Newton’s Apple and Other Myths about Science
Newton’s Apple and Other Myths about Science

Author: Ronald L. Numbers

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2015-11-04

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0674967984

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A Guardian “Favourite Reads—as Chosen by Scientists” Selection “Tackles some of science’s most enduring misconceptions.” —Discover A falling apple inspired Isaac Newton’s insight into the law of gravity—or did it really? Among the many myths debunked in this refreshingly irreverent book are the idea that alchemy was a superstitious pursuit, that Darwin put off publishing his theory of evolution for fear of public reprisal, and that Gregor Mendel was ahead of his time as a pioneer of genetics. More recent myths about particle physics and Einstein’s theory of relativity are discredited too, and a number of dubious generalizations, like the notion that science and religion are antithetical, or that science can neatly be distinguished from pseudoscience, go under the microscope of history. Newton’s Apple and Other Myths about Science brushes away popular fictions and refutes the widespread belief that science advances when individual geniuses experience “Eureka!” moments and suddenly grasp what those around them could never imagine. “Delightful...thought-provoking...Every reader should find something to surprise them.” —Jim Endersby, Science “Better than just countering the myths, the book explains when they arose and why they stuck.” —The Guardian

Apple Confidential 2.0
Apple Confidential 2.0

Author: Owen W. Linzmayer

Publisher: No Starch Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1593270100

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Chronicles the best and the worst of Apple Computer's remarkable story.

Mythomania: Tales of Our Times, from Apple to Isis
Mythomania: Tales of Our Times, from Apple to Isis

Author: Peter Conrad

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2017-01-10

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 0500773556

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Weaves ancient myth into modern celebrity and consumerist culture to expose the absurdity and occasional insanity of twenty-first-century society, economy, and politics Despite a proclaimed respect for scientific reason, humans are still as intrigued by myth as their remote ancestors. Laptops and smartphones are sold under a logo that invokes the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden; skimpily clad classical nymphs cavort in TV reality shows; Narcissus makes a comeback whenever we snap a selfie. Mythical creatures such as handsome vampires abound in best-selling novels. Myth has also invaded the political realm, now that terrorists brandish black flags and recite theological mantras as they martyr themselves. In twenty-seven self-contained entries, Conrad illuminates in his own remarkable way subjects from the British Queen to the Kardashians, via Banksy, vaping, and the inception of the Large Hadron Collider. In Judge Judy, he shows a matronly Roman goddess dispensing justice with a fly swatter. In the metamorphosis of Caitlyn Jenner from Olympic athlete and paterfamilias into idealized female form, he finds parallels to the transformations of the residents of Mount Olympus. Myths used to tell us where we came from. Now, alarmed but also elated by the pace of change in our society, we need them to tell us where we are going.

My Tryst with Destiny
My Tryst with Destiny

Author: Joy Luckose

Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers

Published: 2024-02-10

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13:

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WHEN MY PUBLISHER TOLD ME TO WRITE ABOUT ME, I WAS PETRIFIED, HONESTLY. THERE WAS NOTHING TO WRITE ON EXCEPT BEING A LONESOME VERNACULAR WRITER OF AWESOME INSIGNIFICANCE. HEY, I AM JOY LUCKOSE, BORN IN KERALA, BROUGHT UP IN DELHI. SINCE MY CHILDHOOD I HAD A PASSION FOR WRITING, RATHER DOODLE MIGHT BE THE RIGHT TERM. SO MUCH SO, THAT SOME OF MY FRIENDS EVEN CALLED ME 'MENTAL'. HOWEVER, I CARRIED ON MY PASSION FOR WRITING, READING, AND LISTENING MUSIC. NOW, ABOUT TWO HUNDRED POCKET DIARIES ARE LANGUISHING IN MY ALMIRAH, UNOPENED. COMING TO WRITING, I FIND A KIND OF PLEASURE AND SOLACE WITHIN. TALKING OF MUSIC EVERY MINUTE SOME MUSIC IS RUNNING WITHIN. I CALL MY MIND 'A HOME OF JOY'. INFACT, I STARTED THIS BOOK INTENT TO WRITE IT IN MY MOTHER TONGUE, MALAYALAM. BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A CUMBERSOME & TIME CONSUMING PRACTICE. SPONTANEOUSLY, AN IDEA STRUCK ME WITH. WHY NOT TRY TO WRITE IT ON IN ENGLISH? TO START WITH, YOU COULD RELATE TO MANY OF MY STORIES, LITERALLY, AS YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES. TRY ME ONCE! SEE YOU!

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9Ø9إ9ج9ح9ؤ9ѳ9إ9®9ة9إ9®

Author: Michael L. Munk

Publisher: Mesorah Publications

Published: 1983

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9780899061931

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For more than a generation, Rabbi Michael L. Munk, as a sidelight to his busy schedule of educational and communal work, has fascinated audiences with his learned and provocative lectures on the Hebrew alphabet. In the process of opening eyes and raising eyebrows, he has convinced countless people that his contention is true: the Hebrew alphabet abounds in scholarly and mystical meaning. He has developed and proven a profound thesis. The alphabet -- if correctly understood -- is a primer for life. Ethical conduct, religious guidance, philosophical insights, all are nestled in the curls, crowns, and combinations of the Hebrew letters. This is one of those rare books that is both interesting and profound, learned and readable. The wisdom and compassion of the author is evident in those subtle ways that do not intrude on the reader, but give him the satisfaction of knowing that a rich, warm, productive lifetime of experience is flavoring the text.

What Makes This Book So Great
What Makes This Book So Great

Author: Jo Walton

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2014-01-21

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 1466844094

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“A remarkable guided tour through the field—a kind of nonfiction companion to Among Others. It’s very good. It’s great.” —Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing As any reader of Jo Walton’s Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field’s most ambitious series. Among Walton’s many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by “mainstream”; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field’s many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read. Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers. “For readers unschooled in the history of SF/F, this book is a treasure trove.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Newtown
Newtown

Author: Matthew Lysiak

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 147675375X

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"In the vein of Dave Cullen's Columbine, the first comprehensive account of the Sandy Hook tragedy--with exclusive new reporting that chronicles the horrific events of December 14, 2012, including new insight into the dark mind of gunman Adam Lanza. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a decade's worth of emails from Lanza's mother to close friends that chronicled his slow slide into mental illness, Newtown pieces together the perfect storm that led to this unspeakable act of violence that shattered so many lives. Newtown explores the two central theories that have permeated the media since the attack: some claim Lanza suffered from severe mental illness, while others insist that, far from being a random act of insanity, this was a meticulously thought out, premeditated attack at least two years in the making by a violent video-gamer so obsessed with "glory kills" and researching mass murderers that he was willing to go to any length to attain the top score. Lanza's dark descent from a young boy with adjustment disorders to a calculating killer is interwoven with the Newtown massacre as it unfolded at the time, told from the points of view of eye witnesses, survivors, parents of victims, first responders, and Adam's relatives. A definitive account of a tragedy that shook a nation, Newtown features exclusive material including initial misinformation reported by the media and commentary on how this catastrophic event became a lightning rod for political agendas, much like Columbine did more than a decade ago"--

A Fistful of Fig Newtons
A Fistful of Fig Newtons

Author: Jean Shepherd

Publisher: Crown

Published: 1987-11-17

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0385188439

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From the wild and wacky world of favorite funnyman Jean Shepherd, a dozen truer-than-life tales of tailgating on the Jersey Tumpike, infuriating infants, and other everyday catastrophes, defeats, and humiliations that are the familiar fate of Americans everywhere. Jean Shepherd was one of America’s favorite humorists, his most notable achievement being the creation of the indefatigable Ralphie Parker and his quest for a BB gun in the holiday classic A Christmas Story. But he was so much more, a comic Garrison Keillor–like figure whose unique voice transcended the airwaves and affected a whole generation of nostalgic Americans. A Fistful of Fig Newtons is classic Jean Shepherd—sidesplittingly funny and sardonically irreverent. It is a brilliant comic assessment of American life—all of them delivered in Jean Shepherd’s witty, classy, unforgettable style.

The Good Book
The Good Book

Author: A. C. Grayling

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2011-04-05

Total Pages: 610

ISBN-13: 0802778380

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Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, and-yes-the audacity to conceive of a powerful, secular alternative to the Bible. But that is exactly what A.C. Grayling has done by creating a non-religious Bible, drawn from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions, using the same techniques of editing, redaction, and adaptation that produced the holy books of the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic religions. The Good Book consciously takes its design and presentation from the Bible, in its beauty of language and arrangement into short chapters and verses for ease of reading and quotability, offering to the non-religious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular humanist traditions that are older, far richer and more various than Christianity. Organized in 12 main sections----Genesis, Histories, Widsom, The Sages, Parables, Consolations, Lamentations, Proverbs, Songs, Epistles, Acts, and the Good----The Good Book opens with meditations on the origin and progress of the world and human life in it, then devotes attention to the question of how life should be lived, how we relate to one another, and how vicissitudes are to be faced and joys appreciated. Incorporating the writing of Herodotus and Lucretius, Confucius and Mencius, Seneca and Cicero, Montaigne, Bacon, and so many others, The Good Book will fulfill its audacious purpose in every way.