Book picks similar to
Construing Experience Through Meaning: A Language-Based Approach to Cognition by M.A.K. Halliday
cognitive-science
college-university-textbooks
language-and-linguistics
language-s
Unlocking Japanese
Cure Dolly - 2016
A ground-breaking book that sets out to demonstrate that Japanese is “simple, logical and beautiful” and that most of the apparently “arbitrary rules” that you “just have to learn” can be reduced to simple, easily intuitive patterns if you just understand how the language really works.
The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control
Walter Mischel - 2014
What will she do? And what are the implications for her behavior later in life?The world's leading expert on self-control, Walter Mischel has proven that the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher SAT scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a greater sense of self-worth. But is willpower prewired, or can it be taught?In The Marshmallow Test, Mischel explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life—from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement. With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be.
Left Brain, Right Brain: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience
Sally P. Springer - 1950
It reviews the historical context from which the field emerged, focusing on behavioural implications, and intergrating new developments in cognitive neuroscience. The authors cover current neuroimaging techniques such as PET, SPECT, EEG and MEG. This edition has been updated to incorporate present thinking within hemispheric asymmetry.
Brainhack: Tips and Tricks to Unleash Your Brain's Full Potential
Neil Pavitt - 2016
Using this knowledge of how the mind works, "Brainhack "reveals the ways you can use this brain power to change-up your thinking and is packed with a series of 'brainhacking' tips and tricks that will help you achieve success in your every-day life.The book will contain over 40 brainhacks and be split into the following sections: Thinking Smarter Getting Started Problem Solving Idea Generation Breaking through and innovatingSo you can dip-in and out of brainhacks designed to help you with each of these areas.Each 'brainhack' will explain: A description of the technique - what do you need to do to you streamline your brain The benefit - how this technique will help you and why you should do it A real-world example- to bring it all to life and show you how to implement it The science stuff- how this works and the brain-science behind it
The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind
Barbara Strauch - 2010
But new research from neuroscientists and psychologists suggests that, in fact, the brain reorganizes, improves in important functions, and even helps us adopt a more optimistic outlook in middle age. Growth of white matter and brain connectors allow us to recognize patterns faster, make better judgments, and find unique solutions to problems. Scientists call these traits cognitive expertise and they reach their highest levels in middle age. In her impeccably researched book, science writer Barbara Strauch explores the latest findings that demonstrate, through the use of technology such as brain scans, that the middle-aged brain is more flexible and more capable than previously thought. For the first time, long-term studies show that our view of middle age has been misleading and incomplete. By detailing exactly the normal, healthy brain functions over time, Strauch also explains how its optimal processes can be maintained. Part scientific survey, part how-to guide, "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain" is a fascinating glimpse at our surprisingly talented middle-aged minds."
The Glass Cage: How Our Computers Are Changing Us
Nicholas Carr - 2014
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.
The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive
Brian Christian - 2011
Its starting point is the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against people to determine if computers can “think.”Named for computer pioneer Alan Turing, the Turing Test convenes a panel of judges who pose questions—ranging anywhere from celebrity gossip to moral conundrums—to hidden contestants in an attempt to discern which is human and which is a computer. The machine that most often fools the panel wins the Most Human Computer Award. But there is also a prize, bizarre and intriguing, for the Most Human Human.In 2008, the top AI program came short of passing the Turing Test by just one astonishing vote. In 2009, Brian Christian was chosen to participate, and he set out to make sure Homo sapiens would prevail.The author’s quest to be deemed more human than a computer opens a window onto our own nature. Interweaving modern phenomena like customer service “chatbots” and men using programmed dialogue to pick up women in bars with insights from fields as diverse as chess, psychiatry, and the law, Brian Christian examines the philosophical, biological, and moral issues raised by the Turing Test.One central definition of human has been “a being that could reason.” If computers can reason, what does that mean for the special place we reserve for humanity?
Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys But Never Forget How To Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Behavior
Sandra Aamodt - 2008
We are using our brains at practically every moment of our lives, and yet few of us have the first idea how they work. Much of what we think we know comes from folklore: that we only use 10 percent of our brain, or that drinking kills brain cells. These and other brain myths are wrong, as demonstrated by the work of neuroscientists who have spent decades studying this complex organ. However, most of what scientists have learned is not known to the world outside their laboratories.In this readable, lively book, Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang dispel common myths about the brain and provide a comprehensive, useful overview of how it really works. In its pages, you'll discover how to cope with jet lag, how your brain affects your religion, and how men's and women's brains differ. With witty, accessible prose decorated by charts, trivia, quizzes, and illustrations, this book is great for quick reference or extended reading.Both practical and fun, Welcome to Your Brain is perfect whether you want to impress your friends or simply use your brain better.
Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible
Brian Tracy - 1989
Author Brian Tracy explains the seven key elements of goal setting and the 12 steps necessary to set and accomplish goals of any size. Using simple language and real-life examples, Tracy shows how to do the crucial work of determining one's strengths, values, and true goals. He explains how to build the self-esteem and confidence necessary for achievement; how to overpower every problem or obstacle; how to overcome difficulties; how to respond to challenges; and how to continue moving forward no matter what happens. The book's "Mental Fitness" program of character development shows readers how to become the kind of person on the inside who can achieve any goal on the outside.
The Little Book of Self-Care
Mel Noakes - 2017
You are important too. With encouraging reminders, inspiring thoughts, easy wins and practical advice, The Little Book of Self Care will help you identify your needs so you can relax, refuel and find calm in your hectic life. This book will tell you why mindset is key, how to nourish instead of punish yourself, how to exercise and sleep and why it is important to go slow sometimes.You live your whole life being you, so why not be your own best friend?
In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build a Perfect Language
Arika Okrent - 2009
And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon, which was nothing more than a television show's attempt to create a tough-sounding language befitting a warrior race with ridged foreheads. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, and the nearly nine hundred other invented languages that represent the hard work, high hopes, and full-blown delusions of so many misguided souls over the centuries. In In The Land of Invented Languages, author Arika Okrent tells the fascinating and highly entertaining history of man's enduring quest to build a better language. Peopled with charming eccentrics and exasperating megalomaniacs, the land of invented languages is a place where you can recite the Lord's Prayer in John Wilkins's Philosophical Language, say your wedding vows in Loglan, and read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Lojban. A truly original new addition to the booming category of language books, In The Land of Invented Languages will be a must-have on the shelves of all word freaks, grammar geeks, and plain old language lovers.
Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of America's Languages
Elizabeth Little - 2012
While much ado has been made about the role that Spanish may play in our national future, it would be a gross misrepresentation to label America a bilingual country. On the contrary, our languages are as varied as our origins. There is Basque in Nevada, Arabic in Detroit, Gullah in South Carolina. We speak European, Asian, and American Indian languages; we speak creoles, jargons, and pidgins. As a resident of Queens-among the most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse places on the planet-Elizabeth Little first began to wonder how this host of tongues had shaped the American experience. It was only a matter of time before she decided to take her questions on the road.
In Trip of the Tongue, Little explores our nation's many cultures and languages in search of what they say about who we are individually, socially, and politically. This book is both a celebration of American multiculturalism and a reflection on what we value, what we fight for, and what we allow ourselves to forget. Elizabeth Little is a witty and endearing tour guide for this memorable and original trip.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Simple Techniques to Instantly Overcome Depression, Relieve Anxiety, and Rewire Your Brain
Olivia Telford - 2020
How you see yourself and the world shapes your entire life.To achieve the relationship, career, and lifestyle of your dreams, you need to understand how the human mind really works. That’s where Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) comes in. It’s a simple but brilliant approach that will show you exactly how your thoughts rule your life.Millions of people have used CBT to retrain their brains. You can join them today.In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you will discover exactly what you need to do to get over depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. You will learn how to reinvent yourself, handle everything life throws your way, and find true happiness. It’s safe, drug free, and scientifically proven to work. Using powerful exercises you can do at any time and place, you can choose a brighter future. You will discover:
Why your actions, thoughts, and feelings are intertwined
The real reasons you feel depressed
How to conquer panic attacks and worry
How to release regret and shame forever
How to break free from intrusive thoughts and obsessive behavior
How to supercharge your communication skills and build better relationships
And much, much more
YOU HAVE A CHOICE.Will you choose to stay stuck in the same old, familiar thought patterns that keep making your life hell? After all, that’s what most people do. It’s called the “comfort zone” for a reason!Or are you brave enough to take a long, hard look at yourself and retrain your brain for the better? Do you dare make the leap, take back your destiny, and live your best life?Click the link below to view the book on Amazon!https://amzn.to/2KMxYpK
You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself
David McRaney - 2011
Whether you’re deciding which smart phone to purchase or which politician to believe, you think you are a rational being whose every decision is based on cool, detached logic, but here’s the truth: You are not so smart. You’re just as deluded as the rest of us--but that’s okay, because being deluded is part of being human. Growing out of David McRaney’s popular blog, You Are Not So Smart reveals that every decision we make, every thought we contemplate, and every emotion we feel comes with a story we tell ourselves to explain them, but often these stories aren’t true. Each short chapter--covering topics such as Learned Helplessness, Selling Out, and the Illusion of Transparency--is like a psychology course with all the boring parts taken out.Bringing together popular science and psychology with humor and wit, You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of our irrational, thoroughly human behavior.
Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average
Joseph T. Hallinan - 2009
Our eyes play tricks on us; our stories change in the retelling; and most of us are fairly sure we’re way above average. In Why We Make Mistakes, journalist Joseph T. Hallinan sets out to explore the science of human error—how we think, see, remember, and forget, and how this sets us up for wholly irresistible mistakes.In his quest to understand our imperfections, Hallinan delves into psychology, neuroscience, and economics, with forays into aviation, consumer behavior, geography, football, stock picking, and more. He discovers that some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error prone. Why We Make Mistakes is enlivened by real-life stories--of weathermen whose predictions are uncannily accurate and a witness who sent an innocent man to jail--and offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you’ve hidden something important. He explains why multitasking is a bad idea, why men make errors women don’t. This book will open your eyes to the reasons behind your mistakes and have you vowing to do better the next time.