Exploring Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials


Lois H. Gresh - 2007
    Gresh helps young readers examine Pullman's intricate universe with Exploring His Dark Materials, the ultimate companion guide. Gresh's fun, interactive book explores the complex science, religion, and fantastic elements of His Dark Materials in a way that's both informative and fun for younger readers.  Exploring His Dark Materials is filled with sidebars, history, facts and an in-depth analysis of the books, answering questions like:*What are daemons?*Why is dust important to the series?* Is Dark Material real and how does it relate to our universe?* What are the origins of ghosts and shapeshifters?*And much more! Exploring His Dark Materials is a thrilling and essential guide for young adults to help them explore this fantastic and challenging fantasy world.

The Concept of Mind


Gilbert Ryle - 1949
    Ryle's linguistic analysis remaps the conceptual geography of mind, not so much solving traditional philosophical problems as dissolving them into the mere consequences of misguided language. His plain language and esstentially simple purpose place him in the traditioin of Locke, Berkeley, Mill, and Russell.

Making Games with Python & Pygame


Al Sweigart - 2012
    Each chapter gives you the complete source code for a new game and teaches the programming concepts from these examples. The book is available under a Creative Commons license and can be downloaded in full for free from http: //inventwithpython.com/pygame This book was written to be understandable by kids as young as 10 to 12 years old, although it is great for anyone of any age who has some familiarity with Python.

An Impossible Life: The Inspiring True Story of a Woman's Struggle from Within


Rachael Siddoway - 2019
    Wife of a CEO, mother of three, living in a beautiful suburb, Sonja’s life appears ideal. How did she get here?In a gripping and breathtaking narrative that makes the reader feel as though they are listening in on a private conversation, Sonja tells the compelling real account of her struggle with marriage, motherhood, and mental illness.An Impossible Life is an unforgettable true story of perseverance when all hope seems lost. Intriguing and heartfelt, Sonja’s personal account of her mental health journey shines a beacon of hope to all who feel overwhelmed by the specter of mental illness.

223 Amazing Science Facts, Tidbits and Quotes


Tasnim Essack - 2014
    A collection of fascinating facts, tidbits and quotes from the world of science and technology.This is a quick read, which you can easily scan through and find easy to read, short facts about the world around us, as well as some quotes from well known faces in science.Topics in the book include;BiologyChemistryPhysicsHealthSocietyEarth & EnvironmentAnimals & NatureSpaceTechnology & EngineeringQuotes

Machines that Think: Everything you need to know about the coming age of artificial intelligence (New Scientist Instant Expert)


New Scientist - 2017
    So are we on the edge of an AI-pocalypse, with super-intelligent devices superseding humanity, as predicted by Stephen Hawking? Or will this herald a kind of Utopia, with machines doing a far better job at complex tasks than us? You might not realise it, but you interact with AIs every day. They route your phone calls, approve your credit card transactions and help your doctor interpret results. Driverless cars will soon be on the roads with a decision-making computer in charge. But how do machines actually think and learn? In Machines That Think, AI experts and New Scientist explore how artificial ingence helps us understand human intelligence, machines that compose music and write stories - and ask if AI is really a threat.--

True Ghost Stories of First Responders


Eve S. Evans - 2021
    They’ve experienced events they can’t otherwise explain. Same with other professions that deal with injuries, accidents, or death. Police officers, firemen, 911 operators, they’ve seen the worst that people can do to one another, and they’ve all had brushes with the unexplained. Don’t believe in ghosts? This book might change your mind steal any hope of sleep. These stories are unexplainable, true accounts from first responders, police officers, firemen, and 911 operators, told from the perspective of everyday people. Every single tale between these covers is one hundred percent true. Think you can explain them? We dare you to try.

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity


Alan Cooper - 1999
    Cooper details many of these meta functions to explain his central thesis: programmers need to seriously re-evaluate the many user-hostile concepts deeply embedded within the software development process. Rather than provide users with a straightforward set of options, programmers often pile on the bells and whistles and ignore or de-prioritise lingering bugs. For the average user, increased functionality is a great burden, adding to the recurrent chorus that plays: "computers are hard, mysterious, unwieldy things." (An average user, Cooper asserts, who doesn't think that way or who has memorised all the esoteric commands and now lords it over others, has simply been desensitised by too many years of badly designed software.) Cooper's writing style is often overblown, with a pantheon of cutesy terminology (i.e. "dancing bearware") and insider back-patting. (When presenting software to Bill Gates, he reports that Gates replied: "How did you do that?" to which he writes: "I love stumping Bill!") More seriously, he is also unable to see beyond software development's importance--a sin he accuses programmers of throughout the book. Even with that in mind, the central questions Cooper asks are too important to ignore: Are we making users happier? Are we improving the process by which they get work done? Are we making their work hours more effective? Cooper looks to programmers, business managers and what he calls "interaction designers" to question current assumptions and mindsets. Plainly, he asserts that the goal of computer usage should be "not to make anyone feel stupid." Our distance from that goal reinforces the need to rethink entrenched priorities in software planning. -- Jennifer Buckendorff, Amazon.com

The Principles of Learning and Behavior


Michael P. Domjan - 1982
    The book covers habituation, classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, stimulus control, aversive control, and their applications to the study of cognition and to the alleviation of behavior problems. Biological constraints on learning are integrated throughout the text, as are applications boxes that relate animal research to human learning and behavior. The book closely reflects the field of research it represents in terms of topics covered, theories discussed, and experimental paradigms described.

The Ant and the Ferrari


Kerry Spackman - 2012
    this is one of those rare books that will change your beliefs - and in doing so will change your life. tHE ANt AND tHE FERRARI offers readers a clear, navigable path through the big questions that confront us all today. What is the meaning of life? Can we be ethical beings in today's world? Can we know if there is life after death? Is there such a thing as Absolute truth? What caused the Big Bang and why should you care?

Living Sensationally: Understanding Your Senses


Winnie Dunn - 2007
    Some people will adore the grainy texture of a pear, while others will shudder at the idea of this texture in their mouths. Touching a feather boa will be fun and luxurious to some, and others will bristle at the idea of all those feathers brushing on the skin. Noisy, busy environments will energize some people, and will overwhelm others.The author identifies four major sensory types: Seekers; Bystanders; Avoiders and Sensors. Readers can use the questionnaire to find their own patterns and the patterns of those around them, and can benefit from practical sensory ideas for individuals, families and businesses.Armed with the information in Living Sensationally, people will be able to pick just the right kind of clothing, job and home and know why they are making such choices.

Decoding Cats: Inside the Feline Mind


Kristyn Vitale
    

Binocular Highlights


Gary Seronik - 2007
    Each object is plotted on a detailed, easy-to-use star map, and most of these sights can be found even in a light-polluted sky. Also included are four seasonal all-sky charts that help locate each highlight. You don't need fancy or expensive equipment to enjoy the wonders of the night sky. In fact, as even experienced star gazers know, to go beyond the naked-eye sky and delve deep into the universe, all you need are binoculars ? even the ones hanging unused in your closet. If you don't own any, Binocular Highlights explains what to look for when choosing binoculars for star gazing and provides observing tips for users of these portable and versatile mini-telescopes. Sprial-bound with readable paper spine, full color throughout.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius


Ray Monk - 1990
    Monk's life of Wittgenstein is such a one."--"The Christian Science Monitor."

Learning SPARQL


Bob DuCharme - 2011
    With this concise book, you will learn how to use the latest version of this W3C standard to retrieve and manipulate the increasing amount of public and private data available via SPARQL endpoints. Several open source and commercial tools already support SPARQL, and this introduction gets you started right away.Begin with how to write and run simple SPARQL 1.1 queries, then dive into the language's powerful features and capabilities for manipulating the data you retrieve. Learn what you need to know to add to, update, and delete data in RDF datasets, and give web applications access to this data.Understand SPARQL’s connection with RDF, the semantic web, and related specificationsQuery and combine data from local and remote sourcesCopy, convert, and create new RDF dataLearn how datatype metadata, standardized functions, and extension functions contribute to your queriesIncorporate SPARQL queries into web-based applications