BookOdyssey

* * * Winner of the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books * * *Stuff Matters by Mark Miodnownik is a unique and inspiring exploration of human creativity.\'Enthralling. A mission to re-acquaint us with the wonders of the fabric that sustains our lives\' GuardianEverything is made of something...From the everyday objects in our homes to the most extraordinary new materials that will shape our future, Stuff Matters reveals the inner workings of the man-made world, the miracles of craft, design, engineering and ingenuity that surround us every day.From the tea-cup to the jet engine, the silicon chip to the paper clip, from the ancient technologies of fabrics and ceramic to today\'s self-healing metals and bionic implants, this is a book to inspire amazement and delight at mankind\'s creativity.\'A certain sort of madness may be necessary to pull off what he has attempted here, which is a wholesale animation of the inanimate: Miodownik achieves precisely what he sets out to\' The Times\'Insightful, fascinating. The futuristic materials will elicit gasps. Makes even the most everyday substance seem exciting\' Sunday Times\'Wonderful. Miodownik writes well enough to make even concrete sparkle\' Financial Times\'I stayed up all night reading this book\' Oliver Sacks\'Expert, deftly written, immensely enjoyable\' ObserverMark Miodownik is Professor of Materials and Society at UCL, scientist-in-residence on Dara O Briain\'s Science Club (BBC2) and presenter of several documentaries, including The Genius of Invention (BBC2). In 2010, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast on BBC4. He is Director of the UCL Institute of Making, which is home to a materials library containing some of the most wondrous matter on earth, and has collaborated to make interactive events with many museums, such as Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery and Wellcome Collection. In 2014 Stuff Matters won the Royal Society Winton Prize. Σελίδες: 272, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

This is a powerful and a thrilling narrative history revealing the roots of modern science in the medieval world. The adjective \'medieval\' has become a synonym for brutality and uncivilized behavior. Yet without the work of medieval scholars there could have been no Galileo, no Newton and no Scientific Revolution. In \"God\'s Philosophers\", James Hannam debunks many of the myths about the Middle Ages, showing that medieval people did not think the earth is flat, nor did Columbus \'prove\' that it is a sphere; the Inquisition burnt nobody for their science nor was Copernicus afraid of persecution; no Pope tried to ban human dissection or the number zero. \"God\'s Philosophers\" is a celebration of the forgotten scientific achievements of the Middle Ages - advances which were often made thanks to, rather than in spite of, the influence of Christianity and Islam. Decisive progress was also made in technology: spectacles and the mechanical clock, for instance, were both invented in thirteenth-century Europe. Charting an epic journey through six centuries of history, \"God\'s Philosophers\" brings back to light the discoveries of neglected geniuses like John Buridan, Nicole Oresme and Thomas Bradwardine, as well as putting into context the contributions of more familiar figures like Roger Bacon, William of Ockham and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Σελίδες: 448, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

___***SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2022******A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022***\'What you should do now to change the rest of your life\' The Times\'A timely call to safeguard your health and vitality\' Irish TimesDid you know that we can lead longer and healthier lives by making simple changes right now?Professor Rose Anne Kenny has 35 years of experience at the forefront of ageing medicine. In Age Proof, she draws on her own pioneering research and the latest evidence to demystify why we age and shows us that 80% of our ageing biology is within our control: we can not only live longer lives but become happier and healthier deep into our later years. Effortlessly distilling scientific theory into practical advice that we can apply to our everyday lives, Professor Kenny examines the impact that food, genetics, friendships, purpose, sex, exercise and laughter have on how our cells age. This illuminating book will show you the steps you can take to stay younger for longer - and will prove that you really are just as young as you feel. Σελίδες: 336, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

A passionate, highly accessible clarion call to a world dangerously threatened by irrational superstitions of all kinds.\'Truly a book for our time\' Steven Pinker \'In Sweden\'s public square, Christer Sturmark has done as much as anyone to uphold reason and humane critical thinking\' Richard Dawkins \'As lucid and illuminating as it is warm and inspiring\' Rebecca GoldsteinIn country after country, conspiracy theories and religious dogmas that once seemed to have been overtaken by enlightened thought are helping to lift authoritarian leaders into power. The effects are being felt by women, ethnic minorities, teachers, scientists and students – and by the environment, the ultimate victim of climate change denial. We need clear thinking now more than ever.Christer Sturmark is a crusading secular humanist as well as a Swedish publisher and entrepreneur, and The Flame of Reason is his manifesto for a better world. It provides a set of simple tools for clear thinking in the face of populist dogmas, anti-science attitudes and pseudo-philosophy, and suggestions for how we can move towards a new enlightenment.From truth to Quantum Physics, moral philosophy to the Myers-Briggs test, Sturmark offers a passionate defence of rational thought, science, tolerance and pluralism; a warm and engaging guide for anyone who wants to better navigate the modern world.Translated by and co-written with Douglas Hofstadter, celebrated cognitive scientist, physicist and author of Godel, Escher, Bach. Σελίδες: 400, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0801, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

**\'A masterpiece of evocative scientific storytelling.\' BRIAN COX****\'Will appeal to fans of Yuval Noah Harari\'s Sapiens\'. Mail on Sunday **The extraordinary story of the species that became our allies.Dogs became our companionsWheat fed a booming populationCattle gave us meat and milkMaize fuelled the growth of empiresPotatoes brought us feast and famineChickens led us to wonder about tomorrowRice promised us a golden futureHorses gave us strength and speedApples travelled with usHUMANS TAMED THEM ALLFor hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals to stay alive – until they began to tame them.Combining archaeology and cutting-edge genetics, Tamed tells the story of the greatest revolution in human history and reveals the fascinating origins of ten crucial domesticated species; and how they, in turn, transformed us. In a world creaking under the strain of human activity, Alice Roberts urges us to look again at our relationship with the natural world – and our huge influence upon it.AN ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY \'BOOK OF THE YEAR\' 2017 Σελίδες: 368, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

A ground-breaking book by the world-leading expert in sensory science: Freakonomics for food\'Popular science at its best\' - Daniel Levitin Why do we consume 35% more food when eating with one more person, and 75% more when with three? Why are 27% of drinks bought on aeroplanes tomato juice?How are chefs and companies planning to transform our dining experiences, and what can we learn from their cutting-edge insights to make memorable meals at home? These are just some of the ingredients of Gastrophysics, in which the pioneering Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses link up in the most extraordinary ways, and reveals the importance of all the \'off-the-plate\' elements of a meal: the weight of cutlery, the placing on the plate, the background music and much more. Whether dining alone or at a dinner party, on a plane or in front of the TV, he reveals how to understand what we\'re tasting and influence what others experience. Mealtimes will genuinely never be the same again.\'Truly accessible, entertaining and informative. On every page there are ideas to set you thinking and widen your horizons\' - Heston Blumenthal, OBE\'His delight in weird food facts is infectious...fascinating\' - James McConnachie, Sunday Times\'Gastrophysics is packed with such tasty factual morsels that could be served up at dinner parties. If Spence can percolate all these factual morsels to the mainstream, the benefits to all of us would be obvious\' - Nick Curtis, Daily Telegraph\'Spence allows people to appreciate the multisensory experience of eating\' - New Yorker\'The scientist changing the way we eat\' - Guardian Σελίδες: 336, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

Jim Al-Khalili is about to untangle the world\'s greatest science conundrums...___________How does the fact that it gets dark at night prove the Universe must have started with a big bang? Where are all the aliens? Why does the length of a piece of string vary depending on how fast it is moving?Our subject is \'perceived paradoxes\' - questions or thought-experiments that on first encounter seem impossible to answer, but which science has been able to solve. Our tour of these mind-expanding puzzles will take us through some of the greatest hits of science - from Einstein\'s theories about space and time, to the latest ideas of how the quantum world works. Some of our paradoxes may be familiar, such as Schrödinger\'s famous cat, which is seemingly alive and dead at the same time; or the Grandfather Paradox - if you travelled back in time and killed your grandfather you would not have been born and would not therefore have killed your grandfather. Other paradoxes will be new to you, but no less bizarre and fascinating.In resolving our paradoxes we will have to travel to the furthest reaches of the Universe and explore the very essence of space and time. Hold on tight. Σελίδες: 304, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Fully updated throughout and with a new foreword for this edition.Why do most diets fail? Why does one person eat a certain meal and gain weight, while another eating the same meal loses pounds? Why, despite all the advice about what to eat, are we all still getting fatter?The answers are much more surprising - and fascinating - than we\'ve been led to believe. The key to health and weight loss lies not in the latest fad diet, nor even in the simple mantra of \'eat less, exercise more\', but in the microbes already inside us. Drawing on the latest science and his own pioneering research, Professor Tim Spector demystifies the common misconceptions about fat, calories, vitamins and nutrients. Only by understanding what makes our own personal microbes tick can we overcome the confusion of modern nutrition, and achieve a healthy gut and a healthy body. Σελίδες: 352, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1229, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

Every year, readers send in thousands of questions to New Scientist, the world\'s best-selling science weekly, in the hope that the answers to them will be given in the \'Last Word\' column - regularly voted the most popular section of the magazine.Does Anything Eat Wasps? is a collection of the best that have appeared, including: Why can\'t we eat green potatoes? Why do airliners suddenly plummet? Does a compass work in space? Why do all the local dogs howl at emergency sirens? How can a tree grow out of a chimney stack? Why do bruises go through a range of colours? Why is the sea blue inside caves? Many seemingly simple questions are actually very complex to answer. And some that seem difficult have a very simple explanation. New Scientist\'s \'Last Word\' celebrates all questions - the trivial, the idiosyncratic, the baffling and the strange. This selection of the best is popular science at its most entertaining and enlightening. Σελίδες: 224, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

\'If you want to see what that future might look like, Duncan\'s book is a fun place to start\'NPR\'Intensely readable, downright terrifying, and surprisingly uplifting\' Vanity Fair \'5 books not to miss . . . A fascinating work of imaginative futurology\'USA TodayOne of Time magazine\'s \'32 Books You Need to Read This Summer\' - \'a riveting read\' One of David Baldacci and Elizabeth Acevedo\'s best summer reads, on USA Today\'s Today programme \'A refreshing variation on the will-intelligent-robots-bring-Armageddon genre . . . this colourful mixture of expert futurology and quirky speculation does not disappoint\' Kirkus ReviewsWhat robot and AI systems are being built and imagined right now? What do they say about us, their creators? Will they usher in a fantastic new future, or destroy us? What do some of our greatest thinkers, from physicist Brian Greene and futurist Kevin Kelly to inventor Dean Kamen, geneticist George Church, and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, anticipate about our human-robot future? For even as robots and AI intrigue us and make us anxious about the future, our fascination with robots has always been about more than the potential of the technology - it\'s also about what robots tell us about being human.From present-day Facebook and Amazon bots to near-future \'intimacy\' bots and \'the robot that swiped my job\' bots, bestselling American popular science writer David Ewing Duncan\'s Talking to Robots is a wonderfully entertaining and insightful guide to possible future scenarios about robots, both real and imagined.Featured bots include robot drivers; doc bots; politician bots; warrior bots; sex bots; synthetic bio bots; dystopic bots that are hopefully just bad dreams; and ultimately, God Bot (as described by physicist Brian Greene).These scenarios are informed by discussions with well-known thinkers, engineers, scientists, artists, philosophers and others, who share with us their ideas, hopes and fears about robots. David spoke with, among others, Kevin Kelly, David Baldacci, Brian Greene, Dean Kamen, Craig Venter, Stephanie Mehta, David Eagleman, George Poste, George Church, General R. H. Latiff, Robert Seigel, Emily Morse, David Sinclair, Ken Goldberg, Sunny Bates, Adam Gazzaley, Tim O\'Reilly, Tiffany Shlain, Eric Topol and Juan Enriquez.These discussions, along with some reporting on bot-tech, bot-history and real-time societal and ethical issues with robots, are the launch pads for unfurling possible bot futures that are informed by how people and societies have handled new technologies in the past.The book describes how robots work, but its primary focus is on what our fixation with bots and AI says about us as humans: about our hopes and anxieties; our myths, stories, beliefs and ideas about beings both real and artificial; and our attempts to attain perfection.We are at a pivotal moment when our ancient infatuation with human-like beings with certain attributes or superpowers - in mythology, religion and storytelling - is coinciding with our ability to actually build some of these entities. Σελίδες: 320, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0314, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

For more than sixty-five years on the air, From Our Own Correspondent has been one of BBC Radio\'s flagship programmes. It has taken listeners to parts of the world where they have never gone, and perhaps never would: war zones, refugee camps, elite universities, space stations, spy academies and lions\' dens of all sorts. Its dispatches introduce audiences to people they might never expect to meet - kingpins, revolutionaries, assassins and outcasts. It has always relied on the power of personal testimony, with its contributors not merely reporting the news, but sharing what they found out along the way, and how it felt. Its correspondents often relate the unexpected: the day they visited the town that is crazy about trout fishing, attended a forty-course Chinese banquet, experienced zero gravity on a flight with Russian cosmonauts, went mud wrestling in Turkey or ballroom dancing in Cameroon. Themed by continent and region, From Our Own Correspondent brings together the most compelling stories of the past ten years. It is a perfect primer for the understanding of the modern world. Σελίδες: 400, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1011, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

In our small corner of the universe, we know how some matter behaves most of the time and what even less of it looks like, and we have some good guesses about where it all came from. But we really have no clue what\'s going on. In fact, we don\'t know what about 95% of the universe is made of. So what happens when a cartoonist and a physicist walk into this strange, mostly unknown universe? Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson gleefully explore the biggest unknowns, why these things are still mysteries, and what a lot of smart people are doing to figure out the answers (or at least ask the right questions). While they\'re at it, they helpfully demystify many complicated things we do know about, from quarks and neutrinos to gravitational waves and exploding black holes. With equal doses of humour and delight, they invite us to see the universe as a vast expanse of mostly uncharted territory that\'s still ours to explore. This is a book for fans of Brian Cox and What If. This highly entertaining highly illustrated book is perfect for anyone who\'s curious about all the great mysteries physicists are going to solve next. Σελίδες: 368, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0529, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

To go beyond is to move into a higher state of consciousness, to a place of bliss, greater understanding, love, and deep connectedness, a realm where we finally find life\'s meaning - experiences for which all spiritual seekers seek.Dr Rupert Sheldrake, writing as both a scientist and a spiritual explorer, looks at seven spiritual practices that are personally transformative and have scientifically measurable effects. He combines the latest scientific research with his extensive knowledge of mystical traditions around the world to show how we may tune into more-than-human realms of consciousness through psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, and by taking cannabis. He also shows how everyday activities can have mystical dimensions, including sports and learning from animals. He discusses traditional religious practices such as fasting, prayer, and the celebration of festivals and holy days.Why do these practices work? Are their effects all inside brains and essentially illusory? Or can we really make contact with forms of consciousness greater than our own? We are in the midst of a spiritual revival. This book is an essential guide. Σελίδες: 336, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0211, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

A dazzling, passionate polemic against anti-science movements of all kindsCover note: Each copy of the new edition of Unweaving the Rainbow features a unique wavelength pattern. No two covers are exactly alike.Keats accused Newton of destroying the poetry of the rainbow by explaining the origin of its colours. In this illuminating and provocative book, Richard Dawkins argues that Keats could not have been more mistaken, and shows how an understanding of science enhances our wonder of the world. He argues that mysteries do not lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution is often more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering even deeper mysteries. Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement on the human appetite for wonder.Cover note: Each copy of the new edition of Unweaving the Rainbow features a unique wavelength pattern. No two covers are exactly alike. Σελίδες: 352, Διαστάσεις: 13.1x13.1cm

From the bestselling authors of Why does E=mc2? comes The Quantum Universe, in which Brian Cox, presenter of the BBC\'s Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe, and Jeff Forshaw go on a brilliantly ambitious mission to show that everyone can understand the deepest questions of science. But just what is quantum physics? How does it help us understand our amazing world? Where does it leave Newton and Einstein? And why, above all, can we be sure that the theory is good?Here, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw give us the real science behind the bizarre behaviour of the atoms and energy that make up the universe, and reveal exactly how everything that can happen, does happen. Σελίδες: 272, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

From cyborgs, starships, UFOs, aliens and antimatter to telepathy, invisibility, psychokinesis and precognition, Michio Kaku\'s Physics of the Impossible is an exciting look at how science fiction could soon become science fact. Albert Einstein said, \'If at first an idea does not sound absurd, there is no hope for it.\' Physics of the Impossible shows how our most far-fetched ideas today - from Star Trek\'s phasers and teleportation to time travel as envisioned by Back to the Future - are destined to become tomorrow\'s reality. Michio Kaku, bestselling science author and one of the world\'s most acclaimed physicists, looks at the technologies of the future and explains what\'s just around the corner, what we might have to wait a few millennia to get our hands on and how surprisingly little of it is truly impossible. \'A brilliant, provocative, freewheeling tour around the exotic shores of physics\'  Independent \'A rich compendium of jaw-dropping reality checks\'   The Times \'One of the world\'s most distinguished physicists ... takes the reader on a journey to the frontiers of science and beyond\'   Guardian \'After reading Kaku\'s boundless enthusiasm for the future, what you wouldn\'t give for a real-life time machine to travel forwards and see just how accurate his predictions are\'   Sunday Telegraph Michio Kaku is a leading theoretical physicist and one of the founders of string theory, widely regarded as the strongest candidate for the \'theory of everything\'. He is also one of the most gifted popularizers of science of his generation. His books published by Penguin include Parallel Worlds, The Physics of the Future and The Physics of the Impossible. He holds the Henry Semat Professorship in Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York, where he has taught for over twenty-five years. Σελίδες: 352, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

What Do You Care What Other People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character is a captivating collection of reminiscences from freewheeling scientific genius Richard P. Feynman. Richard Feynman - Nobel Laureate, teacher and iconic intellect - possessed an unquenchable thirst for an adventure and an unparalleled gift for telling the extraordinary stories of his life. In this collection of short pieces Feynman describes everything from his love of beauty to college pranks to how his father taught him to think. He takes us behind the scenes of the space shuttle Challenger investigation, where he dramatically revealed the cause of the disaster with a simple experiment. And he tells us of how he met his beloved first wife Arlene, and their brief time together before her death. Sometimes intensely moving, sometimes funny, these writings are infused with Feynman\'s curiosity and passion for life. \'Feynman\'s voice echoes raw and direct through these pages\'  The New York Times \'Outrageously gifted, iconoclastic, irrepressible ... Richard Feynman still has the capacity to suprise\'  Observer \'One of the greatest minds of the twentieth century ... he was also stubborn, irreverent, playful, intensely curious and highly original in practically everything he did\'  New York Review of Books \'If more scientists were like Feynman, the world really would be a better, and better understood, place\'  Independent on Sunday Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988) was one of this century\'s most brilliant theoretical physicists and original thinkers. Feynman\'s other books, also available in Penguin, include QED, Six Easy Pieces, Six Not-so-Easy Pieces, Don\'t You Have Time to Think, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, What Do You Care What Other People Think? and The Meaning of it All. Σελίδες: 256, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

An extraordinary and challenging synthesis of ideas uniting Quantum Theory, and the theories of Computation, Knowledge and Evolution, Deutsch\'s extraordinary book explores the deep connections between these strands which reveal the fabric of realityin which human actions and ideas play essential roles. Σελίδες: 400, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

In Zero Degrees of Empathy: A New Theory of Human Cruelty and Kindness Simon Baron-Cohen takes fascinating and challenging new look at what exactly makes our behaviour uniquely human. How can we ever explain human cruelty? We have always struggled to understand why some people behave in the most evil way imaginable, while others are completely self-sacrificing. Is it possible that - rather than thinking in terms of \'good\' and \'evil\' - all of us instead lie somewhere on the empathy spectrum, and our position on that spectrum can be affected by both genes and our environments? Why do some people treat others as objects? Why is empathy our most precious resource? And does a lack of it always mean a negative outcome? From the Nazi concentration camps of World War Two to the playgrounds of today, Simon Baron-Cohen examines empathy, cruelty and understanding in a groundbreaking study of what it means to be human. \'Fascinating ... dazzling ... a full-scale assault on what we think it is to be human\'  Sunday Telegraph \'Highly readable ... this is a valuable book\'  Charlotte Moore, Spectator \'Important ... humane and immensely sympathetic\'  Richard Holloway, Literary Review Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor at Cambridge University in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. He is also the Director of the Autism Research Centre there. He has carried out research into social neuroscience over a 20 year career. His popular science book entitled The Essential Difference has been translated in over a dozen languages, and has been widely reviewed. Σελίδες: 208, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

‘Fascinating’ Guardian‘Brilliant’ Evening Standard‘Electrifying’ Financial Times‘So interesting I literally couldn’t put it down’ Sunday TimesWe are living in an age of heightened individualism. Success is a personal responsibility. Our culture tells us that to succeed is to be slim, rich, happy, extroverted, popular – flawless.The pressure to conform to this ideal has changed who we are. We have become self-obsessed. And our expectation of perfection comes at a cost. Millions are suffering under the torture of this impossible fantasy.It was not always like this. To explain how we got here, Will Storr takes us on a journey across continents and centuries. Full of thrilling and unexpected connections between history, psychology, economics, neuroscience and more, Selfie is an unforgettable book that makes sense of who we have become. Σελίδες: 416, Διαστάσεις: 13.1x13.1cm

‘Like Louis Theroux channelling Margaret Atwood’ – New Statesman‘A tour of the lurid fringes of the tech world’ – The Times‘A moreish page-turner of a book’ – HeraldImagine if it was possible to have the perfect sexual relationship without compromise, eat meat without killing animals, have babies without the need to bear them, and choose the time of our painless death. Life would be better, right?All over the globe, people are trying to make this a reality. They want to use technology to solve the thorniest problems of humanity. But what if these ‘problems’ are the very things that make us human? Join Jenny Kleeman on an entertaining, thought-provoking adventure to a place where sex robots and vegan meat are no longer science fiction – right here, right now. Σελίδες: 368, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0629, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

‘Passionate and urgent.’ Guardian, Book of the Week ‘A must-read for all.’ Stylist, best new books for 2020 ‘Cogently argued and intensely persuasive. Groundbreaking Work.’ Waterstones, best new books of April \'Impressive and much-needed.\' Financial Times, Best Business Books April to June \'Admirably detailed.\' Prospect Magazine ‘Practical, useful, readable and essential for the times we are living in.’ Nikesh Shukla ‘An eye-opening book that I hope will be widely read.’ Angela Saini \'If you think you don\'t need to read this book, you really need to read this book.\' Jane Garvey \'An eye-opening book looking at unconscious bias. Meticulously researched and well written. It will make you think hard about the judgements you make. An essential read for our times.\' Kavita Puri, BBC Journalist and author For the first time, behavioural and data scientist, activist and writer Dr Pragya Agarwal unravels the way our implicit or \'unintentional\' biases affect the way we communicate and perceive the world, how they affect our decision-making, and how they reinforce and perpetuate systemic and structural inequalities. Sway is a thoroughly researched and comprehensive look at unconscious bias and how it impacts day-to-day life, from job interviews to romantic relationships to saving for retirement. It covers a huge number of sensitive topics - sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, colourism - with tact, and combines statistics with stories to paint a fuller picture and enhance understanding. Throughout, Pragya clearly delineates theories with a solid grounding in science, answering questions such as: do our roots for prejudice lie in our evolutionary past? What happens in our brains when we are biased? How has bias affected technology? If we don\'t know about it, are we really responsible for it? At a time when partisan political ideologies are taking centre stage, and we struggle to make sense of who we are and who we want to be, it is crucial that we understand why we act the way we do. This book will enables us to open our eyes to our own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way. Σελίδες: 448, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0928, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Elephant\'s on Acid comes a collection of the wackiest theories from science and history.What if we’re living inside a black hole? What if we’ve already found extraterrestrial life? What if the dinosaurs died in a nuclear war? What if Jesus Christ was actually a mushroom?In Psychedelic Apes, bestselling author Alex Boese delves into the curious scientific subculture of weird theories. Thoroughly bizarre and contrary to the established norm, these ideas are often vehemently rejected by the intellectual community.From the creation of the universe to the evolution of humans, the birth of civilization right through to our more recent past, Psychedelic Apes explores some of the craziest ideas from science and history and shows that, sometimes, even the weirdest theories may be proved true . . . Σελίδες: 320, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1026, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

Politics in the Twentieth Century was dominated by a single question: how much of our collective life should be determined by the state, and what should be left to the market and civil society? Now the debate is different: to what extent should our lives be directed and controlled by powerful digital systems - and on what terms? Digital technologies - from artificial intelligence to blockchain, from robotics to virtual reality - are transforming the way we live together. Those who control the most powerful technologies are increasingly able to control the rest of us. As time goes on, these powerful entities - usually big tech firms and the state - will set the limits of our liberty, decreeing what may be done and what is forbidden. Their algorithms will determine vital questions of social justice. In their hands, democracy will flourish or decay. A landmark work of political theory, Future Politics challenges readers to rethink what it means to be free or equal, what it means to have power or property, and what it means for a political system to be just or democratic. In a time of rapid and relentless changes, it is a book about how we can - and must - regain control. Winner of the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize. Σελίδες: 544, Διαστάσεις: 12.6x12.6cm

The Big Idea shortlisted for series design in the British Design and Production AwardsModern technology has enhanced our lives in numerous ways – we can now communicate in real time with friends and colleagues around the world, and do our shopping and banking without leaving home. But, as technology crowds further into our personal lives, is it doing us more harm than good? Are we becoming anxious, depressed and socially isolated, unaware of the manipulating influence of algorithms designed to keep us engaged and to filter the picture of the world we see? Has our online gaming or gambling unwittingly developed into a disturbing addiction? This rigorous and insightful volume assesses the impact of our increased screen time and daily interactions with personal technology on our individual choices, our relationships, and our mental and physical health, and suggests how best to mitigate any adverse effects. Σελίδες: 144, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0501, Διαστάσεις: 15.2x15.2cm

The book is an exploration of how this century is going to change not just the way we think, but also what we actually think with - our own individual minds. How will new technologies transform the way we see the world? At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we may be standing on the brink of a mind make-over far more cataclysmic than anything that has happened before. As we appreciate the dynamism and sensitivity of our brain circuitry, so the prospect of directly tampering with the essence of our individuality becomes a possibility. Σελίδες: 304, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

\'A generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it\' Nigel Warburton, Times Literary Supplement\'One of today\'s most readable, intellectually nimble and scientifically literate philosophers\' Nature\'Who would have guessed that a philosopher\'s life could be so full of adventures?\'Daniel C. Dennett, philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering consciousness. I\'ve Been Thinking traces the development of Dennett\'s own intellect and instructs us how we too can become good thinkers.Dennett\'s restless curiosity leads him from his childhood in Beirut to Harvard, and from Parisian jazz clubs to \'tillosophy\' on his tractor in Maine. Along the way, he encounters and debates with a host of legendary thinkers, and reveals the breakthroughs and misjudgments that shaped his paradigm-shifting philosophies. Thinking, Dennett argues, is hard, and risky. In fact, all good philosophical thinking is inevitably accompanied by bafflement, frustration and self-doubt. It is only in getting it wrong that we, very occasionally, find a way to get it right.This memoir by one of the greatest philosophers of our time will speak to anyone who seeks a life of the mind with adventure and creativity. Σελίδες: 480, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

From the world\'s preeminent AI futurist: a fascinating account of how mapping the human mind leads to ever more intelligent machines Ray Kurzweil, described by Bill Gates as \'the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence\', offers a provocative exploration of the most important project in human-machine civilisation: reverse-engineering the brain to understand precisely how it works and using that knowledge to create even more intelligent machines. Kurzweil sets out how the brain functions, how the mind emerges from the brain, and the implications of vastly increased and evolving intelligence in addressing the world’s problems. He thoughtfully examines emotional and moral intelligence and the origins of consciousness and envisions the radical - arguably inevitable - future of our merging with the intelligent technology we are creating, aka \'the singularity\'. Σελίδες: 352, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

\'A fascinating book . . . Bhaskar is a reassuringly positive and often witty guide\'Observer\'A fascinating, must-read book covering a vast array of topics from the arts to the sciences, technology to policy. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking response to one of the most critical questions of our age: how we will come up with the next generation of innovation and truly fresh ideas?\'Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of DeepMind and Google VP\'Have \"big ideas\" and big social and economic changes disappeared from the scene? Michael Bhaskar\'s Human Frontiers is the best look at these all-important questions.\'Tyler Cowen, author of The Great Stagnation and The Complacent Class\'Michael Bhaskar explores the disturbing possibility that a complacent, cautious civilization has lost ambition and is slowly sinking into technological stagnation rather than accelerating into a magical future. He is calling for bold, adventurous innovators to go big again. A fascinating book\'Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation WorksWhere next for humanity? Is our future one of endless improvement in all areas of life, from technology and travel to medicine, movies and music? Or are our best years behind us? It\'s easy to assume that the story of modern society is one of consistent, radical progress, but this is no longer true: more academics are researching than ever before but their work leads to fewer breakthroughs; innovation is incremental, limited to the digital sphere; the much-vaunted cure for cancer remains elusive; space travel has stalled since the heady era of the moonshot; politics is stuck in a rut, and the creative industries seem trapped in an ongoing cycle of rehashing genres and classics. The most ambitious ideas now struggle. Our great-great-great grandparents saw a series of transformative ideas revolutionise almost everything in just a few decades. Today, in contrast, short termism, risk aversion, and fractious decision making leaves the landscape timid and unimaginative.In Human Frontiers, Michael Bhaskar draws a vividly entertaining and expansive portrait of humanity\'s relationship with big ideas. He argues that stasis at the frontier is the result of having already pushed so far, taken easy wins and started to hit limits. But new thinking is still possible. By adopting bold global approaches, deploying cutting edge technology like AI and embracing a culture of change, we can push through and expand afresh.Perfect for anyone who has wondered why we haven\'t gone further, this book shows in fascinating detail how the 21st century could stall - or be the most revolutionary time in human history. Σελίδες: 432, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0628, Διαστάσεις: 12.4x12.4cm

In this stunningly original book, Richard Wrangham argues that it was cooking that caused the extraordinary transformation of our ancestors from apelike beings to Homo erectus. At the heart of Catching Fire lies an explosive new idea: the habit of eating cooked rather than raw food permitted the digestive tract to shrink and the human brain to grow, helped structure human society, and created the male-female division of labour. As our ancestors adapted to using fire, humans emerged as \"the cooking apes\". Covering everything from food-labelling and overweight pets to raw-food faddists, Catching Fire offers a startlingly original argument about how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today. \"This notion is surprising, fresh and, in the hands of Richard Wrangham, utterly persuasive ... Big, new ideas do not come along often in evolution these days, but this is one.\" -Matt Ridley, author of Genome Σελίδες: 320, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

‘Fascinating’ – Brian Cox, Mail on Sunday Books of the Year Where are we? Who are we? Do our beliefs, hopes and dreams hold any significance out there in the void? Can human purpose and meaning ever fit into a scientific worldview? Award-winning author Sean Carroll brings his extraordinary intellect to bear on the realms of knowledge, the laws of nature and the most profound questions about life, death and our place in it all. From Darwin and Einstein to the origins of life, consciousness and the universe itself, Carroll combines cosmos-sprawling science and profound thought in a quest to explain our world. Destined to sit alongside the works of our greatest thinkers, The Big Picture demonstrates that while our lives may be forever dwarfed by the immensity of the universe, they can be redeemed by our capacity to comprehend it and give it meaning. Σελίδες: 480, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0701, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

\'Magisterial . . . you reach the end of this profound, revealing book rewarded. West shows how scientific method helps to peel back the hidden reality of our world\' MATTHEW SYED, THE TIMESGeoffrey West\'s research centres on a quest to find unifying principles and patterns connecting everything, from cells and ecosystems to cities, social networks and businesses.Why do organisms and ecosystems scale with size in a remarkably universal and systematic fashion?Is there a maximum size of cities? Of animals and plants? What about companies?Can scale show us how to create a more sustainable future?By applying the rigour of physics to questions of biology, visionary physicist Geoffrey West found that despite the riotous diversity in the sizes of mammals, they are all, to a large degree, scaled versions of each other. This speaks to everything from how long we can expect to live to how many hours of sleep we need. He then made the even bolder move of exploring his work\'s applicability to cities and to the business world. These investigations have led to powerful insights about the elemental natural laws that bind us together in profound ways, and how all complex systems are dancing to the same simple tune, however diverse and unrelated they may seem. Σελίδες: 496, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0508, Διαστάσεις: 12.6x12.6cm

A FINANCIAL TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARA STRONG WORDS TOP 50 BOOKS OF THE YEAR\'Dizzying and fragrant . . . truly a captivating achievement!\' Aimee Nezhukumatathil\'If you read this book you will be changed . . . this book feels like an actual elixir\' Kiese Laymon\'A fascinating tale of discovery, wonder, and revolution\' Matthew StanleyTwo friends in a Parisian perfume shop make a discovery that will transform our understanding of the world and the origins of life on Earth forever.Set amidst the unforgettable sights and smells of 18th and 19th Century Paris, Elixir tells the story of Edouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent, the son of a perfumer and a fellow aspiring chemist, who met on the Left Bank while pursuing their passion for science. Spurned by the scientific establishment, the pair ended up working out of Edouard\'s family perfume shop, Laugier père et fils. By day they prepared the revitalizing elixirs and rejuvenating eaux it was famous for, but by night using the ingredients of the perfumery and the principles of alchemy, they pursued the secret of life itself.Elixir reads like a novel, brimming with eccentric characters, experimental daring, and the romance of the Bohemian salon. It is the story of a long-standing scientific puzzle and the struggle to gain acceptance for a new way of thinking about the building blocks of living matter long after those who discovered it were both dead. Yet this is also a story of hope and determination. For while the scientific establishment ridiculed their work at the time, teenage lab assistant Louis Pasteur took it seriously and over the course of an exceptional career, was able to show that their work pointed to a deep, inexplicable asymmetry in the molecular arrangement of living things - an unexplained asymmetry which remains one of science\'s great mysteries. Σελίδες: 320, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0430, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

From the world\'s preeminent AI futurist: a fascinating account of how mapping the human mind leads to ever more intelligent machines Ray Kurzweil, described by Bill Gates as \'the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence\', offers a provocative exploration of the most important project in human-machine civilisation: reverse-engineering the brain to understand precisely how it works and using that knowledge to create even more intelligent machines. Kurzweil sets out how the brain functions, how the mind emerges from the brain, and the implications of vastly increased and evolving intelligence in addressing the world’s problems. He thoughtfully examines emotional and moral intelligence and the origins of consciousness and envisions the radical - arguably inevitable - future of our merging with the intelligent technology we are creating, aka \'the singularity\'. Σελίδες: 352, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Forty articles expertly curated by biographer Andrew Robinson provide an unrivalled account of the lives and personalities behind the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time. Who made us see the atom, our minds, our planet and the universe afresh? How did we uncover the mysteries of life on earth? What next? The theories, discoveries and inventions of scientists have revolutionized our consciousness. Think of gravity, evolution, relativity, radioactivity and the Big Bang; electric motors, vaccines, nuclear power and computers. Behind these breakthroughs lie the personal stories of men and women with vision and determination: singular thinkers who defied adversity in their quest for answers. This book tells the remarkable lives of the pioneers – from Galileo, Faraday and Darwin, through Pasteur and Marie Curie, to Einstein, Freud and Turing. Written by an international team of distinguished scientists, historians and science writers, it will intrigue budding scientists; those fascinated by the lives of great individuals; and anyone curious to know how we came to understand the exterior world and the pulse of life within. Σελίδες: 320, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0510, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

If you thought you knew who you were, THINK AGAIN.Did you know that half your DNA isn\'t human? That somebody, somewhere has exactly the same face? Or that most of your memories are fiction?What about the fact that you are as hairy as a chimpanzee, various parts of your body don\'t belong to you, or that you can read other people\'s minds? Do you really know why you blush, yawn and cry? Why 90 per cent of laughter has nothing to do with humour? Or what will happen to your mind after you die?You belong to a unique, fascinating and often misunderstood species. How to be Human is your guide to making the most of it. Σελίδες: 432, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0304, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm