Vetenskap

The feminist book they tried to ban in France

Is the Internet making us stupid? In this new book, as incendiary as it is important, Nicholas Carr argues that the Internet is changing dramatically how we think, remember and interact.

From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew

Considering humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable, this text addresses diminishing human agency and political freedom - the paradox that as human powers increase through technology and inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions.

Do you have a female brain or a male brain?Drawing on her work as a professor of cognitive neuroimaging, Gina Rippon unpacks the stereotypes that bombard us from our earliest moments and shows how these messages mould our ideas of ourselves and even shape our brains.

The "Nicomachean Ethics" is one of Aristotle's most widely read and influential works. Drawing on their intimate knowledge of Aristotle's thought, the authors have produced an English-language translation of the "Ethics" that is as faithful to the original as it is graceful in its rendering.

The provocative bestseller from Britain's foremost controversial thinker is now in paperback: 'If Hitchens didn't exist, we wouldn't be able to invent him.' Ian McEwan

The maths we learn in school can seem like an abstract set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In fact, Jordan Ellenberg shows us, maths touches on everything we do, and a little mathematical knowledge reveals the hidden structures that lie beneath the world's messy and chaotic surface. In How Not to be Wrong, Ellenberg explores the mathematician's method of analyzing life, from the everyday to the cosmic, showing us which numbers to defend, which ones to ignore, and when to change the equation entirely. Along the way, he explains calculus in a single page, describes G del's theorem using only one-syllable words, and reveals how early you actually need to get to the airport.

In The Theoretical Minimum, world-class physicist Leonard Susskind provided a brilliant first course in classical mechanics, offering readers not an oversimplified introduction but the real thing - everything you need to start doing physics, and nothing more. Now he returns with the next challenge that every aspiring physics buff must tackle: quantum mechanics. Unlike classical mechanics, quantum mechanics is not intuitive - it concerns things so small they are beyond the range of human senses. To understand quantum physics, you need to learn a whole new way of thinking, but then, Susskind reveals, you will discover that it is even more fundamental than classical mechanics. Unlike most popular physics books - which give readers a taste of what physicists know but not what they actually do - Susskind and his co-author Art Friedman teach the maths and equations that are essential to any real understanding of quantum mechanics. Combining crystal-clear explanations, witty and helpful dialogues, and basic exercises, Quantum Mechanics is, to paraphrase Einstein, as simple as possible, but no simpler.

Back on the earth after three spaceflights, Chris Hadfield's captivating memoir An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth reveals extraordinary stories from his life as an astronaut, and shows how to make the impossible a reality.Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' in space. The secret to Chris Hadfield's success - and survival - is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst - and enjoy every moment of it.In his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Chris Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement - and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counter-intuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Colonel Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights in this book will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth - especially your own.

A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROne of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern. We have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "e;we have no theory."e; Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt proceeds by exploring how bullshit and the related concept of humbug are distinct from lying. He argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. In fact, bullshit need not be untrue at all. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

Let Lonely Planet take you further than ever before with the world's first and only travel guide to the Universe, developed with the latest data from NASA. Touch down on the planets of our solar system, before continuing your trip to the edge of the known Universe via exoplanets, newborn stars, supernova remnants, galaxy superclusters and more.

'Football looked at in a very different way' Pat Nevin, former Chelsea and Everton star and football media analystFootball - the most mathematical of sports. From shot statistics and league tables to the geometry of passing and managerial strategy, the modern game is filled with numbers, patterns and shapes. How do we make sense of them? The answer lies in the mathematical models applied in biology, physics and economics. Soccermatics brings football and mathematics together in a mind-bending synthesis, using numbers to help reveal the inner workings of the beautiful game.This new and expanded edition analyses the current big-name players and teams using mathematics, and meets the professionals working inside football who use numbers and statistics to boost performance.Welcome to the world of mathematical modelling, expressed brilliantly by David Sumpter through the prism of football. No matter who you follow - from your local non-league side to the big boys of the Premiership, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A or the MLS - you'll be amazed at what mathematics has to teach us about the world's favourite sport.

This is the only complete modern translation of Epictetus's Discourses, together with the Handbook and fragments. A major work of Stoic practical ethics, the Discourses teach that the basis of happiness is up to us. This accessible new translation is accompanied by a full introduction and thorough notes.

With a new introduction from the author, this is the 25th anniversary edition of the Pulitzer prize-winning story of how the atomic bomb came to be.

"I am hard pressed to think of another book that can match the combination of practical insights and reading enjoyment."-Steven Levitt

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (AD 121-180) embodied in his person that ideal figure of antiquity, the philosopher-king. His "Meditations" reveal a mind of exceptional clarity and originality and a spirit attuned to the particulars of human destiny.

A Masterful Author and Jungian Analyst Examines the Qualities that Bring Meaning to Our Human Journey What is it that brings meaning to your life? Our culture tells us to seek wealth, power, prestige, or even enrollment in someone else's idea of a worthy cause--yet where do we turn when these myths fail to fulfill our need for purpose? "When the old stories and beliefs that once defined us have played out and grown exhausted," teaches Dr. James Hollis, "our task is to access our inner compass, the promptings of the psyche that help us find our way through the complex thickets of choice." A Life of Meaning is a profound audio exploration of the nature of meaning and how we can orient toward it or away from it with the choices we make. Through examination of myth, literature, historical figures, and the wisdom of depth psychology, Hollis provides penetrating insight into the search for purpose. Here you'll explore: - How our story-seeking mind forms our sense of meaning from early experience - Why these early stories inevitably fail as we are called to our own path - Skillfully accessing the inner oracle of your dreams - Shadow work--where we fear to tread, yet where our greatest treasures may be found - Missing the mark--examining the archetype of the Seven Deadly Sins through a psychological lens - Dispelling the "ghosts" that haunt our memories and possess our psyche - Finding personal resilience in times of internal and external change - Living more fully in the presence of our mortality In A Life of Meaning, James Hollis offers no easy answers or feel-good certainties--instead, he shares his most valuable questions and reflections to help you find the courage, persistence, and inspiration to navigate your own odyssey. "It's humbling work, this process of getting our lives back," he teaches. "Yet I submit to you that's worth the price of the ticket, for in the journey our lives become ever more luminous."

The Sunday Times bestseller *Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize*A New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year'This book calls for nothing less than a revolution in the future of food' Kate RaworthFrom the bestselling author of Feral, a breathtaking first glimpse of a new future for food and for humanityFarming is the world's greatest cause of environmental destruction - and the one we are least prepared to talk about. We criticise urban sprawl, but farming sprawls across thirty times as much land. We have ploughed, fenced and grazed great tracts of the planet, felling forests, killing wildlife, and poisoning rivers and oceans to feed ourselves. Yet millions still go hungry.Now the food system itself is beginning to falter. But, as George Monbiot shows us in this brilliant, bracingly original new book, we can resolve the biggest of our dilemmas and feed the world without devouring the planet.Regenesis is a breathtaking vision of a new future for food and for humanity. Drawing on astonishing advances in soil ecology, Monbiot reveals how our changing understanding of the world beneath our feet could allow us to grow more food with less farming. He meets the people who are unlocking these methods, from the fruit and vegetable grower revolutionising our understanding of fertility; through breeders of perennial grains, liberating the land from ploughs and poisons; to the scientists pioneering new ways to grow protein and fat. Together, they show how the tiniest life forms could help us make peace with the planet, restore its living systems, and replace the age of extinction with an age of regenesis.

'Everything he writes is an enlightening education in how to be human.' Elizabeth DayTo fix a machine, first you need to find out what's wrong with it. To fix unhappiness, you need to find out what causes it.That Little Voice in Your Head is the practical guide to retraining your brain for optimal joy by Mo Gawdat, the internationally bestselling author of Solve for Happy. Mo reveals how by beating negative self-talk, we can change our thought processes, turning our greed into generosity, our apathy into compassion and investing in our own happiness.This book provides readers with exercises to help reshape their mental processes. Drawing on his expertise in programming and his knowledge of neuroscience, Mo explains how - despite their incredible complexity - our brains behave in ways that are largely predictable. From these insights, he delivers this user manual for happiness.Inspired by the life of his late son, Ali, Mo Gawdat has set out to share a model for happiness based on generosity and empathy towards ourselves and others. Using his experience as a former Google engineer and Chief Business Officer, Mo shares his 'code' for reprogramming our brain and moving away from the misconceptions modern life gives us.