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We Are Our Brains: A Neurobiography of the Brain, from the Womb to Alzheimer's
by Jane Hedley-Prole D. F. SwaabA vivid account of what makes us human. Based groundbreaking new research, We Are Our Brains is a sweeping biography of the human brain, from infancy to adulthood to old age. Renowned neuroscientist D. F. Swaab takes us on a guided tour of the intricate inner workings that determine our potential, our limitations, and our desires, with each chapter serving as an eye-opening window on a different stage of brain development: the gender differences that develop in the embryonic brain, what goes on in the heads of adolescents, how parenthood permanently changes the brain. Moving beyond pure biological understanding, Swaab presents a controversial and multilayered ethical argument surrounding the brain. Far from possessing true free will, Swaab argues, we have very little control over our everyday decisions, or who we will become, because our brains predetermine everything about us, long before we are born, from our moral character to our religious leanings to whom we fall in love with. And he challenges many of our prevailing assumptions about what makes us human, decoding the intricate "moral networks" that allow us to experience emotion, revealing maternal instinct to be the result of hormonal changes in the pregnant brain, and exploring the way that religious "imprinting" shapes the brain during childhood. Rife with memorable case studies, We Are Our Brains is already a bestselling international phenomenon. It aims to demystify the chemical and genetic workings of our most mysterious organ, in the process helping us to see who we are through an entirely new lens. Did you know? * The father's brain is affected in pregnancy as well as the mother's. * The withdrawal symptoms we experience at the end of a love affair mirror chemical addiction. * Growing up bilingual reduces the likelihood of Alzheimer's. * Parental religion is imprinted on our brains during early development, much as our native language is. cerebral cortex that directs the fingers of the left hand is five times as large as in people who don't play an instrument.
We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration
by Robert Furrow Donna Jo NapoliA stunning picture book for young nature lovers about starlings and the fascinating phenomenon of murmurations. Illustrated by the award-winning artist Marc Martin, this book about the natural world vividly explores how such an enigma is even possible.Sweeping, diving, twisting, turning. To look up at a murmuration of starlings is an experience like no other. Hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of starlings fly together as one flock. The group ripples, whirls, and waves as each bird stays close to its neighbors in a harmonious synchronicity of movement. The story is told from the point of view of the flock, which gives the reader an inside look at what is happening, and the breathtaking illustrations perfectly capture the ebb and flow of a murmuration. Young readers will witness and fully appreciate the extraordinary communication and collaboration abilities of these birds and may be able to apply these lessons to their own lives.
We are the Martians
by Giovanni F BignamiFor many thousands of years, human beings have been asking themselves whether they are more frightened of being alone in the universe or of the thought that there is someone else out there. Over the past few decades, however, we have moved from imagination to action, exploring the cosmos using new techniques, often with surprising results. Numerous fascinating but little known facts have emerged - for example, that every year many rocks from Mars fall on the Earth, that one of our amino acids has been found in the coma of a comet, and that some of the known thousands of extrasolar planets are similar to our own. There are further exciting and important discoveries around the corner that will cast more light on the great enigma of how life started on Earth. In this intriguing book, one of the World's leading researchers in astrophysics and space science examines fundamental questions concerning life on Earth and the rest of the cosmos in an accessible and stimulating way.
We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory
by Christine Lagorio-ChafkinA riveting look inside Reddit, the wildly popular, often misunderstood website, whose intensely-engaged users have changed the culture of the Internet--"a must-read for anyone hoping to make sense of the century ahead" (Ashlee Vance, bestselling author of Elon Musk). Reddit hails itself as "the front page of the Internet." It's the third most-visited website in the United States--and yet, millions of Americans have no idea what it is. We Are the Nerds is an engrossing look deep inside this captivating, maddening enterprise, whose army of obsessed users have been credited with everything from solving cold case crimes and spurring tens of millions of dollars in charitable donations to seeding alt-right fury and landing Donald Trump in the White House. We Are the Nerds is a gripping start-up narrative: the story of how Reddit's founders, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, rose up from their suburban childhoods to become millionaires and create an icon of the digital age--before seeing the site engulfed in controversies and nearly losing control of it for good. Based on Christine Lagorio-Chafkin's exclusive access to founders Ohanian and Huffman, We Are the Nerds is also a compelling exploration of the way we all communicate today--and how we got here. Reddit and its users have become a mirror of the Internet: it has dingy corners, shiny memes, malicious trolls, and a sometimes heart-melting ability to connect people across cultures, oceans, and ideological divides.
We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
by Jonathan Safran FoerThe New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Safran Foer re-evaluated his meat-based diet--and his conscience--in his powerful memoir and investigative report, Eating Animals. Now, he offers a mind-bending and potentially world-changing call to action on climate change.Most books about the environmental crisis are densely academic, depressingly doom-laden, and crammed with impersonal statistics. We Are the Weather is different--accessible, immediate, and with a single clear solution that individual readers can put into practice straight away. A significant proportion of global carbon emissions come from farming meat. Giving up meat is incredibly hard and nobody is perfect--but just cutting back is much easier and still has a huge positive effect on the environment. Just changing our dinners--cutting out meat for one meal per day--is enough to change the world. With his distinctive wit, insight, and humanity, Foer frames this essential debate as no one else could, bringing it to vivid and urgent life.
We Belong to Gaia (Green Ideas)
by James LovelockIn twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.James Lovelock's We Belong to Gaia draws on decades of wisdom to lay out the history of our remarkable planet, to show that it is not ours to be exploited - and warns us that it is fighting back.Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.
We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program
by Richard Paul Steven MossThis &“surprising and insightful&” history profiles ten African American engineers, mathematicians, and others who worked for NASA&’s space program (Lauren Helmuth, New York Times Book Review).The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. NASA itself became an agent of social change, with President Kennedy opening its workplaces to African Americans. In We Could Not Fail, Richard Paul and Steven Moss profile ten pioneer African American space workers whose stories illustrate the role NASA and the space program played in promoting civil rights.Paul and Moss recount how these technicians, mathematicians, engineers, and an astronaut candidate surmounted barriers and navigated being the sole African American in a NASA work group. These brave and determined men went on to help transform Southern society by integrating colleges, patenting new inventions, holding elective office, and reviving and governing defunct towns. Adding new names to the roster of civil rights heroes and a new chapter to the story of space exploration, We Could Not Fail demonstrates how African Americans broke the color barrier by competing successfully at the highest level of American intellectual and technological achievement.
We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program
by Richard Paul Steven MossThis &“surprising and insightful&” history profiles ten African American engineers, mathematicians, and others who worked for NASA&’s space program (Lauren Helmuth, New York Times Book Review).The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. NASA itself became an agent of social change, with President Kennedy opening its workplaces to African Americans. In We Could Not Fail, Richard Paul and Steven Moss profile ten pioneer African American space workers whose stories illustrate the role NASA and the space program played in promoting civil rights.Paul and Moss recount how these technicians, mathematicians, engineers, and an astronaut candidate surmounted barriers and navigated being the sole African American in a NASA work group. These brave and determined men went on to help transform Southern society by integrating colleges, patenting new inventions, holding elective office, and reviving and governing defunct towns. Adding new names to the roster of civil rights heroes and a new chapter to the story of space exploration, We Could Not Fail demonstrates how African Americans broke the color barrier by competing successfully at the highest level of American intellectual and technological achievement.
We Dare You: Hundreds of Fun Science Bets, Challenges, and Experiments You Can Do at Home
by Vicki CobbWould you believe that you could throw an egg across the room without breaking it? Burn a candle underwater? We Dare You! is a gigantic collection of irresistible, easy-to-perform science experiments, tricks, bets, and games kids can do at home with everyday household objects. Thanks to the principles of gravity, mechanics, fluids, logic, geometry, energy, and perception, kids will find countless hours of fun with the selections included in this book.
We Dare You: Hundreds of Science Bets, Challenges, and Experiments You Can Do at Home
by Vicki Cobb Kathy DarlingWould you believe that you could throw an egg across the room without breaking it? Burn a candle underwater? We Dare You! is a gigantic collection of irresistible, easy-to-perform science experiments, tricks, bets, and games kids can do at home with everyday household objects. Thanks to the principles of gravity, mechanics, fluids, logic, geometry, energy, and perception, kids will find countless hours of fun with the selections included in this book.
We Do Things Differently: The Outsiders Rebooting Our World
by Mark StevensonAn acclaimed futurist visits people around the world who are solving the planet's biggest problems by innovative means. Our systems are failing. Old models—for education, healthcare and government, food production, energy supply—are creaking under the weight of modern challenges. As the world's population heads towards 10 billion, it's clear we need new approaches. In We Do Things Differently, historian and futurologist Mark Stevenson sets out to find them, across four continents. From Brazilian favelas to high tech Boston, from rural India to a shed inventor in England's home counties, Mark Stevenson travels the world to find the advance guard re-imagining our future. At each stop, he meets innovators who have already succeeded in challenging the status quo, pioneering new ways to make our world more sustainable, equitable and humane. Populated by extraordinary characters—including Detroit citizens who created new jobs and promoted healthy eating by building greenhouses, an Austrian mayor who built a new biomass plant using the by-product of a local flooring company, and an Indian doctor who crowdsourced his research and published his findings online—We Do Things Differently paints a riveting picture of what can be done to address the world’s most pressing dilemmas, offering a much needed dose of down-to-earth optimism. It is a window on (and a roadmap to) a different and better future.
We Go Way Back: A Book About Life on Earth and How it All Began
by Idan Ben-BarakFrom the author of kid-favorite Do Not Lick This Book comes an innovative, hilarious, and expansive picture book about the biggest question of all: What is life?It's not an easy question.Life is more than just one thing.Where did it start?Peer back in time - way back in time - to the story of how life began…
We Have Never Been Modern
by Bruno LatourWith the rise of science, we moderns believe, the world changed irrevocably, separating us forever from our primitive, premodern ancestors. But if we were to let go of this fond conviction, Bruno Latour asks, what would the world look like? His book, an anthropology of science, shows us how much of modernity is actually a matter of faith. What does it mean to be modern? What difference does the scientific method make? The difference, Latour explains, is in our careful distinctions between nature and society, between human and thing, distinctions that our benighted ancestors, in their world of alchemy, astrology, and phrenology, never made. But alongside this purifying practice that defines modernity, there exists another seemingly contrary one: the construction of systems that mix politics, science, technology, and nature. The ozone debate is such a hybrid, in Latour's analysis, as are global warming, deforestation, even the idea of black holes. As these hybrids proliferate, the prospect of keeping nature and culture in their separate mental chambers becomes overwhelming--and rather than try, Latour suggests, we should rethink our distinctions, rethink the definition and constitution of modernity itself. His book offers a new explanation of science that finally recognizes the connections between nature and culture--and so, between our culture and others, past and present. Nothing short of a reworking of our mental landscape. We Have Never Been Modern blurs the boundaries among science, the humanities, and the social sciences to enhance understanding on all sides. A summation of the work of one of the most influential and provocative interpreters of science, it aims at saving what is good and valuable in modernity and replacing the rest with a broader, fairer, and finer sense of possibility.
We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe
by Jorge Cham Daniel Whiteson'This witty book reveals the humbling vastness of our ignorance about the universe, along with charming insights into what we actually do understand' Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Reality Is Not What It SeemsIn 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.
We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe
by Jorge Cham Daniel Whiteson'This witty book reveals the humbling vastness of our ignorance about the universe, along with charming insights into what we actually do understand' Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Reality Is Not What It SeemsMany books explain what we know about the universe. This one, from the hugely popular PhD Comics (50 million readers since 2008), tackles all the weird stuff we haven't figured out yet.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.(P)2017 Penguin Random House Audio
We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe
by Daniel Whiteson Jorge ChamPrepare to learn everything we still don’t know about our strange, mostly mysterious universe. <P><P>PHD Comics creator Jorge Cham and particle physicist Daniel Whiteson have teamed up to spelunk through the enormous gaps in our cosmological knowledge, armed with their popular infographics, cartoons, and unusually entertaining and lucid explanations of science. <P><P> In We Have No Idea, they explore the biggest unknowns in the universe, 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). <P><P>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. <P><P>With equal doses of humor and delight, they invite us to see the universe as a vast expanse of mostly uncharted territory that's still ours to explore. <P><P>This entertaining illustrated science primer is the perfect book for anyone who's curious about all the big questions physicists are still trying to answer.
We Have The Technology: How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians, And Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense At A Time
by Kara PlatoniAn award-winning journalist investigates how scientists and citizens around the world are re-tooling our senses--and what their discoveries are teaching us about the nature and future of human perception
We Know It When We See It: What the Neurobiology of Vision Tells Us About How We Think
by Richard MaslandSpotting a face in a crowd is so easy, you take it for granted. But how you do it is one of science's great mysteries. Vision is involved in nearly a third of everything a brain does and explaining how it works reveals more than just how we see. It also tells us how the brain processes information – how it perceives, learns and remembers. In We Know It When We See It, pioneering neuroscientist Richard Masland covers everything from what happens when light hits your retina, to the increasingly sophisticated nerve nets that turn that light into knowledge, to what a computer algorithm must be able to do before it can truly be called &‘intelligent&’. It is a profound yet accessible investigation into how our bodies make sense of the world.
We Know It When We See It: What the Neurobiology of Vision Tells Us About How We Think
by Richard Maslandp.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.3px Times} A Harvard researcher investigates the human eye in this insightful account of what vision reveals about intelligence, learning, and the greatest mysteries of neuroscience.Spotting a face in a crowd is so easy, you take it for granted. But how you do it is one of science's great mysteries. And vision is involved with so much of everything your brain does. Explaining how it works reveals more than just how you see. In We Know It When We See It, Harvard neuroscientist Richard Masland tackles vital questions about how the brain processes information -- how it perceives, learns, and remembers -- through a careful study of the inner life of the eye. Covering everything from what happens when light hits your retina, to the increasingly sophisticated nerve nets that turn that light into knowledge, to what a computer algorithm must be able to do before it can be called truly "intelligent," We Know It When We See It is a profound yet approachable investigation into how our bodies make sense of the world.
We Went to Find a Woolly Mammoth (We Went to Find... #1)
by Catherine CawthorneWe went to find a woolly mammoth ... and it was NOWHERE to be found.It wasn't chilling on the snow-covered lands. Or swimming in the icy river. And it DEFINITELY wasn't hiding in the frozen forest. Everywhere we looked, we found strange creatures instead. There was a hairy scary woolly rhino rolling around in some grass (weird ... we thought it always snowed in the Ice Age). A spotty dotty sabre-tooth cat that was ready for a fight (RUN!) And a spiky feisty giant armadillo (but I crept right past him - armadillos are pretty blind you know ...). But absolutely NO mammoths.Where could such a HUGE great MAMMOOSIVE creature be hiding?Meet some of the incredible and unbelievably large creatures from the Ice Age in this laugh-out-loud picture book story that features hilarious, fascinating and slightly bizarre facts throughout. Perfect for fans of We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
The Weak Interaction in Nuclear, Particle, and Astrophysics
by K. GrotzThis book provides insight into concept of the weak interaction and its integration into the conceptual structure of elementary particle physics. It exhibits the important role of the weak interaction in nuclear, particle and astrophysics together with the close connection between these areas.
The Weak Interaction in Nuclear, Particle and Astrophysics
by K. GrotzThe Weak Interaction in Nuclear, Particle and Astrophysics presents concepts of the weak interaction and its integration into modern gauge theories of particle physics, such as grand unification and supersymmetry. The book explores the close connections between micro (nuclear and particle) physics and macro physics (astrophysics and cosmology) induced by the weak interaction. Special attention is given to neutrinos, which have a key role in the understanding of elementary particle theories. In addition to the theoretical aspects, the book covers the important research topics of solar and galactic neutrinos and double beta decay. Assuming knowledge of elementary electrodynamics and quantum mechanics, this resource provides an insight into the diversity of the problem areas associated with the weak interaction and will encourage intensive study of particular themes.
Weak Neutral Currents: The Discovery Of The Electro-Weak Force (Frontiers in Physics #97)
by David ClineThis book attempts to trace the key experimental developments that led to the discovery of weak neutral currents in 1973 and the W, Z bosons in 1983, all of the results of which culminated in the identification of the unified-electroweak force.
Weakest Bound Electron Theory and Applications
by Neng-Wu ZhengThis monograph describes the new quantum theory called the weakest bound electron theory (WBE theory) proposed by Prof. Neng-Wu Zheng and its applications. It starts with the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and then illustrates the key points of WBE theory and the mathematical expressions of WBE theory. Finally, it presents a wide range of applications of WBE theory to the chemical and physical properties of atoms and molecules, including energy levels, transition properties, the difference law of ionization energies etc. It appeals to a broad readership, particularly researchers and academics in chemistry, physics, and materials science.