Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman rifle through the inventions of human society like paleontologists ransacking the fossil record. Exploring examples from Apollo 13 to Pablo Picasso, they seek to answer the question: what lies at the heart of humanity's ability--and drive--to create? If you took a snapshot of any animal species' behavior, from apes to barnacles, and contrasted it with the same species 10,000 years ago, they'd all be carrying on pretty much as usual (and if they aren't, it's likely due to human influence). Humanity, on the other hand, would be nearly unrecognizable. Above all else, our drive to create is what makes us unique among all living things. Yet where does this all creation, innovation, and change come from? Why us? And if we better understand this -cognitive software-, can we harness it more responsibly to improve our lives, schools, businesses and institutions? Brandt and Eagleman examine hundreds of examples of human creativity through dramatic storytelling and stunning images in this beautiful, full-color volume. By drawing out what creative acts have in common and viewing them through the lens of cutting-edge neuroscience, they uncover the essential elements of this critical human ability, and encourage a more creative future for all of us.

    In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.Elizabeth Wayland Barber has drawn from data gathered by the most sophisticated new archaeological methods—methods she herself helped to fashion.

    The story starts in earnest 3.8 billion years ago, with the earliest-known form of life on Earth, a bacteria that still exists today, and journeys through action-packed millennia, charting the appearance of new life forms as well as devastating extinction events. Of course, the ever-popular and endlessly intriguing dinosaurs feature large, but Prehistoric Life gives you the whole picture, and the plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals that are the ancestors of today's species also populate its pages, making this book unprecedented in its coverage of prehistory. Specially commissioned artworks use cutting-edge technology to render species in breathtakingly realistic fashion, with astonishing images of prehistoric remains, such as skeletons and fossils, to complete the story. To put all the evidence in context, the concept of geological time is explored, as is the classification of species and how the evidence for their evolution is preserved and can be deciphered.New technologies have brought new life to inanimate fossils. CT scanning, for example, unlocks a 3D image of a plant or animal from a piece of rock, which can then be viewed from all angles revealing never-before-seen details. From this researchers can fill in missing pieces and even simulate how an animal might have moved. Panels explore these and numerous other scientific techniques for recovering, dating, and reconstructing, as well as profiling individuals, key excavations and discoveries, and some of the unique anatomical features that nature has developed over the course of time.The last section of the book looks at the development of humans and the eventual rise to dominance of Homo sapiens, exploring not only their changing anatomy as revealed by the fossils but also the evidence for culture and society as evidenced by extraordinary cave paintings and intricately worked tools.In combination, the stunning visuals, captivating, authoritative text, and comprehensive approach make Prehistoric Life a fascinating and revealing encyclopedia that will appeal to the whole family.TABLE OF CONTENTS1. LIVING PLANET (38 pp)Foundations of a living planet. The Earth's structure. Plate tectonics, formation of oceans and continents.Changing climate. factors that contribute to climate change, how those can be seen in the geological record, and how that has affected life on Earth.Reconstructing the past. Using the present to understand the past (rocks and the rock cycle, layers of rock and dating)Fossils. Types of fossils, how they form, reconstructing the past from them (digging up, analysis), reconstructing past environments, dating using fossils.Geological timescale. Explanation of geological time.Life on Earth. What is life? Natural selection, DNA, molecular clocks, mass extinctions.Timeline of Evolution. Broad-scale look at major evolutionary markers through time.Classification. How we classify living organisms. The kingdoms of life.2. ON EARTH (398 PP) This chapter will be organized so that pages can be removed to leave a section of 360pp.his consists of a catalog divided into geological periods. Each period introduction covers the conditions on Earth at the time (geology and climate) and includes a chart showing the evolution of the main forms of life. The subsequent catalog entries are organized into groups: Microscopic life; Plants and Fungi; Invertebrates; and Vertebrates, with each having an introduction detailing the main evolutionary developments within the group.Archean 3.8-2.5 billion years ago (4pp)Period introduction. (1p)Archean life intro - (1p) the rise of life. Biology of cells; prokaryotes, cyanobacteria, stromatolites.Catalog of species.Proterozoic 2.5 billion-543 mya (6pp)Period introduction. (2pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Cambrian 543-490 mya (20pp)Period introduction (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (3pp)Invertebrates intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (8pp)Vertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Ordovician 490-443 mya (14pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species.(1p)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (3pp)Vertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Silurian 443-417 mya (20pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (7pp)Vertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (3p)Devonian 417-354 mya (34pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (7pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (7pp)Vertebrates intro. (2p)Catalog of species. (10pp)Carboniferous 354-290 mya (38pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (8pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (9pp)Vertebrates intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (10pp)Permian 290-248 mya (26pp)Period introduction. (Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (3pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (7pp)Vertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (7pp)Triassic 248-206 mya (30pp)Period introduction. (Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (5pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (3pp)Vertebrates intro. (1pp)Catalog of species. (13pp)Jurassic 206-144 mya (56pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (5pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (9pp)Vertebrates intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (24pp)Cretaceous 144-65 mya (54pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (10pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (9pp)Vertebrates intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (24pp)Paleogene 65-23.8 mya (34pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (6pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (6pp)Vertebrates intro. (2pp)Catalog of species. (12pp)Neogene 23.8-1.8 mya (32pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (6pp)Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (7pp)Vertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (10pp)Quaternary 1.8 mya-Present (26pp)Period introduction. (4pp)Microscopic life intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (1p)Plants and fungi intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (Invertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (5pp)Vertebrates intro. (1p)Catalog of species. (8pp)3. THE RISE OF HUMANS (44PP)Timeline of human evolution.Coverage of: Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Orrorin tugenesis, Ardipithecus kadabba, Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus afarensis, Kenyanthropus platyops, Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus aethiopicus, Australopithecus garhi, Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Paranthropus boisei, Homo ergaster, Paranthropus robustus, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens.Themes of anatomy, DNA, global expansion, tool use, diet, communication, ecology, society, and culture run through the section.Glossary/Index/Acknowledgements

    Christopher Boehm, an anthropologist whose fieldwork has focused on the political arrangements of human and nonhuman primate groups, postulates that egalitarianism is in effect a hierarchy in which the weak combine forces to dominate the strong.The political flexibility of our species is formidable: we can be quite egalitarian, we can be quite despotic. Hierarchy in the Forest traces the roots of these contradictory traits in chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and early human societies. Boehm looks at the loose group structures of hunter-gatherers, then at tribal segmentation, and finally at present-day governments to see how these conflicting tendencies are reflected.Hierarchy in the Forest claims new territory for biological anthropology and evolutionary biology by extending the domain of these sciences into a crucial aspect of human political and social behavior. This book will be a key document in the study of the evolutionary basis of genuine altruism.

    But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative. The first agrarian states, says James C. Scott, were born of accumulations of domestications: first fire, then plants, livestock, subjects of the state, captives, and finally women in the patriarchal family—all of which can be viewed as a way of gaining control over reproduction.   Scott explores why we avoided sedentism and plow agriculture, the advantages of mobile subsistence, the unforeseeable disease epidemics arising from crowding plants, animals, and grain, and why all early states are based on millets and cereal grains and unfree labor. He also discusses the “barbarians” who long evaded state control, as a way of understanding continuing tension between states and nonsubject peoples.

    Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD, with Clare Aukofer, offers a succinct yet comprehensive study of how and why the human mind generates religious belief. Dr. Thomson, a highly respected practicing psychiatrist with credentials in forensic psychiatry and evolutionary psychology, methodically investigates the components and causes of religious belief in the same way any scientist would investigate the movement of astronomical bodies or the evolution of life over time—that is, as a purely natural phenomenon. Providing compelling evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, and related fields, he, with Ms. Aukofer, presents an easily accessible and exceptionally convincing case that god(s) were created by man—not vice versa. With this slim volume, Dr. Thomson establishes himself as a must-read thinker and leading voice on the primacy of reason and science over superstition and religion.

    Our stories are marbled into their marrow.Drawing upon her years of research and a wealth of remarkable experience, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation. From skull to feet, via the face, spine, chest, arms, hands, pelvis and legs, she shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. What we eat, where we go, everything we do leaves a trace, a message that waits patiently for months, years, sometimes centuries, until a forensic anthropologist is called upon to decipher it.Some of this information is easily understood, some holds its secrets tight and needs scientific cajoling to be released. But by carefully piecing together the evidence, the facts of a life can be rebuilt. Limb by limb, case by case – some criminal, some historical, some unaccountably bizarre – Sue Black reconstructs with intimate sensitivity and compassion the hidden stories in what we leave behind.

    But what if science itself can’t be relied on?Medicine, education, psychology, health, parenting – wherever it really matters, we look to science for advice. Science Fictions reveals the disturbing flaws that undermine our understanding of all of these fields and more.While the scientific method will always be our best and only way of knowing about the world, in reality the current system of funding and publishing science not only fails to safeguard against scientists’ inescapable biases and foibles, it actively encourages them. From widely accepted theories about ‘priming’ and ‘growth mindset’ to claims about genetics, sleep, microbiotics, as well as a host of drugs, allergies and therapies, we can trace the effects of unreliable, overhyped and even fraudulent papers in austerity economics, the anti-vaccination movement and dozens of bestselling books – and occasionally count the cost in human lives.Stuart Ritchie was among the first people to help expose these problems. In this vital investigation, he gathers together the evidence of their full and shocking extent – and how a new reform movement within science is fighting back. Often witty yet deadly serious, Science Fictions is at the vanguard of the insurgency, proposing a host of remedies to save and protect this most valuable of human endeavours from itself.

    This electrifying book explodes some of our unquestioned beliefs about children and parents and gives us a radically new view of childhood.Harris examines with a fresh eye the lives of real children to show that it is what they experience outside the home, in the company of their peers, that matters most. Parents don't socialize children; children socialize children. With eloquence and humor, Judith Harris explains why parents have little power to determine the sort of people their children will become. The Nurture Assumption brings together insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, primatology, and evolutionary biology to offer a startling new view of who we are and how we got that way.

    

    She examines the physical basis of our emotions and searches for the answer to one of the most enduring mysteries in modern science: How does the brain create a unique, subjective experience for each one of us?Utilizing cutting-edge research and compelling personal anecdotes, Greenfield reveals that emotions, triggered by individual life experiences, are the very foundation upon which our brains build our unique minds. In this absorbing, lyrical exploration, Dr. Greenfield presents a provocative new theory that provides an illuminating glimpse into the human brain and reveals the astonishing essence of who we are."This is one of those rare books that can make a reader happy to have been led to think."-Booklist

    But how does virality actually work? In The Rules of Contagion, epidemiologist Adam Kucharski explores topics including gun violence, online manipulation, and, of course, outbreaks of disease to show how much we get wrong about contagion, and how astonishing the real science is.Why did the president retweet a Mussolini quote as his own? Why do financial bubbles take off so quickly? And why are disinformation campaigns so effective? By uncovering the crucial factors driving outbreaks, we can see how things really spread -- and what we can do about it.Whether you are an author seeking an audience, a defender of truth, or simply someone interested in human social behavior, The Rules of Contagion is an essential guide to modern life.

    Human tastes in the arts, Dutton argues, are evolutionary traits, shaped by Darwinian selection. They are not, as the past century of art criticism and academic theory would have it, just "socially constructed."Our love of beauty is inborn, and many aesthetic tastes are shared across remote cultures—just one example is the widespread preference for landscapes with water and distant trees, like the savannas where we evolved. Using forceful logic and hard evidence, Dutton shows that we must premise art criticism on an understanding of evolution, not on abstract "theory." He restores the place of beauty, pleasure, and skill as artistic values.Sure to provoke discussion in scientific circles and uproar in the art world, The Art Instinct offers radical new insights into both the nature of art and the workings of the human mind.

    He believes that we should investigate what makes some countries more capable than others. Complex products—from films to robots, apps to automobiles—are a physical distillation of an economy’s knowledge, a measurable embodiment of its education, infrastructure, and capability. Economic wealth accrues when applications of this knowledge turn ideas into tangible products; the more complex its products, the more economic growth a country will experience.A radical new interpretation of global economics, Why Information Grows overturns traditional assumptions about the development of economies and the origins of wealth and takes a crucial step toward making economics less the dismal science and more the insightful one.

    Even as they bring ease to our lives, these programs are stealing something essential from us.Drawing on psychological and neurological studies that underscore how tightly people’s happiness and satisfaction are tied to performing hard work in the real world, Carr reveals something we already suspect: shifting our attention to computer screens can leave us disengaged and discontented.From nineteenth-century textile mills to the cockpits of modern jets, from the frozen hunting grounds of Inuit tribes to the sterile landscapes of GPS maps, The Glass Cage explores the impact of automation from a deeply human perspective, examining the personal as well as the economic consequences of our growing dependence on computers.With a characteristic blend of history and philosophy, poetry and science, Carr takes us on a journey from the work and early theory of Adam Smith and Alfred North Whitehead to the latest research into human attention, memory, and happiness, culminating in a moving meditation on how we can use technology to expand the human experience.