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Whose Poop Is That? (Whose Is THAT?)
by Darrin LundePoop! Ewwww!No, don&’t say &“Ewwww.&” Ask, &“Whose poop is that?&” This simple, and yes, charming book asks this question about seven examples of animal poop. By investigating visual clues, young readers can learn to identify the animal through its droppings. For instance, find a sample of poop with bits of bone and tufts of hair. Turn the page to learn it came from a fox! Kelsey Oseid&’s illustrations are both accurate and beautiful. Backmatter includes further information about the poop and what scientists can learn from an animal&’s droppings."A primer on poop and a guessing game, especially for those just beyond toilet training" — Kirkus Reviews"Gross-out details will provoke glee...but kids will learn plenty about the variety and importance of animal waste, too" —Publisher's Weekly"As accessible to newly independent readers as it is to younger listeners" — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"Sure to appeal to curious youngsters. Recommended for collections that can't get enough titles on poop" — School Library Journal"The kid-friendly illustrations and matter-of-fact tone make this title an informative, rather than a gross-out, pick, though is certainly what will get kids reaching for the shelves" — Booklist"Friendly and inviting to novice naturalists" — Horn Book"What are you waiting for? Come get the &“scoop on poop&”!" — NSTA Recommends
Whose Science? Whose Knowledge?: Thinking from Women's Lives
by Sandra HardingSandra Harding here develops further the themes first addressed in her widely influential book, The Science Question in Feminism, and conducts a compelling analysis of feminist theories on the philosophical problem of how we know what we know. Following a strong narrative line, Harding sets out her arguments in highly readable prose. In Part 1, she discusses issues that will interest anyone concerned with the social bases of scientific knowledge. In Part 2, she modifies some of her views and then pursues the many issues raised by the feminist position which holds that women's social experience provides a unique vantage point for discovering masculine bias and and questioning conventional claims about nature and social life. In Part 3, Harding looks at the insights that people of color, male feminists, lesbians, and others can bring to these controversies, and concludes by outlining a feminist approach to science in which these insights are central. "Women and men cannot understand or explain the world we live in or the real choices we have," she writes, "as long as the sciences describe and explain the world primarily from the perspectives of the lives of the dominant groups." Harding's is a richly informed, radical voice that boldly confronts issues of crucial importance to the future of many academic disciplines. Her book will amply reward readers looking to achieve a more fruitful understanding of the relations between feminism, science, and social life.
Why?
by Joel LevyWhy? Answers to Everyday Scientific Questions gets to grips with concepts that appear simple and straightforward, but which most people, when asked, really can't explain. Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? Why do we need sleep? Why are there 24 hours in a day? For each question, author Joel Levy provides a simple, single line answer followed by more in-depth information about the scientific background on these essential topics. The book spans physics, biology, chemistry, geology, geography, meteorology, paleontology and planetary science - allowing readers to wow friends and family alike with pithy answers to the obvious questions they never thought to ask.
Why?: What Makes Us Curious
by Mario LivioAstrophysicist and author Mario Livio investigates perhaps the most human of all our characteristics—curiosity—as he explores our innate desire to know why.Experiments demonstrate that people are more distracted when they overhear a phone conversation—where they can know only one side of the dialogue—than when they overhear two people talking and know both sides. Why does half a conversation make us more curious than a whole conversation? In the ever-fascinating Why? Mario Livio interviewed scientists in several fields to explore the nature of curiosity. He examined the lives of two of history’s most curious geniuses, Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Feynman. He also talked to people with boundless curiosity: a superstar rock guitarist who is also an astrophysicist; an astronaut with degrees in computer science, biology, literature, and medicine. What drives these people to be curious about so many subjects? Curiosity is at the heart of mystery and suspense novels. It is essential to other forms of art, from painting to sculpture to music. It is the principal driver of basic scientific research. Even so, there is still no definitive scientific consensus about why we humans are so curious, or about the mechanisms in our brain that are responsible for curiosity. Mario Livio—an astrophysicist who has written about mathematics, biology, and now psychology and neuroscience—explores this irresistible subject in a lucid, entertaining way that will captivate anyone who is curious about curiosity.
Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It
by Mark CoeckelberghAcross the world, AI is used as a tool for political manipulation and totalitarian repression. Stories about AI are often stories of polarization, discrimination, surveillance, and oppression. Is democracy in danger? And can we do anything about it? In this compelling and balanced book, Mark Coeckelbergh reveals the key risks posed by AI for democracy. He argues that AI, as currently used and developed, undermines fundamental principles on which liberal democracies are founded, such as freedom and equality. How can we make democracy more resilient in the face of AI? And, more positively, what can AI do for democracy? Coeckelbergh advocates not only for more democratic technologies, but also for new political institutions and a renewal of education to ensure that AI promotes, rather than hinders, the common good for the twenty-first century. Why AI Undermines Democracy and What to Do About It is illuminating reading for anyone who is concerned about the fate of democracy.
Why Air Forces Fail, revised and expanded edition: The Anatomy of Defeat
by Robin Higham Stephen J. HarrisSince the publication of the first edition of Why Air Forces Fail, the debate over airpower's role in military operations has only intensified. Here, eminent historians Robin Higham and Stephen J. Harris assemble a team of experts to add essential new details to their cautionary tale for current practitioners of aerial warfare. Together, the contributors examine the complex, often deep-seated, reasons for the catastrophic failures of the Russian, Polish, French, British, Italian, German, Argentine, and American air services. Complemented by reading lists and suggestions for further research, this seminal study with two new chapters provides an essential and detailed analysis of defeat.
Why and How Do Tears Form?
by Lizzie WadeWhy and how do tears form? In response to a reader question, a psychologist explains that feeling overwhelmed is a major cause of emotional tears, which appear to be unique to humans.
Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication
by Arik Kershenbaum"Animal communication doesn&’t need to resemble human language to be full of meaning and nuance. Arik Kershenbaum delivers an expert overview of the astonishing discoveries made in the last few decades" —Frans de WaalFrom leading zoologist Arik Kershenbaum, a delightful and groundbreaking exploration of animal communication and its true meaningAnimal communication has forever seemed intelligible. We are surrounded by animals and the cacophony of sounds that they make—from the chirping of songbirds to the growls of lions on the savanna—but we have yet to fully understand why animals communicate the way they do. What are they saying? This is only part of the mystery. To go deeper, we must also ask, what is motivating them?Why Animals Talk is an exhilarating journey through the untamed world of animal communication. Following his international bestseller, The Zoologist&’s Guide to the Galaxy, acclaimed zoologist Arik Kershenbaum draws on extensive original research to reveal how many of the animal kingdom&’s most seemingly confusing or untranslatable signals are in fact logical and consistent—and not that different from our own. His fascinating deep dive into this timeless subject overturns decades of conventional wisdom, inviting readers to experience for the first time communication through the minds of animals themselves.From the majestic howls of wolves and the enchanting chatter of parrots to the melodic clicks of dolphins and the spirited grunts of chimpanzees, these often strange expressions are far from mere noise. In fact, they hold secrets that we are just beginning to decipher. It&’s one of the oldest mysteries that has haunted Homo sapiens for hundreds of thousands of years: Are animals talking just like us, or are we the only animals on the planet to have our own language?
Why Are Orangutans Orange?: Science Questions in Pictures—With Fascinating Answers
by Mick O'HareMore popular science questions and answers from the distinguished Mick O'Hare--now illustrated in full color!Illustrated for the first time, with eighty full-color photographs showing the beauty, complexity and mystery of the world around us, here is the next eagerly awaited volume of science questions and answers from Mick O'Hare and his team at New Scientist. From ripples in glass to "holograms" in ice, the natural world's wonders are unraveled by the magazine's knowledgeable readers. Six years since its debut, this magnificent series still rides high in the international bestseller lists, with well over two million copies sold. Popular science has never been more absorbing or more enjoyable.For the first time in full color, this latest collection of resourceful, wry and well-informed answers to a remarkable range of baffling science questions is guaranteed to impress and delight.
Why Are Orangutans Orange?
by Mick O’HareFun science and nature trivia with full-color photos in a &“deeply fascinating and occasionally rib-tickling book&” (Booklist).From the editor at New Scientist who brought us such works as How to Fossilize Your Hamster, this is an illustrated compendium of facts that reveal the beauty, complexity, and mystery of the world around us. Drawing on the magazine&’s popular &“Last Word&” column, Why Are Orangutans Orange? covers everything from bubbles to bugs, as well as why tigers have stripes and blue-footed boobies have, well, blue feet. With over two million copies sold, this series of question-and-answer compendiums is a delight for anyone who loves to learn!
Why Are There Still Creationists?: Human Evolution and the Ancestors
by Jonathan MarksThe evidence for the ancestry of the human species among the apes is overwhelming. But the facts are never “just” facts. Human evolution has always been a value-laden scientific theory and, as anthropology makes clear, the ancestors are always sacred. They may be ghosts, or corpses, or fossils, or a naked couple in a garden, but the idea that you are part of a lineage is a powerful and universal one. Meaning and morals are at play, which most certainly transcend science and its quest for maximum accuracy. With clarity and wit, Jonathan Marks shows that the creation/evolution debate is not science versus religion. After all, modern anti-evolutionists reject humanistic scholarship about the Bible even more fundamentally than they reject the science of our simian ancestry. Widening horizons on both sides of the debate, Marks makes clear that creationism is a theological, not a scientific, debate and that thinking perceptively about values and meanings should not be an alternative to thinking about science – it should be a key part of it.
Why Aren't We Saving the Planet?: A Psychologist's Perspective
by Geoffrey BeattieGlobal warming. Many of us believe that it is somebody else’s problem, that it will affect other people and that other people will come up with the solution. This is not true. "Global" warming is a global problem: it will affect every single one of us and will only be stopped by a huge shift in our individual attitudes and behaviour. Each time one of us switches on a light, reaches for something in a supermarket, gets into a car or bus, or even chooses what clothes to buy, we are making a choice that can affect the environment. We already know that we need to start making better choices for the sake of our natural world, now. So why aren’t we already saving the planet? This book follows one psychologist’s mission to find some answers to this question. Challenged by a student to use psychology to find the root of the problem, Geoffrey Beattie (an environmental "unbeliever") begins a personal and life-changing journey of discovery. The reader is invited to accompany him as he uses psychological methods to examine people’s attitudes to global warming. Along the way we find the author’s own attitudes being challenged, as well as our own. This ground-breaking book reflects new and innovative research being carried out into how to change attitudes to the environment and how to encourage sustainable behaviour. It is eminently readable and interesting and, as such, should be read by anyone who is concerned about the future of our planet. In fact, you should also read it if you’re not concerned about our planet.
Why Banks Fail: The Political Roots of Banking Crises in Spain
by Sebastián RoyoThis book examines the political roots of banking crises in Spain. It focuses on the process of political bargains in which parties with different interests come together to form coalitions, and it shows how these coalitions have determined banking outcomes and caused banking crises in Spain. In particular, it analyzes the 2008 Spanish banking crisis and shows how Spanish banks and related savings institutions contributed significantly to the challenges that led to the crisis, including the fueling of a large property bubble – by channeling tremendous credits to the construction and real estate sectors, while starving the country’s productive sectors. Accordingly, the book links banking crises to the country’s larger institutional malaise, placing the solution not only in the hands of the banks, but also the political institutions that influence them.
Why Beauty is Truth: The History of Symmetry
by Ian StewartAt the heart of relativity theory, quantum mechanics, string theory, and much of modern cosmology lies one concept: symmetry. <P><P> In Why Beauty Is Truth, world-famous mathematician Ian Stewart narrates the history of the emergence of this remarkable area of study. Stewart introduces us to such characters as the Renaissance Italian genius, rogue, scholar, and gambler Girolamo Cardano, who stole the modern method of solving cubic equations and published it in the first important book on algebra, and the young revolutionary Evariste Galois, who refashioned the whole of mathematics and founded the field of group theory only to die in a pointless duel over a woman before his work was published. Stewart also explores the strange numerology of real mathematics, in which particular numbers have unique and unpredictable properties related to symmetry. He shows how Wilhelm Killing discovered "Lie groups" with 14, 52, 78, 133, and 248 dimensions-groups whose very existence is a profound puzzle. Finally, Stewart describes the world beyond superstrings: the "octonionic" symmetries that may explain the very existence of the universe.
Why Biodiversity Matters (Changing Planet)
by Nigel DudleyAll life on Earth has the right to exist, but as we teeter on the verge of a sixth extinction this book discusses why biodiversity matters and why we should care if species go extinct. We are witnessing the largest and fastest rate of extinction in the history of the planet. While the concept of rights is a human one, all plants and animals strive to survive, and this book argues for their rights to continue doing so without being driven into premature extinction by human actions. Acknowledging and describing the practical reasons for conserving biodiversity, this book argues that these should not overshadow the compelling ethical reasons to care about the future of species other than our own. However, the issues are complex. What do we do when faced with an immediate ethical choice where biodiversity rights, animal rights, human rights, economic development and ecosystem survival all get mixed up together? There are seldom hard and fast answers, but thinking about and understanding a variety of points of view will help us make informed trade-offs. Drawing on his vast practical experience, the author presents insightful perspectives and real-world examples with the hope that this book will instigate a much-needed rethink about why and how we practise conservation. This book is essential reading for all those concerned with sustaining our planet, and all who inhabit it, in the face of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and ecological collapse.
Why Birds Matter: Avian Ecological Function and Ecosystem Services
by Christopher J. Whelan Daniel G. Wenny Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, Daniel G. Wenny, and Christopher J. WhelanFor over one hundred years, ornithologists and amateur birders have jointly campaigned for the conservation of bird species, documenting not only birds’ beauty and extraordinary diversity, but also their importance to ecosystems worldwide. But while these avian enthusiasts have noted that birds eat fruit, carrion, and pests; spread seed and fertilizer; and pollinate plants, among other services, they have rarely asked what birds are worth in economic terms. In Why Birds Matter, an international collection of ornithologists, botanists, ecologists, conservation biologists, and environmental economists seeks to quantify avian ecosystem services—the myriad benefits that birds provide to humans. The first book to approach ecosystem services from an ornithological perspective, Why Birds Matter asks what economic value we can ascribe to those services, if any, and how this value should inform conservation. Chapters explore the role of birds in such important ecological dynamics as scavenging, nutrient cycling, food chains, and plant-animal interactions—all seen through the lens of human well-being—to show that quantifying avian ecosystem services is crucial when formulating contemporary conservation strategies. Both elucidating challenges and providing examples of specific ecosystem valuations and guidance for calculation, the contributors propose that in order to advance avian conservation, we need to appeal not only to hearts and minds, but also to wallets.
Why Brains Don't Compute
by Dale PurvesThis book examines what seems to be the basic challenge in neuroscience today: understanding how experience generated by the human brain is related to the physical world we live in. The 25 short chapters present the argument and evidence that brains address this problem on a wholly trial and error basis. The goal is to encourage neuroscientists, computer scientists, philosophers, and other interested readers to consider this concept of neural function and its implications, not least of which is the conclusion that brains don’t “compute.”
Why Can't Elephants Jump?
by New ScientistFrom the editors that brought you Why Don't Penguin's Feet Freeze? and Do Sparrows Like Bach?,an exploration of the weird and wonderful margins of science--the latest in brilliant New Scientist series What's the storage capacity of the human brain in gigabytes? Why is frozen milk yellow? Why do flamingos stand on one leg? And why can't elephant's jump? Is it because elephants are too large or heavy (after all, they say hippos and rhinos can play hopscotch)? Or is it because their knees face the wrong way? Or do they just wait until no one's looking? Read this brilliant new compilation to find out. This is popular science at its most absorbing and enjoyable. The previous titles in the New Scientist series have been international bestsellers and sold over two million copies between them and here is another wonderful collection of wise, witty, and often surprising answers to a staggering range of science questions.
Why Can't Elephants Jump?: And 113 Other Tantalizing Science Questions Answered
by New Scientist<P> From the editors that brought you Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? and Do Sparrows Like Bach?, an exploration of the weird and wonderful margin of science—the latest in the brilliant New Scientist series. What’s the storage capacity of the human brain in gigabytes? Why is frozen milk yellow? Why do flamingos stand on one leg? And why can’t elephants jump? Is it because elephants are too large or heavy (after all, they say hippos and rhinos can play hopscotch)? Or is it because their knees face the wrong way? Or do they just wait until no one’s looking? Read this brilliant new compilation to find out. This is popular science at its most absorbing and enjoyable. <P> The previous titles in the New Scientist series have been international bestsellers and sold over two million copies between them. Here is another wonderful collection of wise, witty, and often surprising answers to a staggering range of science questions.
Why Can't I Get Better?: Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease
by Richard I. HorowitzFrom one of the country's foremost doctors comes a ground-breaking book about diagnosing, treating and healing Lyme, and peeling away the layers that lead to chronic disease. You may not know that you have Lyme. It can mimic every disease process including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, autoimmune conditions like MS, psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety, and cause significant memory and concentration problems, mimicking early dementia. It is called the "Great Imitator," and inaccurate testing-combined with a fierce, ongoing debate that questions chronic infection-makes it difficult for sufferers to find effective care. When Dr. Richard Horowitz moved to the Hudson Valley over two decades ago to start his own medical practice, he had no idea that he was jumping into a hotbed of Lyme disease. He would soon realize that many of the chronic disease diagnoses people were receiving were also the result of Lyme-and he would discover how once-treatable infections, in the absence of timely intervention, could cause disabling conditions. In a field where the number of cases is growing exponentially aroundthe world and answers remain elusive, Dr. Horowitz has treated over 12,000 patients and made extraordinary progress. His plan represents a crucial paradigm shift, without which the suffering will continue. In this book, Dr. Horowitz: - Breaks new ground with a 16 Point Differential Diagnostic Map, the basis for his revolutionary Lyme treatment plan, and an overarching approach to treating all chronic illness. - Introduces MSIDS, or Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome, a new lens on chronic illness that may prove to be an important missing link. - Covers in detail Lyme's leading symptoms and co-infections, including immune dysfunction, sleep disorders, chronic pain and neurodegenerative disorders - providing a unique functional and integrative health care model, based on the most up-to-date scientific research, for physicians and health care providers to effectively treat Lyme and other chronic illnesses. Cutting through the frustration, misinformation and endless questions, Dr. Horowitz's enlightening story of medical discovery, science and politics is an all-in-one source for patients of chronic illness to identify their own symptoms and work with their doctors for the best possible treatment outcome.
Why Cats Do That
by Karen AndersonWHY DO CATS PURR? WHY DO CATS GET stuck in trees? Why do they bring us their latest catch? Why do cats always land on their feet? Learn the fascinating and sometimes surprising facts about these and 36 other curious cat behaviors - light-heartedly explained and beautifully illustrated in this book. Author Karen Anderson and illustrator Wendy Christensen are both sincere cat-lovers whose admiration and devotion to their feline companions are sure to strike a chord with everyone who has a cat (or many cats!) in their midst. Illustrations are described by the scanner.
Why Cats Land on Their Feet: And 76 Other Physical Paradoxes and Puzzles
by Mark LeviHow to use physical reasoning to solve surprising paradoxesEver wonder why cats land on their feet? Or what holds a spinning top upright? Or whether it is possible to feel the Earth's rotation in an airplane? Why Cats Land on Their Feet is a compendium of paradoxes and puzzles that readers can solve using their own physical intuition. And the surprising answers to virtually all of these astonishing paradoxes can be arrived at with no formal knowledge of physics.Mark Levi introduces each physical problem, sometimes gives a hint or two, and then fully explains the solution. Here readers can test their critical-thinking skills against a whole assortment of puzzles and paradoxes involving floating and diving, sailing and gliding, gymnastics, bike riding, outer space, throwing a ball from a moving car, centrifugal force, gyroscopic motion, and, of course, falling cats.Want to figure out how to open a wine bottle with a book? Or how to compute the square root of a number using a tennis shoe and a watch? Why Cats Land on Their Feet shows you how, and all that's required is a familiarity with basic high-school mathematics. This lively collection also features an appendix that explains all physical concepts used in the book, from Newton's laws to the fundamental theorem of calculus.
Why Chimpanzees Can't Learn Language and Only Humans Can (Leonard Hastings Schoff Lectures)
by Herbert S. TerraceIn the 1970s, the behavioral psychologist Herbert S. Terrace led a remarkable experiment to see if a chimpanzee could be taught to use language. A young ape, named “Nim Chimpsky” in a nod to the linguist whose theories Terrace challenged, was raised by a family in New York and instructed in American Sign Language. Initially, Terrace thought that Nim could create sentences but later discovered that Nim’s teachers inadvertently cued his signing. Terrace concluded that Project Nim failed—not because Nim couldn’t create sentences but because he couldn’t even learn words. Language is a uniquely human quality, and attempting to find it in animals is wishful thinking at best. The failure of Project Nim meant we were no closer to understanding where language comes from.In this book, Terrace revisits Project Nim to offer a novel view of the origins of human language. In contrast to both Noam Chomsky and his critics, Terrace contends that words, as much as grammar, are the cornerstones of language. Retracing human evolution and developmental psychology, he shows that nonverbal interaction is the foundation of infant language acquisition, leading up to a child’s first words. By placing words and conversation before grammar, we can, for the first time, account for the evolutionary basis of language. Terrace argues that this theory explains Nim’s inability to acquire words and, more broadly, the differences between human and animal communication. Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language and Only Humans Can is a masterful statement of the nature of language and what it means to be human.
Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design
by Michael ShermerA creationist-turned-scientist demonstrates the facts of evolution and exposes Intelligent Design's real agendaScience is on the defensive. Half of Americans reject the theory of evolution and "Intelligent Design" campaigns are gaining ground. Classroom by classroom, creationism is overthrowing biology.In Why Darwin Matters, bestselling author Michael Shermer explains how the newest brand of creationism appeals to our predisposition to look for a designer behind life's complexity. Shermer decodes the scientific evidence to show that evolution is not "just a theory" and illustrates how it achieves the design of life through the bottom-up process of natural selection. Shermer, once an evangelical Christian and a creationist, argues that Intelligent Design proponents are invoking a combination of bad science, political antipathy, and flawed theology. He refutes their pseudoscientific arguments and then demonstrates why conservatives and people of faith can and should embrace evolution. He then appraises the evolutionary questions that truly need to be settled, building a powerful argument for science itself.Cutting the politics away from the facts, Why Darwin Matters is an incisive examination of what is at stake in the debate over evolution.
Why Diets Make Us Fat: The Unintended Consequences of Our Obsession With Weight Loss
by Sandra Aamodt"If diets worked, we'd all be thin by now. Instead, we have enlisted hundreds of millions of people into a war we can't win." What's the secret to losing weight? If you're like most of us, you've tried cutting calories, sipping weird smoothies, avoiding fats, and swapping out sugar for Splenda. The real secret is that all of those things are likely to make you weigh more in a few years, not less. In fact, a good predictor of who will gain weight is who says they plan to lose some. Last year, 108 million Americans went on diets, to the applause of doctors, family, and friends. But long-term studies of dieters consistently find that they're more likely to end up gaining weight in the next two to fifteen years than people who don't diet. Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt spent three decades in her own punishing cycle of starving and regaining before turning her scientific eye to the research on weight and health. What she found defies the conventional wisdom about dieting: ·Telling children that they're overweight makes them more likely to gain weight over the next few years. Weight shaming has the same effect on adults. ·The calories you absorb from a slice of pizza depend on your genes and on your gut bacteria. So does the number of calories you're burning right now. ·Most people who lose a lot of weight suffer from obsessive thoughts, binge eating, depression, and anxiety. They also burn less energy and find eating much more rewarding than it was before they lost weight. ·Fighting against your body's set point--a central tenet of most diet plans--is exhausting, psychologically damaging, and ultimately counterproductive. If dieting makes us fat, what should we do instead to stay healthy and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions? With clarity and candor, Aamodt makes a spirited case for abandoning diets in favor of behaviors that will truly improve and extend our lives.From the Hardcover edition.