The Stack

The Stack
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 523
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262029575
ISBN-13 : 026202957X
Rating : 4/5 (57X Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Stack by : Benjamin H. Bratton

Download or read book The Stack written by Benjamin H. Bratton and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-02-19 with total page 523 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive political and design theory of planetary-scale computation proposing that The Stack—an accidental megastructure—is both a technological apparatus and a model for a new geopolitical architecture. What has planetary-scale computation done to our geopolitical realities? It takes different forms at different scales—from energy and mineral sourcing and subterranean cloud infrastructure to urban software and massive universal addressing systems; from interfaces drawn by the augmentation of the hand and eye to users identified by self—quantification and the arrival of legions of sensors, algorithms, and robots. Together, how do these distort and deform modern political geographies and produce new territories in their own image? In The Stack, Benjamin Bratton proposes that these different genres of computation—smart grids, cloud platforms, mobile apps, smart cities, the Internet of Things, automation—can be seen not as so many species evolving on their own, but as forming a coherent whole: an accidental megastructure called The Stack that is both a computational apparatus and a new governing architecture. We are inside The Stack and it is inside of us. In an account that is both theoretical and technical, drawing on political philosophy, architectural theory, and software studies, Bratton explores six layers of The Stack: Earth, Cloud, City, Address, Interface, User. Each is mapped on its own terms and understood as a component within the larger whole built from hard and soft systems intermingling—not only computational forms but also social, human, and physical forces. This model, informed by the logic of the multilayered structure of protocol “stacks,” in which network technologies operate within a modular and vertical order, offers a comprehensive image of our emerging infrastructure and a platform for its ongoing reinvention. The Stack is an interdisciplinary design brief for a new geopolitics that works with and for planetary-scale computation. Interweaving the continental, urban, and perceptual scales, it shows how we can better build, dwell within, communicate with, and govern our worlds. thestack.org


The Stack Related Books

The Stack
Language: en
Pages: 523
Authors: Benjamin H. Bratton
Categories: Computers
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-02-19 - Publisher: MIT Press

GET EBOOK

A comprehensive political and design theory of planetary-scale computation proposing that The Stack—an accidental megastructure—is both a technological appa
The Stack
Language: en
Pages: 41
Authors: Vanessa Roeder
Categories: Juvenile Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-03-08 - Publisher: Penguin

GET EBOOK

From the creator of The Box Turtle comes a clever and stunningly illustrated bedtime story about doing (and building!) whatever it takes to reach for the stars
A Stack of Alpacas (EBOOK)
Language: en
Pages: 26
Authors: Matt Cosgrove
Categories: Juvenile Nonfiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-04-02 - Publisher: Scholastic

GET EBOOK

A Stack of Alpacasis the alpaca book of the year! Perfect for fans of Oi, Frog!and You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus. Maccais an alpaca. He lovessplashing i
The Stack and Tilt Swing
Language: en
Pages: 242
Authors: Michael Bennett
Categories: Sports & Recreation
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-11-12 - Publisher: Penguin

GET EBOOK

An in-depth, full-color, step-by-step guide to the new golf swing that has taken the PGA Tour by storm The traditional golf swing requires a level of coordinati
Hack the Stack
Language: en
Pages: 481
Authors: Stephen Watkins
Categories: Computers
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006-11-06 - Publisher: Elsevier

GET EBOOK

This book looks at network security in a new and refreshing way. It guides readers step-by-step through the "stack" -- the seven layers of a network. Each chapt