We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It’s easy to say that humans are “wired” for story, but why?In this delightful and original book, Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. He argues that stories help us navigate life’s complex social problems—just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. Storytelling has evolved, like other behaviors, to ensure our survival.Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal. Did you know that the more absorbed you are in a story, the more it changes your behavior? That all children act out the same kinds of stories, whether they grow up in a slum or a suburb? That people who read more fiction are more empathetic?Of course, our story instinct has a darker side. It makes us vulnerable to conspiracy theories, advertisements, and narratives about ourselves that are more “truthy” than true. National myths can also be terribly dangerous: Hitler’s ambitions were partly fueled by a story.But as Gottschall shows in this remarkable book, stories can also change the world for the better. Most successful stories are moral—they teach us how to live, whether explicitly or implicitly, and bind us together around common values. We know we are master shapers of story. The Storytelling Animal finally reveals how stories shape us.

    Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies covers the hardware, the software, and the techniques you need to take top-notch digital photos with your dSLR. This guide will get you clicking with information on:The advantages of a dSLR camera: more control over what portions of your images are in sharp focus; a more accurate viewfinder; lower levels of the annoying grain effect called noise; ability to capture the most fleeting action; more control over depth-of-field; ability to review your image immediately, upload the photo to your computer, make adjustments, and print a full-color print in minutes Choosing the accessories that will take your dSLR to the next level, depending on the type of photography you do and your current and future needs Megapixels, and matching pixels to print sizes and printers The components of a dSLR: lens; viewing system, aperture, shutter, light-sensitive component; medium for storing the captured image Accessorizing your dSLR with memory cards, filter add-ons (infrared, polarizers, neutral density, and special effects), electronic flash, tripods, and more Once you get your hands on a dSLR camera (literally), this reference helps you use its features and controls to take great pictures. Complete with more than 300 color photos, lots of tables, and clear, step-by-step instructions for various situations, subjects, and calculations, Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies helps you refine your techniques with info on:Getting the exposure right with the histogram, the metering system, or Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual Exposure modes Achieving the right focus with manual focus or autofocus The scoop on lenses--prime, zoom, and special--and using them appropriately and creativelyHow to use interchangeable lenses, set up speedy continuous-shooting burst modes, apply selective focus, and shoot under the lowest light levels Special features of dSLR to reduce noise, cancel camera shake, do time-lapse photography, and shoot infrared photos Working with the RAW format, JPEG, or both Taking action, flash, or sequence photos or freezing the action Composition basics, including the Rule of Thirds, tips for shooting portraits or group photos, and more Using image editors to fix-up your photos (with cropping, tonal adjustments, color correction, spot removal, sharpening/blurring, and more), with step-by-step instructions for using Photoshop Compositing images Choosing your printer and evaluating your output options With Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies, you won't only get the how-to for various types of shots, you'll see the results with great color photos. In no time, you'll be taking great photos of your own.

    Through vivid narrative, lively presentations of important research, and intriguing examples, Elliot Aronson probes the patterns and motives of human behavior, covering such diverse topics as terrorism, conformity, obedience, politics, race relations, advertising, war, interpersonal attraction, and the power of religious cults.

    It also explains the "why" of trigonometry, using real-world examples that illustrate the value of trigonometry in a variety of careers. Mary Jane Sterling (Peoria, IL) has taught mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria for more than 20 years. She is also the author of the highly successful Algebra For Dummies (0-7645-5325-9).

    By lobbying against competition, the biggest firms drive profits higher while depressing wages and limiting opportunities for investment, innovation, and growth.Why are cell-phone plans so much more expensive in the United States than in Europe? It seems a simple question. But the search for an answer took Thomas Philippon on an unexpected journey through some of the most complex and hotly debated issues in modern economics. Ultimately he reached his surprising conclusion: American markets, once a model for the world, are giving up on healthy competition. Sector after economic sector is more concentrated than it was twenty years ago, dominated by fewer and bigger players who lobby politicians aggressively to protect and expand their profit margins. Across the country, this drives up prices while driving down investment, productivity, growth, and wages, resulting in more inequality. Meanwhile, Europe--long dismissed for competitive sclerosis and weak antitrust--is beating America at its own game.Philippon, one of the world's leading economists, did not expect these conclusions in the age of Silicon Valley start-ups and millennial millionaires. But the data from his cutting-edge research proved undeniable. In this compelling tale of economic detective work, we follow him as he works out the basic facts and consequences of industry concentration in the U.S. and Europe, shows how lobbying and campaign contributions have defanged antitrust regulators, and considers what all this means for free trade, technology, and innovation. For the sake of ordinary Americans, he concludes, government needs to return to what it once did best: keeping the playing field level for competition. It's time to make American markets great--and free--again.

    . . or at least he wasn’t until these books came along. Made up of intensively edited speeches and interviews, they offer something not found anywhere else: pure Chomsky, with every dazzling idea and penetrating insight intact, delivered in clear, accessible, reader-friendly prose.Published as four short books in the famous Real Story series—What Uncle Sam Really Wants; The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many; Secrets, Lies and Democracy; and The Common Good—they’ve collectively sold almost 600,000 copies.And they continue to sell year after year after year because Chomsky’s ideas become, if anything, more relevant as time goes by. For example, twenty years ago he pointed out that “in 1970, about 90% of international capital was used for trade and long-term investment—more or less productive things—and 10% for speculation. By 1990, those figures had reversed.” As we know, speculation continued to increase exponentially. We’re paying the price now for not heeding him them.

    But in END THE FED, Ron Paul draws on American history, economics, and fascinating stories from his own long political life to argue that the Fed is both corrupt and unconstitutional. It is inflating currency today at nearly a Weimar or Zimbabwe level, a practice that threatens to put us into an inflationary depression where $100 bills are worthless. What most people don't realize is that the Fed -- created by the Morgans and Rockefellers at a private club off the coast of Georgia -- is actually working against their own personal interests. Congressman Paul's urgent appeal to all citizens and officials tells us where we went wrong and what we need to do fix America's economic policy for future generations.

    Although this social revolution created a firestorm of controversy, no one questioned the idea that women's involvement in the workforce was certain to improve families' financial lot. Until now.In this brilliantly argued book, Harvard Law School bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren and business consultant Amelia Tyagi show that today's middle-class parents are suffering from an unprecedented and totally unexpected economic meltdown. Astonishingly, sending mothers to work has made families more vulnerable than ever before. Today's two-income family earns 75% more money than its single-income counterpart of a generation ago, but actually has less discretionary income once their fixed monthly bills are paid.How did this happen? Warren and Tyagi provide convincing evidence that the culprit is not "overconsumption," as many critics have charged. Instead, they point to the ferocious bidding war for housing and education that has quietly engulfed America's suburbs. Stay-at-home mothers once provided a financial safety net if disaster struck; their move into the workforce has left today's families chillingly at risk. The authors show why the usual remedies--child-support enforcement, subsidized daycare, and higher salaries for women--won't solve the problem, and propose a set of innovative solutions, from rate caps on credit cards to open-access public schools, to restore security to the middle class.

    'Here Comes Everybody' is an examination of how the spread of new forms of social interaction enabled by technology is changing the way humans form and exist within groups, with profound long-term economic and social effects, for good and for ill.

    As sociologist and network science pioneer Duncan Watts explains in this provocative book, the explanations that we give for the outcomes that we observe in life—explanation that seem obvious once we know the answer—are less useful than they seem.Drawing on the latest scientific research, along with a wealth of historical and contemporary examples, Watts shows how common sense reasoning and history conspire to mislead us into believing that we understand more about the world of human behavior than we do; and in turn, why attempts to predict, manage, or manipulate social and economic systems so often go awry.It seems obvious, for example, that people respond to incentives; yet policy makers and managers alike frequently fail to anticipate how people will respond to the incentives they create. Social trends often seem to have been driven by certain influential people; yet marketers have been unable to identify these “influencers” in advance. And although successful products or companies always seem in retrospect to have succeeded because of their unique qualities, predicting the qualities of the next hit product or hot company is notoriously difficult even for experienced professionals.Only by understanding how and when common sense fails, Watts argues, can we improve how we plan for the future, as well as understand the present—an argument that has important implications in politics, business, and marketing, as well as in science and everyday life.

    Others who have no intention of ever studying the subject have this notion that calculus is impossibly difficult unless you happen to be a direct descendant of Einstein. Well, the good news is that you can master calculus. It's not nearly as tough as its mystique would lead you to think. Much of calculus is really just very advanced algebra, geometry, and trig. It builds upon and is a logical extension of those subjects. If you can do algebra, geometry, and trig, you can do calculus.Calculus For Dummies is intended for three groups of readers:Students taking their first calculus course - If you're enrolled in a calculus course and you find your textbook less than crystal clear, this is the book for you. It covers the most important topics in the first year of calculus: differentiation, integration, and infinite series.Students who need to brush up on their calculus to prepare for other studies - If you've had elementary calculus, but it's been a couple of years and you want to review the concepts to prepare for, say, some graduate program, Calculus For Dummies will give you a thorough, no-nonsense refresher course.Adults of all ages who'd like a good introduction to the subject - Non-student readers will find the book's exposition clear and accessible. Calculus For Dummies takes calculus out of the ivory tower and brings it down to earth. This is a user-friendly math book. Whenever possible, the author explains the calculus concepts by showing you connections between the calculus ideas and easier ideas from algebra and geometry. Then, you'll see how the calculus concepts work in concrete examples. All explanations are in plain English, not math-speak. Calculus For Dummies covers the following topics and more:Real-world examples of calculus The two big ideas of calculus: differentiation and integration Why calculus works Pre-algebra and algebra review Common functions and their graphs Limits and continuity Integration and approximating area Sequences and series Don't buy the misconception. Sure calculus is difficult - but it's manageable, doable. You made it through algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Well, calculus just picks up where they leave off - it's simply the next step in a logical progression.

    But thanks to timesaving, trouble-preventing strategies from these nationally recognized experts, now anyone can keep his or her palace in regal repair and have plenty of time left over for the fox hunts. This friendly book covers everything from plumbing to painting, with handy calendars to ensure nothing falls through the cracks -- including the cracks!

    Financialization over the past three decades has created a structure that lacks resilience and supports absurd volumes of trading. The finance sector devotes too little attention to the search for new investment opportunities and the stewardship of existing ones, and far too much to secondary-market dealing in existing assets. Regulation has contributed more to the problems than the solutions.Why? What is finance for? John Kay, with wide practical and academic experience in the world of finance, understands the operation of the financial sector better than most. He believes in good banks and effective asset managers, but good banks and effective asset managers are not what he sees.In a dazzling and revelatory tour of the financial world as it has emerged from the wreckage of the 2008 crisis, Kay does not flinch in his criticism: we do need some of the things that Citigroup and Goldman Sachs do, but we do not need Citigroup and Goldman to do them. And many of the things done by Citigroup and Goldman do not need to be done at all. The finance sector needs to be reminded of its primary purpose: to manage other people's money for the benefit of businesses and households. It is an aberration when the some of the finest mathematical and scientific minds are tasked with devising algorithms for the sole purpose of exploiting the weakness of other algorithms for computerized trading in securities. To travel further down that road leads to ruin.

    But real estate agents and home buyers should also study it because of the valuable insights offered by a longtime, very successful real estate broker. On my scale of one to 10, this superb book rates an off-the-chart 12." --Robert Bruss You've probably seen TV shows like Flip This House and Flip That House, in which Real estate investors buy, renovate, and sell a house in a matter of weeks for tens of thousands of dollars in profit. They make flipping houses look so easy that you want to jump out of your recliner (during the next commercial, of course), run down the street, find a house for sale, flip it for a 50 percent profit, and run back home to continue watching the show.I, Ralph Roberts, have flipped hundreds of houses, and it's never as easy as it looks on TV. People don't generally line up at your front door begging you to buy their house for 30-50 percent below market value. Renovation expenses always exceed estimates. And you can't always sell a house for what you think it's worth.Flipping houses for a profit requires time, money, and what I like to call sticktoitism--dogged determination in the face of overwhelming uncertainty.Not just another house flipping bookYou can find plenty of books about flipping houses that claim "anyone can do it" and make flipping look easy and risk-free. Flipping Houses For Dummies takes a different approach--honesty. We don't claim that flipping houses is "easy" or "simple" or "risk-free," because, quite frankly, it isn't.Flipping Houses For Dummies reveals the risks and rewards of flipping properties; helps you determine whether you have the time, energy, cash, and other resources to be successful; and then conveys the expert knowledge that those who wish to pursue house flipping need in order to minimize risk and maximize potential profits in a very competitive market. Did you know?Most books on flipping houses gloss over the key factors that that make or break the novice house flipper. These are the very items we focus on in Flipping Houses For Dummies. For example, did you know:You should secure financing before you look at houses. As a flipper, you want dontwanners--houses that the owners obviously don't want. You make your profit when you buy the property. You realize your profit when you sell. Always plan on earning at least 20 percent after your total investment--purchase price, repairs and renovations, real estate agent commissions, and holding costs (monthly mortgage payments, insurance, property taxes, and utilities). Working with a top-notch real estate agent can save you thousands of dollars more than what you pay in commissions. You should choose a limited geographical area to work and then become an expert on the houses and property values in that area. Your goal when renovating a home should be to bring the property up to market standards, not exceed them. A flipping book for real people Flipping Houses For Dummies speaks to the mom and pop investor, steering you clear of the gray areas, which tend to carry high-risks and low-returns, into safer, more potentially profitable areas. We encourage you invest in your comfort zone and take on bigger, riskier projects with higher profit potential only when you're ready.In Flipping Houses For Dummies we stress that the first flip is the most important one, and we take the guesswork out of the first transaction, to lead you through a positive first experience on which to build a promising real estate investment portfolio.Flipping Houses For Dummies provides plenty of examples of successful and not-so-successful property flips, presenting the total investment (in time and money), the work involved, and the net profit. Before-and-after photos visually illustrate the positive transformations from run-down-shacks to showcase homes.

    From Washington to Wall Street, the classroom to the workplace, unethical behavior is everywhere. None of us is immune, whether it's the white lie to head off trouble or padding our expense reports. In The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, award-winning, bestselling author Dan Ariely turns his unique insight and innovative research to the question of dishonesty.Generally, we assume that cheating, like most other decisions, is based on a rational cost-benefit analysis. But Ariely argues, and then demonstrates, that it's actually the irrational forces that we don't take into account that often determine whether we behave ethically or not. For every Enron or political bribe, there are countless puffed résumés, hidden commissions, and knockoff purses. In The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Ariely shows why some things are easier to lie about; how getting caught matters less than we think; and how business practices pave the way for unethical behavior, both intentionally and unintentionally. Ariely explores how unethical behavior works in the personal, professional, and political worlds, and how it affects all of us, even as we think of ourselves as having high moral standards.But all is not lost. Ariely also identifies what keeps us honest, pointing the way for achieving higher ethics in our everyday lives. With compelling personal and academic findings, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty will change the way we see ourselves, our actions, and others.