Book Description
For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why—and how—it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religionÂ's evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma. Not an antireligious screed but an unblinking look beneath the veil of orthodoxy, Breaking the Spell will be read and debated by believers and skeptics alike.
Customer Reviews:
There Is More Than One Way To Drown Yourself........2007-10-02
Dear Narrow Minded Reader (Yes, You),
Please try to refrain from immediately smothering me with your certainty of your own unmistaken intelligence, whether it is of a scientific bent or a religious one, be kind enough to give me a bit of breathing room, and carefully consider my position. I have read this book (carefully) and found that doing so was essentially a waste of my time. I don't feel this way because I adhere blindly to any religious belief, I am open to any real empirical evidence concerning religion or anything else. My reason for dismissing this book is that it doesn't get down to the real issue that it rests upon. I am not referring to the fact that the book is merely a proposal for scientific study of religion rather than being such a study (there is no empirical evidence of anything in this book except the fact that Dennett is an uncompromising materialist). No, the issue I refer to is deeper than that.
The whole Religion vs. Science battle will never resolve itself into anything fruitful because it is fought on too superficial a level. The soldiers on each side merely fling at their opposition big gobs of reasoning that, however skillfully constructed, are completely ineffectual. No one is ever convinced by the opposing side. Why? Because they are reasoning from different premises. That's all reasoning is: the logical unwinding of certain premises. If one person is reasoning from a premise of materialism and another from a premise of spiritualism then they cannot possibly arrive at any common ground no matter how finely they reason, in fact, the more finely they reason, the further away from each other they will become. The real issue is where the premises come from. Why does Dennett hold and reason from premises of materialism? How did he come by these premises? How did his opponents come by their opposing premises? It is pointless to say that they each came by their premises through reasoning because that gets us nowhere, it only takes us back to the unanswered question of the premises they are reasoning from. The materialists will say that Dennett came by his premises through empirical evidence. But that is not true. I am well read in this area and I know for a fact that there is no empirical evidence that proves that consciousness and all religious content in consciousness have a purely physiological nature and explanation. I also know that there is no religious or spiritual-philosophy explanation for the human condition that answers everything. The only FACT here is that we all eventually run up against the UNKNOWN and that some people react to this mystery by leaning on spiritual premises and some lean on materialist premises and that they are both questionable and should be questioned. The fact of the matter is that unless we allow the unknown to simply be what it is then we come by certain unexamined premises which allow us to construct a reasoned-out world-view. These premises are unexamined because we acquire them on a sub-conscious level as an individual emotional reaction to the fact of the UNKNOWN. They remain unexamined because we don't know how to bring their formation process into consciousness and are too frightened to try to learn how. But this would be a task truly worthy of our greatest effort. Much more worthy than flinging fantasies at each other.
I am all for empirical research into the question of what role the brain plays in the formation of human beliefs. I am against Dennett's materialist assumption that the brain contains all the answers. I am also against an assumption that it doesn't. Can we possibly rid ourselves of our unconscious premises and dive open-mindedly into the UNKNOWN? Probably not. Forgive me, dear reader, for proposing something as mad as taking off your life-saver while you are treading fathomless waters. Forgive me. Yes, go ahead and fling another gob.
Under a Spell.......2007-09-27
This book really make pne think about how religion has been used by Europe as a tool of mass brain washing, especially to those of colour, to it to justifiy racism and slavery.
Philosophically Weak.......2007-09-19
In this book Daniel Dennett tries to answer the question, `Why are we religious?' Looking at the issue from the standpoint of evolutionary biology, Dennett hopes to explain the origin and endurance of religion naturalistically.
Personally, I'm not completely opposed to this kind of project, nor am I particularly concerned about the results. There is no reason for Christians to worry about theories which naturalistically explain the tendency for people to be religious. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that providing explanations of the origin of beliefs are not grounds for dismissing the belief. To make such a dismissal would be to commit the genetic fallacy. The rationality of any given belief must be analyzed on its own merits.
And this is what Dennett fails miserably to do, which would be fine except for the fact that he promises to do it. If Dennett were merely describing the ways religion could naturalistically arrive, then there would be no problem. But the book is not quite neutral on the subject, and it is clear that Dennett thinks that there are actually good reasons to reject religious beliefs. In one short section, Dennett takes on the task of refuting natural theology. Yet, even by his own admission, the section contains little or no reasoning- it only gives broad pronouncements. To introduce the section, Dennett writes,
"At long last I turn to the promised consideration of arguments for the existence of God. And, having reviewed the obstacles- diplomatic, logical, psychological, and tactical- facing anybody who wants to do this constructively, I will give just a brief bird's-eye view of the domain of inquiry, expressing my own verdicts but not the reasoning that has gone into them, and providing references to a few pieces that may not be familiar to many." [240]
Did you catch that? Dennett admits that he is not going to provide any reasoning, but merely pronounce his own verdicts on the matter! Why on earth should he do that? It's already clear at this point in the book that Dennett is an atheist, so we are already aware of his `verdicts.' What we need is some solid reasoning.
And of course, what he does offer us on this subject is extremely weak. He brushes off historical arguments, claiming that they are manifestly question-begging. Well, some of the most unsophisticated ones are, but this does not show that all historical argumentation is useless. Dennett apparently thinks that the only historical arguments are the ones of the fashion:
1. The Bible is God's word.
2. God makes no mistakes.
3. Therefore, the Bible makes no mistakes.
And, therefore (of course), we know that God exists, because the Bible tells us so! Of course these sorts of arguments are absolute trash, but what about arguments for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which do not assume that the Bible is perfect but merely considers the books of the New Testament (and others) as historical sources. Dennett probably doesn't think that a good case for the resurrection can be made, but the point is simply that he cannot brush off all forms of historical argumentation as if there is nothing substantial to discuss.
Philosophy is actually Dennett's primary expertise, so we should expect him to be particularly qualified to discuss philosophical arguments for God's existence. Here, again, he falls far short. He brushes off the Cosmological Argument with simplistic objections like `What caused God?' Then he basically dismisses the whole argument as too `arcane' to bother with. He doesn't even do this much when discussing the Design Argument, which he claims to have covered `quite extensively' in his book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and he decides to merely provide a summary from that book rather than offer any reason for us to think that the Design Argument is flawed.
And that's all there is to say about that. Whatever the use of this book, it certainly provides no compelling reason to think that God doesn't exist.
Besides developing an account of the naturalistic emergence and evolution of religious belief, Breaking the Spell also attempts to address the question, `Is religion good for us?' Dennett admits that much more research needs to be done before conclusions can be reached, an admission that he makes concerning almost every topic and theory discussed throughout the entire book. Yet, despite the fact that the data is too limited and the variables too many to come to a conclusion on the matter, Dennett still seems, at least implicitly, to conclude that religion is bad for us, or at least is seriously problematic.
Dennett does get quite a bit right. He is right that we should not try to shield religious beliefs and protect them from skeptical or reflective inquiry. He is right that we should pursue a great deal of research into these topics. I am personally not afraid of such scrutiny of my religious beliefs. But Dennett has a long way to go if he hopes to convince me that religion is only a natural phenomenon.
A Very Human Book.......2007-09-12
What to add to the many excellent reviews already posted?
Not long before I read BREAKING THE SPELL I had lunch with a couple of friends who were exercised about the utter irrationality of some of the religious types they knew. They just couldn't "get" what religious belief and affiliation was giving these folks.
After reading BREAKING THE SPELL I felt I "got it." Religion is a "natural phenomena." Irrational belief structures make sense in the right context. And it's the context Daniel Dennett provides, the most important aspect of which is how our brains are put together. (Be sure to read Stephen Pinker's HOW THE BRAIN WORKS too.)
So despite the fact Dennett gets thrown in with the most radical of religion attackers, I believe BREAKING THE SPELL comes across with a far more compassionate approach.
I believe, too, that accepting why human brains "naturally" create folk and organized religions is a better platform for curtailing the many and obvious problems with religion -- especially the institutionalized lack of compassion for others -- than outright antipathy.
I've already sent copies to friends who've been deeply hurt by religion, especially American fundamentalist "Christianity." It's been healing for them.
Dr. Kirtland C Peterson
Often tedious but sometimes fascinating.......2007-09-05
This is a fascinating 200 page book trapped inside of a tedious 400 page tome. Dennett begins by offering some compelling possible analogies to religion, both positive and negative, and also quite a few interesting quotes. The material seems to get pretty thin rather quickly in the early going though, and I counted no less than four instances of Dennett saying "this is what this book is going to be about". Yeah, so get to the point already! His stated intentions of not wanting to bring down religion but instead open the religious up to the idea of scientific inquiry is not quite convincing. We ALREADY know what science thinks of religion, and Dennett himself is known to be quite hostile to even the notion of the "Prime Mover" of deism, to say nothing of the specialized God of Christianity. So he sort of comes off as a snake oil salesman with his analogy that maybe when the religious let go of that branch on the cliff, maybe they'll find that their feet are only inches from the ground.
The heart of the book is Dennett's "theory sketch" for a possible natural history of religions, mostly based on the science of self-propagating memes. This was by far the most engaging part of the book and I wish Dennett had actually made this the subject of an entire volume without the dishonest pretentions of trying to find common ground between science and religion that are present here.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
What is entanglement? Its a quantum process that connects two particles (say, photons of light) in such a way that changes to one of the particles are reflectedinstantlyin the other, even if theyre light-years apart. Why do we care? The possibilities read like something out of science fiction: Communications devices that could span the stars Codes that simply cannot be broken lest the very laws of physics be overturned Computers that dwarf todays machines in speed and power Teleportation And lots more. In Quantum Entanglement, veteran science writer Brian Clegg has written an exceptionally readable account of entanglement, its history, and its application. Whether youre a popular science fan, or just someone interested in the marvelous possibilities coming down the quantum road, you will find much to marvel, illuminate, and delight.
Customer Reviews:
Basic Quantum Science.......2007-07-19
If you have ever really wondered what quantum mechanics is really all about, and you have a deep distrust of Ramtha, then this is a great little book. You can get clear explanation of some of the weirdest parts of Q and some of the most exciting.
Book Review.......2007-04-06
Totally outstanding dissertation on a most abstract area of quantum physics .
Erudite , yet learned ; and eminently understandable .
Best left unread.......2006-12-21
I am afraid I have to agree with Dr Mbogo. I simply mistrust the accuracy of the author's explanations. He cannot, as Dr Mbogo points out, even get right the basic notions of Cantor's treatment of infinity, repeatedly referring to numbers other than whole numbers as "fractions" - see pp. 172, 173.
INVICTUS Brisbane
A peek inside the engines of creation..........2006-12-01
Although this book has been justly criticized it remains nonetheless a serviceable examination of one of nature's most interesting phenomenon: quantum engtanglement.
Momentarily, the book's shortcomings, but first, it's strength.
Quantum entanglement is sort of the platypus of physics...so unlike the phenomenon around it that it forces us to ask essential questions about the nature of physics itself. As has been commonly discussed in other popular physics works, there are four fundamental forces of nature. Two of them operate at the macroscopic level being gravity and electromagnatism and the other two operate miscroscopically at the nuclear level being the strong and weak nuclear forces.
Significantly, each force has some type of distance limitation attached to it. So, to move a ball I have to somehow come into contact with it. Or likewise to move and electron I have to somehow sub atomicly come in to contact with it.
However, such is not the case with quantum entanglement where as Albert Einstein observed we see a "spooky action at a distance." In other words, when two particles have been mated they immedaitely assume like properties (in the case of sub atomic particles for example, a like spin or orientation). Once entangled, one has merely to effect the orientation of one partner to the mating to effect the other.
That's exactly the aspect of entanglement that made Einstein an ardent opponent of entanglement because ostensibly it seemed to violate his notions that light speed was the ultimate speed limit. Remember: in quantum entanglement effecting the orientation of one partner immediately effects the other partner. Einstein also saw as noxious the idea that this seemed to violate his notions of local action like me effecting a ball by somehow making contact with it.
While quantum entanglement is great stuff for science fiction plots, it has some basic limitations that seriously curtail its applications...all of which are discussed by Clegg. Most significantly, it's properly called a quantum effect because it is just that...something uniquely naturally peculiar to the sub atomic world. The reason is that when the mated particles are set free, their orientations can be changed by ANY examination...including those typically done by nature.
So, let's we were to recall Shroedinger's cat for another experiment (hopefully he's still alive!), and we were to want to entangle the entire cat. Our first biggest problem would be the natural interactions occuring between the cat and his environment between our attempt at entangling him and our attempt to unentangle him at the end of the process.
Significantly, this most important potential application of entanglement -- teleportation -- is touched upon by Clegg.
Also significantly, Clegg manages to cover the main entanglement issues as they exist at the time of his writing.
However, and this where his limitations show themselves. Though his book clearly has some very lucid moments and helpful discussion, it also contains some distracting segeways and inclusions of material put there perhaps most likely to pad the length of the manuscript. Also, the titling of the work as "The God Effect" seems nothing more than an attempt to create a provocative title to encourage book sales.
Even despite these limitations, the book is still on the whole well written and highly serviceable and undeniably discusses one of the most interesting phenomenon in nature. So, while this may be a good first book to read on the topic, by all means do not make it your last.
Great Read.......2006-08-12
If you are a physics major or well versed and well read on the subject this might not be the best book for you.
If you are someone interested in the subject but don't have a lot of time or brain power to get really deep into physics this is a great book for you.
Accessible, with deep yet clear examples, Clegg's book takes the reader on an interesting ride into physics, quantum entanglement and the possibilities.
I found this book to be a fun read and his explanations were direct and easily comprehendible. Most books on this subject can be dry and down right boring. This book is different in that it keeps the reader interested, educates and elucidates possibilities and ideas, and I learned a little bit about the social world of physics and the characters of that stage.
The only thing that did distract me was the title. Having nothing, or maybe everything, to do with "God", nor mentioning the phenomenon, I thought it a little off the mark. But it is a catchy title and if you let you mind wander the possibilities are definitely there.
Fun read!
Book Description
Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Gatorade's invention, First in Thirst chronicles the rise of the sports drink industry and the near-monopoly that Gatorade has built and maintained through savvy marketing and branding strategies.
Gatorade's history spans the nutrition and fitness fads as well as the rise of celebrity endorsers and designer advertising. Rovell has gained access to virtually all of the key figures in this colorful and instructive story, from the original inventors to top executives to well-known athletes and coaches. The book includes exclusive accounts of the drink's invention, and takes an inside look at the evolution of a global phenomenon. In many ways, Gatorade has found the Holy Grail of product success: it not only created and perfected a great product, it also singlehandedly built the need and the market that would ensure that product's dominance year after year.
"Given its prominence and brand equity, it's amazing we've had to wait until now to read the story about the domination of Gatorade. Darren Rovell will quench your thirst by deftly weaving the tale from its humble beginnings to its extraordinary market share and iconic brand status." -- David Stern, NBA Commissioner
"Well dump a bucket of green juice over my head! This guy knows how to tell a story. What a great insider's look at the building of a brand that people believe in." -- Seth Godin, author, All Marketers Are Liars
Customer Reviews:
Quench your thirst for knowledge by reading this book!.......2007-02-21
Hands down, this book was one of the best business success story books I have ever read. It was not as dull and boring as one may think, since the author incorporated a great deal of sports trivia into the plot. The history of the Gatorade start-up could not even be told if it was not for the sports behind it. I found the sections on the Sports Science Institute particularly interesting, which is where Gatorade tests the efficacy of their products on actual athletes. Also extremely interesting was the history behind the origination of the traditional "Gatorade dunk" witnessed at the end of every Super Bowl. If you want to know who and when this started, buy this book and read it. You will not be disappointed! It was extremely interesting!
Interesting look at an interesting company.......2006-12-18
I was initially skeptical about a book on this sports drink but it turned out to be a very interesting purchase. It is amazing that one sports drink could control upwards of 85 percent of the market but Gatorade continues to deliver. From the Volkswagen advertising strategy to constant scientific improvement this is an excellent look at marketing and management. For those interested in sports marketing this is a must have for that library. The book is very well written and is the write balance of history, modern strategy and analysis to make this a book you will want to read again.
Inside Look.......2006-06-22
Rovell takes an inside look at how and the process of gatorade became a house hold name and the marketing it took to get there.
Well-researched and compelling brand story.......2005-11-29
This is such a powerful brand story that you may actually get thirsty reading it. Most people have no idea that sweating creates a huge drink market, but author Darren Rovell tells a well-researched, interesting and compelling story about how a group of Florida doctors concocted a simple drink to prevent dehydration. A combination of good science, luck and efficient marketing helped transform this initially unpalatable drink into the world's most popular sports elixir. Along the way, Gatorade marketers forged relationships with athletes, teams and superstars, and capitalized on the public's fascination with sports. The end result was a sales and marketing bonanza. We recommend this brand building saga to all marketers or to anyone interested in just how a drink built a bridge between sports and popular culture. Even if you don't break a sweat reading Rovell's marketing saga, prepare yourself to buy a bottle of Gatorade - you're going to want to satisfy your thirst to check this out.
Sports, Business, Entertainment.......2005-10-13
Amazing how Rovell was able to piece together such a detailed history of a product which was developed in a basement over 40 years ago. The relatively unknown early history of Gatorade at the University of Florida was fascinating. And the behind-the-scenes account of the part of Gatorade that we all know about, the commercials, was equally interesting and entertaining. I found myself singing 'Be Like Mike' and reminscing about the great Jordan commercials. I definitely would have paid a premium for an accompanying dvd of all the great Gatorade commercials. If you have any interest in Gatorade at all, this is an absolute must read. If you are interested in sports, business, or just want a good story, then First in Thirst is also for you.
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Motion-Free Super-Resolution
Subhasis Chaudhuri , and
Joshi Manjunath
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0387258906 |
Book Description
Motion-Free Super-Resolution is a compilation of very recent work on various methods of generating super-resolution (SR) images from a set of low-resolution images. The current literature on this topic deals primarily with the use of motion cues for the purpose of generating SR images. These cues have, it is shown, their advantages and disadvantages. In contrast, this book shows that cues other than motion can also be used for the same purpose, and addresses both the merits and demerits of these new techniques.
Motion-Free Super-Resolution supersedes much of the lead author’s previous edited volume, "Super-Resolution Imaging," and includes an up-to-date account of the latest research efforts in this fast-moving field. This sequel also features a style of presentation closer to that of a textbook, with an emphasis on teaching and explanation rather than scholarly presentation.
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Critical Issues in Ecotourism: understanding a complex tourism phenomenon
James Higham
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
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Ecotourism
ASIN: 0750668784 |
Book Description
Critical Issues in Ecotourism seeks to shake the current stagnant literature on the subject of ecotourism out of a state of complacency. Drawing upon emerging insights provided by pre-eminent scholars in the field it identifies and comprehensively addresses current critical issues. Accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences, it provides the reader with the following:
* A critical, direct and hard hitting analysis of the real issues that apply to the field of ecotourism
*Contributions from prominent international scholars that address issues of relevance to a diverse and international readership
* Dissemination of the scholarly works of social and natural science addressing this field
* A collection of works by outstanding international scholars, in a comprehensively planned and integrated book
Incorporating rigorous scientific insights in specialised fields of research, for example, identifying and protecting critical habits where tourists engage with endangered species, Critical Issues in Ecotourism is an important and ground breaking contribution set to expose the increasingly mythologized field of ecotourism.
* The first book to identify and comprehensively address, hot issues in ecotourism
* Written by a team of pre-eminent international contributors including the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand
* Incorporates cutting-edge scientific research which exposes the crucial issues
Customer Reviews:
Terrific Collection.......2007-07-11
There are several books about Oprah on the market but for an intellecutally engaged reader this volume is among the very best. The Oprah Phenomenon is a terrific collection of well crafted essays covering a range of topics. The book includes essays on Oprah and race (including the appeal of Oprah to white women), Oprah and femininity (including Black femininity) and Oprah and literacy (including what her television work has done for America), to name a few. I teach courses sociology courses on topics including gender and pop culture and can easily see this book being used in such courses, as a vehicle to address a range of social issues. The book also would serve the general reader, interested in the Oprah Phenomenon.
Book Description
The question of consciousness is perhaps the most significant problem still unsolved by science. In Inner Presence, Antti Revonsuo proposes a novel approach to the study of consciousness that integrates findings from philosophy, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience into a coherent theoretical framework. Arguing that any fruitful scientific approach to the problem must consider both the subjective psychological reality of consciousness and the objective neurobiological reality, Revonsuo proposes that the best strategy for discovering the connection between these two realities is one of "biological realism," using tools of the empirical biological sciences. This approach, which he calls the "biological research program," provides a theoretical and philosophical foundation that contemporary study of consciousness lacks.
Revonsuo coins the term "world simulation metaphor" and uses this metaphor to develop a powerful way of thinking about consciousness as a biological system in the brain. This leads him to propose that the dreaming brain and visual consciousness are ideal model systems for empirical consciousness research. He offers a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of consciousness research and defends his approach against currently popular philosophical views, in particular against approaches that deny or externalize phenomenal consciousness, or claim that brain activity is not sufficient for consciousness. He systematically examines the principal issues in the science of consciousness -- the contents of consciousness, the unity of consciousness and the binding problem, the explanatory gap and the neural correlates of consciousness, and the causal powers and function of consciousness.
Revonsuo draws together empirical data from a wide variety of sources, including dream research, brain imaging, neuropsychology, and evolutionary psychology, into the theoretical framework of the biological research program, thus pointing the way toward a unified biological science of consciousness. Applying imaginative thought experiments, Inner Presence reaches beyond the current state-of-the-art, revealing how the problem of consciousness may eventually be solved by future science.
Customer Reviews:
superb at times, original at others........2002-02-24
Hans Jonas, previously a pupil of Heidegger, in the main departs from his mentor's work and reaches out in rather sophisticated and at times obscure writing, into the depths of the deeply thinking man's way of understanding "The Phenomenon of Life". Much like the other reviewer I agree with him concerning Jonas's deeply insightful essays on the philosophy of organism and mind, which he categorically states must be aspects of the one philosophy of life. Jonas's essays are in general quite brilliant with snippets of real insight that tower above the ordinary and yet it is written so that this occurs as part of the process of discovery which seems to be going on as he writes.
His first essay considers the development or rather alteration in the philosophy of being extending from ancient Greek times into the modern era: animism, and the remarkable instance of thinking of life as at one time the natural mode of being followed by the idea that death is the natural mode instead or that life is a preparation for it. Dualism is considered as the fundamental barrier underlying the comprehension of life although idealism leads to problems no less troubling than say materialism or mechanism.
In the second essay he looks at the fundamental aspects of philosophical Darwinism with its final application of mechanism to the biological realm which for so long eluded the mechanists. Descartes started the trend with his machine-like approach to animals. The third essay considers the meaning of metabolism using James Jeans's, God as a mathematician quote to initiate the discussion. He notes that a living being is one that is never the same from one moment to the next "perpetual self-renewal through process". As the other reviewer mentioned his fourth essay "To Move and to Feel: on the animal soul" is probably the most illuminating in the book. he considers what differs from animal to plant ie motility, perception and emotion. the ability to move using the evidence of perception leads to the idea of freedom, however how emotion is related to the above is less obvious althgough Jonas makes it so by simply stating that movement in pursuit or flight must necessarily lead to emotion because of its satisfaction or lack thereof. Plants possess immediacy in life between environment and the organism; animals are more separated than this being required to treat the environment as different from them to some degree at least.
Next he analyses the ideas of cybernetics and some differences between machines and organisms noting that machines act by feedback mechanisms whereas organism is "concerned in existing", this applies also to society where the cybernetic idea of information is empty. In the sixth essay he looks at perception through the senses sight, hearing and touch in the main and how and why they vary in importance to man. He alludes as to why and how concepts such as space and time arise through the function of the senses themselves rather than being free construction of the mind. This leads directly into the seventh essay on the difference between man and animal ie through the concept of image making rather than language or symbols. Again as the previous reviewer notes the later essays lack in depth, once he enters the realm of theology Jonas tends to outline his own beliefs rather than analysing them in depth as his earlier essays, again the relationship between Gnosticism and modern thought bears fruit in contrast to the writing on Heidegger and theology.
All together a brilliant style with difficult writing. In contrast to the usual length of time needed to read a book this took considerably longer just to comprehend. Well worth getting, superb at times, original at others.
Truth, Life and Beauty.......2001-02-22
The first seven chapters of _The Phenomenon of Life_, which present the substance and methodology of Jonas' "Philosophy of Biology," are as brilliantly lucid as they are orginal. Regarding the form, Jonas' language is, at times, obscure in its heavy academic prose but for those willing to give the time required it is nothing short of eloquent. Regarding the content, I would venture to say that no one can come away from this book without a changed perspective on everything living both in the simplest forms and in the complexities of the unique powers of mankind. The fifth chapter, etitled "To Move and to Feel-- On the Animal Soul" is about as dense with truth as one can handle. Also extraordinary are the first chapter and its first appendix--which in two paragraphs almost closes the book on the epistomological debate of Hume and Kant-- and the seventh chapter called "The Nobility of Sight." The last chapters of the book, which turn to a "Philosophy of Man" are less outstanding, although I make an exception for the one called "Gnostisism, Existentialism and Nihlism." Here Jonas speaks of a subject about which his lifelong passion shines through. Its observations are invaluable to one who seeks to understand the philosophical climate-- away from academic circles-- in the twentieth century.
Book Description
The essays in this collection, written by many of the leading figures in the social sciences, critically reexamine the concept of context from a variety of different angles and propose new ways of thinking abut it with reference to specific human activities such as face-to-face interaction, radio talk, medical diagnosis, political encounters, and socialization practices.
Books:
- Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition
- Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems
- Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis, 4th Edition
- Data Analysis: A Bayesian Tutorial
- Detection, Estimation, and Modulation Theory, Part I
- Developmental Juvenile Osteology
- Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect
- East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir through the Seasons
- Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight
- Einstein: His Life and Universe
Books Index
Books Home
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The God Delusion
Letter to a Christian Nation
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
