment. Social systems formed (in part) out of people, the brain formed out of neurons, molecules formed out of atoms, the weather formed out of air flows are all examples of complex systems. The field of complex systems cuts across all traditional disciplines of science, as well as engineering, management, and medicine. It focuses on certain questions about parts, wholes and relationships. These questions are relevant to all traditional fields "emergent behavior".

Pan·do·ra's box
Function: noun
Etymology: from the box, sent by the gods to Pandora, which she was forbidden to open and which loosed a swarm of evils upon mankind when she opened it out of curiosity
Date: 1579
: a prolific source of troubles

Manhattan Project
U.S. government research project (1942-45) that produced the first atomic bombs. The test of the plutonium weapon was named Trinity; it was fired at 5:29:45 AM (local time) on July 16, 1945, at the Alamogordo Bombing Range in south central New Mexico. The theorists' predictions of the energy release ranged from the equivalent of less than 1,000 tons of TNT to 45,000 tons. The test produced an energy, or yield, equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT.

re·lin·quish
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English relinquisshen, from Middle French relinquiss-, stem of relinquir, from Latin relinquere to leave behind, from re- + linquere to leave -- more at LOAN
Date: 15th century
1 : to withdraw or retreat from : leave behind
2 : GIVE UP <relinquish a title>

Verification
ver·i·fy
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -fied; -fy·ing
Etymology: Middle English verifien, from Middle French verifier, from Medieval Latin verificare, from Latin verus true
Date: 14th century
1 : to confirm or substantiate in law by oath
2 : to establish the truth, accuracy, or reality of
synonym see CONFIRM