Defying Reality

Defying Reality

Author: David M. Ewalt

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2018-07-17

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1101983736

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A fascinating exploration of the history, development, and future of virtual reality, a technology with world-changing potential, written by award-winning journalist and author David Ewalt, stemming from his 2015 Forbes cover story about the Oculus Rift and its creator Palmer Luckey. You’ve heard about virtual reality, seen the new gadgets, and read about how VR will be the next big thing. But you probably haven’t yet realized the extent to which this technology will change the way we live. We used to be bound to a physical reality, but new immersive computer simulations allow us to escape our homes and bodies. Suddenly anyone can see what it’s like to stand on the peak of Mount Everest. A person who can’t walk can experience a marathon from the perspective of an Olympic champion. And why stop there? Become a dragon and fly through the universe. But it’s not only about spectacle. Virtual and augmented reality will impact nearly every aspect of our lives—commerce, medicine, politics—the applications are infinite. It may sound like science fiction, but this vision of the future drives billions of dollars in business and is a top priority for such companies as Facebook, Google, and Sony. Yet little is known about the history of these technologies. In Defying Reality, David M. Ewalt traces the story from ancient amphitheaters to Cold War military laboratories, through decades of hype and failure, to a nineteen-year-old video game aficionado who made the impossible possible. Ewalt looks at how businesses are already using this tech to revolutionize the world around us, and what we can expect in the future. Writing for a mainstream audience as well as for technology enthusiasts, Ewalt offers a unique perspective on VR. With firsthand accounts and on-the-ground reporting, Defying Reality shows how virtual reality will change our work, our play, and the way we relate to one another.


Defying Reality

Defying Reality

Author: Karina Mellinger

Publisher: Dedalus

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13:

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A novel about one of the preoccupations of our age, fame and celebrity culture. Serena Dawlish is the most famous soap star of them all. When she appears on the small screen in 'Coombe Ridge Crescent' the nation comes to a standstill. But her agent Gareth has told her that although she is famous she isn't quite famous enough and so she begins her pursuit of total and permanent fame.Serena meets and falls in love with the strange but well-hung Marlon who tells her -- and can prove scientifically -- that she is an alien. She wants to leave her husband and marry him but Gareth vetoes their affair. Marlon isn't a politician, a pop star or a footballer so he will do nothing for her career and anyway his mother, Shelley, is too fat to look good in the wedding photos. Meanwhile Serena's husband, the renowned Shakespearian actor James Marlborough, is also tormented by his own emotional dilemma. He wants to leave Serena - he can no longer stand the smell of her fake tan -- and be with his mistress, Geraldine, who calls him Rover when they make love. But most of his audience now only come to see him because he's married to the celebrated Serena Dawlish -- why else would they want to see Shakespeare? If he leaves her he destroys his career.Geraldine is presenting a new prime-time TV show called 'I Gave Birth To A Celebrity' with Serena as the surprise celebrity on the first show. However, as Geraldine has decided that Serena's real mother is too boring to play the part of mother she has secretly replaced her with Shelley. Will Shelley's revelations on the show seal Serena's quest for fame or will they ruin her forever?


Defining and Defying Organised Crime

Defining and Defying Organised Crime

Author: Felia Allum

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-02-25

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1135273162

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Organised crime is now a major threat to all industrial and non-industrial countries. Using an inter-disciplinary and comparative approach this book examines the existing, official institutional discourse on organised crime to examine whether, or not, it has an impact on perceptions of the threat and on the reality of organized crime.


Defy the Worlds

Defy the Worlds

Author: Claudia Gray

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Published: 2018-04-03

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 0316394092

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This is the thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars from the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Lost Stars and Bloodline. An outcast from her home -- Shunned after a trip through the galaxy with Abel, the most advanced cybernetic man ever created, Noemi Vidal dreams of traveling through the stars one more time. And when a deadly plague arrives on Genesis, Noemi gets her chance. As the only soldier to have ever left the planet, it will be up to her to save its people...if only she wasn't flying straight into a trap. A fugitive from his fate -- On the run to avoid his depraved creator's clutches, Abel believes he's said good-bye to Noemi for the last time. After all, the entire universe stands between them...or so he thinks. When word reaches him of Noemi's capture by the very person he's trying to escape, Abel knows he must go to her, no matter the cost. But capturing Noemi was only part of Burton Mansfield's master plan. In a race against time, Abel and Noemi will come together once more to discover a secret that could save the known worlds, or destroy them all. In this thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars, bestselling author Claudia Gray asks us all to consider where--and with whom--we truly belong.


Defying Destiny

Defying Destiny

Author: John H. Egbers

Publisher: Archway Publishing

Published: 2018-06-12

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1480861367

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Stewart Fletcher is a restless young Englishman who desperately wants to become a part of the new technological advancements that are emerging with the turn of the century. With an intense ardor, he rebels against a life in which he will never find satisfaction or contentment and escapes prosecution by entering the United States illegally after a confrontation with a member of the elite British twentieth century society. After his determination, vision, and a fair dose of good luck allow him to successfully enter the exciting automobile market stimulated by geniuses like Henry Ford and Ransom Olds, Stewart quickly attains success and wealth. But just as he thinks all is well, he must face a business and personal crisis triggered by venture capitalists and a failed marriage to a talented Irish maiden. But will he be able to defy destiny again after he drastically changes his lifes course with his childhood sweetheart in a renovated carriage house near the Delaware River? In this historical novel, a young Englishman who sets out on a determined quest to become part of the motorcars early pioneering years is led to a destiny he never expected.


A Profession Without Reason

A Profession Without Reason

Author: Bruce E. Levine

Publisher: AK Press

Published: 2022-06-22

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1849354618

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There is today a crisis in psychiatry. Even the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Thomas Insel, has said: “Whatever we’ve been doing for five decades, it ain’t working.” The field requires a completely fresh look, and clinical psychologist Bruce Levine—a man often at odds with his profession—enlists the early Enlightenment philosopher Baruch de Spinoza to help work through the problem. Readers unfamiliar with Spinoza will be intrigued by the modern relevance of his radical philosophical, psychological, and political ideas. Levine compares the radical/moderate divide among Enlightenment thinkers to a similar divergence between contemporary critics of psychiatry, siding historically with Spinoza in order to bring an equivalent intellectual force to bear upon our modern crisis and calling for new forms of free and enlightened thinking.


It's The Sun, Not Us

It's The Sun, Not Us

Author: L.D. den Boer

Publisher: FriesenPress

Published: 2019-08-27

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1525550187

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Earth’s climate is changing—it always has and always will. The cause may be debated, but “man-made global warming” has become the accepted narrative and “Big Oil” the popular villain. Anyone daring to challenge this “consensus” is attacked: smeared, demonized as a “denier,” even threatened. Researchers who refuse to toe the line are discredited, dismissed as incompetent, and blacklisted, regardless of their expertise, experience, or credentials. This is not how science is conducted. But not everyone can be silenced. The author of this book is not incompetent. Nor was he paid to write it. He’s just someone who cares about the truth: a scientist, with a broad understanding of how Earth’s climate works and how it has changed over time. His book is divided into two parts: science and ideology. The first part explains (in language laypersons can understand) how the Sun, cosmic rays, and other natural factors control Earth’s climate, and why carbon dioxide is virtually irrelevant. The second part exposes and refutes the green ideology of “man-made global warming,” revealing the economic damage it causes. It may be short, but it’s well researched, packed with information, and an enjoyable, rewarding read.


Defying Gravity

Defying Gravity

Author: Daniel Henderson

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 157567873X

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Satan is a strategic foe. His darts and doubts are designed to undermine the power of truth. He knows the importance of destroying the integrity and well-being of spiritual leaders in order to decimate the church of Jesus Christ. Pastors and church leaders need to learn about how to prepare for and protect themselves so they can lead effectively and without "losing altitude". Defying Gravity makes leaders aware of the pitfalls of ministry and equips them with the tools to avoid these temptations and traps. This book is the fruit of Daniel Henderson's 25 years of pastoral ministry, mostly spent as the senior pastor of three churches. It also reflects his very active ministry in the past 11 years as a speaker in pastors' conferences and renewal events, which have given him many occasions for interaction with hurting pastors. From those lessons learned he instructs on the nine gauges on the leadership instrument panel that you need to monitor to keep soaring no matter what storms come your way. The nine gauges he refers to are applied truth, spiritual intimacy, personal integrity, Biblical identity, genuine accountability, eternal significance, healthy family life, indispensible pain, and a captivating call.


Women and Spanish Fascism

Women and Spanish Fascism

Author: Kathleen J.L. Richmond

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2003-09-02

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1134439369

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Using forty-five interviews with former members and sympathisers, this book traces the development of the Women's section of the Franco government from its roots in the Spanish fascist party to its role in the dictatorship up to 1959. The study reveals that despite its anti-feminist agenda, the section was, in some areas, a catalyst for women's emancipation in post-Franco Spain.