Vol. 2 of John E. Epic's poetry that analyzes the absurd. Over 300 poems that will bring anger toward the atrocities we witness and do nothing about, appreciation for the ugly and mundane, and will enlighten the reader with the acceptance toward the absurdity of a conscious reality that us humans must endure.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them." —The Wall Street Journal One of our greatest scientists—and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants—gives us a work of visionary importance that may be the crowning achievement of his career. In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.
A “thought-provoking and powerful” study that reframes everything you’ve been taught about addiction and recovery—from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Myth of Normal (Bruce Perry, author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog). A world-renowned trauma expert combines real-life stories with cutting-edge research to offer a holistic approach to understanding addiction—its origins, its place in society, and the importance of self-compassion in recovery. Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with people with addiction on Vancouver’s skid row, this #1 international bestseller radically re-envisions a much misunderstood condition by taking a compassionate approach to substance abuse and addiction recovery. In the same vein as Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts traces the root causes of addiction to childhood trauma and examines the pervasiveness of addiction in society. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout—and perhaps underpins—our society. It is not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects but rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs and behaviors of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. Dr. Maté argues persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and how they perpetuate the War on Drugs. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own “high-status” addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.
Today our fatigue feels chronic; our anxieties, amplified. Proliferating technologies command our attention. Many people complain of burnout, and economic instability and the threat of ecological catastrophe fill us with dread. We look to the past, imagining life to have once been simpler and slower, but extreme mental and physical stress is not a modern syndrome. Beginning in classical antiquity, this book demonstrates how exhaustion has always been with us and helps us evaluate more critically the narratives we tell ourselves about the phenomenon. Medical, cultural, literary, and biographical sources have cast exhaustion as a biochemical imbalance, a somatic ailment, a viral disease, and a spiritual failing. It has been linked to loss, the alignment of the planets, a perverse desire for death, and social and economic disruption. Pathologized, demonized, sexualized, and even weaponized, exhaustion unites the mind with the body and society in such a way that we attach larger questions of agency, willpower, and well-being to its symptoms. Mapping these political, ideological, and creative currents across centuries of human development, Exhaustion finds in our struggle to overcome weariness a more significant effort to master ourselves.
Widely praised for its balanced treatment of computer ethics, Ethics for the Information Age offers a modern presentation of the moral controversies surrounding information technology. Topics such as privacy and intellectual property are explored through multiple ethical theories, encouraging readers to think critically about these issues and to make their own ethical decisions.
WINNER OF THE 2014 BRAIN PRIZE From the acclaimed author of Reading in the Brain and How We Learn, a breathtaking look at the new science that can track consciousness deep in the brain How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks to clever psychological and brain-imaging experiments, scientists are closer to cracking this mystery than ever before. In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state. We can now pin down the neurons that fire when a person reports becoming aware of a piece of information and understand the crucial role unconscious computations play in how we make decisions. The emerging theory enables a test of consciousness in animals, babies, and those with severe brain injuries. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, Consciousness and the Brain will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying consciousness.
Guiding patient behavior is as important as ever for the practicing dentist, and the behavior of pediatric patients is perhaps the most challenging to manage. Drs. Wright and Kupietzky here update Dr. Wright’s classic work on managing pediatric dental patients. Behavior Management in Dentistry for Children,2nd Edition, has been entirely rewritten and includes the latest and most effective management strategies from an international team of experts in the field. The book addresses the influence of family and parenting styles on children’s behavior and the factors that determine how children behave in the dental office. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological management techniques are described in depth, as are techniques for dealing with special needs patients. Clinical scenarios are described throughout the book, with practical application of the taught principles. The final part of the book covers the dental environment—training office personnel to manage children’s behavior, practical considerations for behavior guidance, and the effects of the physical dental office environment. Behavior Management in Dentistry for Children,2nd Edition, is ideal for pediatric residents, dental students, and practicing dentists who see children on a regular basis.
Peter Lutz, PhD, brilliantly traverses the major milestones along the evolutionary path of biomedicine from earliest recorded times to the dawn of the 20th century. With an engaging narrative that will have you turning "just one more page" well into the night, this book revealingly demonstrates just how the modern scientific method has been shaped by the past. Along the way the reader is treated to some delightfully obscure anecdotes and a treasure trove of rich illustrations that chronicle the tortuous history of biomedical developments, ranging from the bizarre and amusing to the downright macabre. The reader will also be introduced to the major ideas shaping contemporary physiology and the social context of its development, and also gain an understanding of how advances in biological science have occasionally been improperly used to satisfy momentary social or political needs.
