The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten


Jeffrey Kacirk - 2000
    But as hundreds of new words are added annually, older ones are sacrificed. Now from the author of Forgotten English comes a collection of fascinating archaic words and phrases, providing an enticing glimpse into the past. With beguiling period illustrations, The Word Museum offers up the marvelous oddities and peculiar enchantments of old and unusual words.

Office Of Assertion: An Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay


Scott F. Crider - 2005
    The ability to employ rhetoric successfully can enable the student, as an effective communicator, to reflect qualities of soul through argument. In that sense, rhetoric is much more than a technical skill. Crider addresses the intelligent university student with respect and humor. This short but serious book is informed by both the ancient rhetorical tradition and recent discoveries concerning the writing process. Though practical, it is not simply a "how-to" manual; though philosophical, it never loses sight of writing itself. Crider combines practical guidance about how to improve an academic essay with reflection on the final purposes—educational, political, and philosophical—of such improvement.

Make It Till You Make It: 40 Myths & Truths About Creating


Brendan Leonard - 2016
    Nobody gets tapped with a magic wand and suddenly has the ability to produce art, music, photos, films, or writing—they just do it. And you probably should too. Make It Till You Make It breaks down 40 myths and truths about the pursuit of creative expression, whether you want to make $0 a year doing your thing or $100,000 a year.

The Study Skills Handbook


Stella Cottrell - 1999
    It is packed with sensible suggestions, self-check tables and illustrations, and is printed in blue ink to aid dyslexics.

Big Dreams, Daily Joys: Set goals. Get things done. Make time for what matters.


Elise Blaha Cripe - 2019
    Brimming with simple-to-follow techniques, rituals, and exercises for accomplishing day-to-day tasks and making progress on bigger goals, Big Dreams, Daily Joys offers tips on how-to organize a productive day, overcome the urge to procrastinate, make space for creativity, and achieve a healthy work-life balance. For anyone who is tackling a creative project, running their own business, or simply trying to manage time more efficiently, this is the ultimate handbook to getting things done with clarity, joy, and positivity.

Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World


Carl T. Bergstrom - 2020
    Now, two science professors give us the tools to dismantle misinformation and think clearly in a world of fake news and bad data.It's increasingly difficult to know what's true. Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news abound. Our media environment has become hyperpartisan. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. We are fairly well equipped to spot the sort of old-school bullshit that is based in fancy rhetoric and weasel words, but most of us don't feel qualified to challenge the avalanche of new-school bullshit presented in the language of math, science, or statistics. In Calling Bullshit, Professors Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West give us a set of powerful tools to cut through the most intimidating data.You don't need a lot of technical expertise to call out problems with data. Are the numbers or results too good or too dramatic to be true? Is the claim comparing like with like? Is it confirming your personal bias? Drawing on a deep well of expertise in statistics and computational biology, Bergstrom and West exuberantly unpack examples of selection bias and muddled data visualization, distinguish between correlation and causation, and examine the susceptibility of science to modern bullshit.We have always needed people who call bullshit when necessary, whether within a circle of friends, a community of scholars, or the citizenry of a nation. Now that bullshit has evolved, we need to relearn the art of skepticism.

Figures of Speech: 60 Ways To Turn A Phrase


Arthur Quinn - 1982
    The figures of speech should not be learned the same way as the periodic table of elements. This is because figures of speech are not about hypothetical structures in things, but about real potentialities within language and within ourselves. The "figurings" of speech reveal the apparently limitless plasticity of language itself. We are inescapably confronted with the intoxicating possibility that we can make language do for us almost anything we want. Or at least a Shakespeare can. The figures of speech help to see how he does it, and how we might. Therefore, in the chapters presented in this volume, the quotations from Shakespeare, the Bible, and other sources are not presented to exemplify the definitions. Rather, the definitions are presented to lead to the quotations. And the quotations are there to show us how to do with language what we have not done before. They are there for imitation.

Essays, Speeches & Public Letters


William Faulkner - 1966
    This unique volume includes Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, a review of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (in which he suggests that Hemingway has found God), and newly collected gems, such as the acerbic essay “On Criticism” and the beguiling “Note on A Fable.” It also contains eloquently opinionated public letters on everything from race relations and the nature of fiction to wild-squirrel hunting on his property. This is the most comprehensive collection of Faulkner’s brilliant non-fiction work, and a rare look into the life of an American master.

A Short Guide to Writing About Art (The Short Guide Series)


Sylvan Barnet - 1981
    This best-selling text has guided tens of thousands of art students through the writing process. Students are shown how to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and are prepared with the tools they need to present their ideas through effective writing.

Snake Oil Science: The Truth about Complementary and Alternative Medicine


R. Barker Bausell - 2007
    Indeed, complementary and alternative medicine is embraced by a broad spectrum of society, from ordinary people, to scientists and physicians, to celebrities such as Prince Charles andOprah Winfrey. In the tradition of Michael Shermers Why People Believe Weird Things and Robert Parks's Voodoo Science, Barker Bausell provides an engaging look at the scientific evidence for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and at the logical, psychological, and physiological pitfalls that leadotherwise intelligent people--including researchers, physicians, and therapists--to endorse these cures. The books ultimate goal is to reveal not whether these therapies work--as Bausell explains, most do work, although weakly and temporarily--but whether they work for the reasons their proponentsbelieve. Indeed, as Bausell reveals, it is the placebo effect that accounts for most of the positive results. He explores this remarkable phenomenon--the biological and chemical evidence for the placebo effect, how it works in the body, and why research on any therapy that does not factor in theplacebo effect will inevitably produce false results. By contrast, as Bausell shows in an impressive survey of research from high-quality scientific journals and systematic reviews, studies employing credible placebo controls do not indicate positive effects for CAM therapies over and above thoseattributable to random chance. Here is not only an entertaining critique of the strangely zealous world of CAM belief and practice, but it also a first-rate introduction to how to correctly interpret scientific research of any sort. Readers will come away with a solid understanding of good vs. bad research practice and ahealthy skepticism of claims about the latest miracle cure, be it St. John's Wort for depression or acupuncture for chronic pain.

The God Formula: A simple scientifically proven blueprint that has transformed millions of lives (The Path of Freedom Series)


Jeffery A. Martin - 2011
     The research (conducted by the Center for the Study of Intent) uncovered a new dimension of human development and has revolutionized the way personal growth, meaning, happiness, and ultimately advanced spiritual topics such as ‘enlightenment’ are understood. The results, if you let them, will transform the quality of your life in ways you currently cannot even imagine as possible. During the research a formula was uncovered that is so effective at producing what seems like miracles in people’s lives it began to be referred to as the “God Formula” among participants and researchers. This book outlines that formula, and is the final version of the highly successful training material that was used with research participants. These researchers became the first scientists to successfully experiment with this new developmental continuum. The result has been the discovery of a series of techniques that lead from everyday consciousness to increased daily happiness and satisfaction, and finally to enlightenment and beyond (yes, there is a beyond!). This book covers the first stages of this process. You can view a summary of the results from the research phase that related to it, and later ones at: CenterForIntent.org/freedom. This book covers three primary components that combine to form a complete system of person growth, and an assortment of techniques for each component. While it provides the components, how they need to come together for maximum effectiveness will be unique to you. You’ll need to experiment with various combinations of these techniques until you find the one that works best for you. This may sound unusual. You’re probably used to reading books where the authors assert they have the one answer for everyone. The researchers at the Center tested an enormous number of techniques but didn’t find a single one that was helpful to more than a handful of individuals…when it was beneficial for anyone at all. However, they learned that there are a relatively small number of techniques that can be combined in ways that are incredibly effective. You just have to find the unique combination of these techniques that works for you right now. This book provides the distilled down wisdom from all of that testing. They were able to successfully identify core components from the methods that proved themselves. However, no one can tell you how to combine those components to get them to work best for you. People are simply too different for that to be possible. So, you’ll have to join the team, be your own scientist, and experiment! The good news is that the researchers spent an enormous amount of time and money narrowing down the possibilities for you. Most of the research participants were able to use this book to find the combination that worked for them quite quickly. It is likely the same will be true for you.It’s important that you not take the information this book contains lightly. Unlike other personal growth and self help books, this one is driven by a vast amount of actual research into what works. It was revised continually based on research participant feedback, so it’s very simple and easy to understand and use. But don’t let this simplicity fool you. Every line is there for a reason. This material has changed a lot of lives, if you’ll let it…yours can be next.

Merchants of Truth: The Business of Facts and The Future of News


Jill Abramson - 2019
    With the guidance of former Executive Editor of The New York Times Jill Abramson, we follow two legacy (The New York Times and The Washington Post) and two upstart (BuzzFeed and VICE) companies as they plow through a revolution in technology, economics, standards, commitment, and endurance that pits old vs. new media.Merchants of Truth is the groundbreaking and gripping story of the precarious state of the news business told by one of our most eminent journalists.Jill Abramson follows four companies: The New York Times, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and VICE Media over a decade of disruption and radical adjustment. The new digital reality nearly kills two venerable newspapers with an aging readership while creating two media behemoths with a ballooning and fickle audience of millennials. We get to know the defenders of the legacy presses as well as the outsized characters who are creating the new speed-driven media competitors. The players include Jeff Bezos and Marty Baron (The Washington Post), Arthur Sulzberger and Dean Baquet (The New York Times), Jonah Peretti (BuzzFeed), and Shane Smith (VICE) as well as their reporters and anxious readers.Merchants of Truth raises crucial questions that concern the well-being of our society. We are facing a crisis in trust that threatens the free press. Abramson’s book points us to the future.

Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition


Michael J. Mauboussin - 2009
    The harsh truth is that they mismanage many of those choices, even though they have the right intentions. These blunders take a huge toll on leaders, their organizations, and the people they serve.Why is it so hard to make sound decisions? We fall victim to simplified mental routines that prevent us from coping with the complex realities inherent in important judgment calls. Yet these cognitive errors are preventable. In Think Twice, Michael Mauboussin shows you how to recognize-and avoid-common mental missteps, including:-Misunderstanding cause-and-effect linkages-Aggregating micro-level behavior to predict macro-level behavior-Not considering enough alternative possibilities in making a decision-Relying too much on expertsSharing vivid stories from business and beyond, Mauboussin offers powerful rules for avoiding each error. And he explains how to know when it's time to think twice-to question your reasoning and adopt decision-making strategies that are far more effective, even if they seem counterintuitive.Master the art of thinking twice, and you'll start spotting dangerous mental errors-in your own decisions and in those of others. Equipped with this awareness, you'll soon begin making sounder judgment calls that benefit (rather than hurt) your organization.

I Always Look Up the Word 'Egregious'


Maxwell Nurnberg - 1981
    The result is a veritable panoply of words -- drawn from the real-life context of written and spoken language.

How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business


Douglas W. Hubbard - 1985
    Douglas Hubbard helps us create a path to know the answer to almost any question in business, in science, or in life . . . Hubbard helps us by showing us that when we seek metrics to solve problems, we are really trying to know something better than we know it now. How to Measure Anything provides just the tools most of us need to measure anything better, to gain that insight, to make progress, and to succeed." -Peter Tippett, PhD, M.D. Chief Technology Officer at CyberTrust and inventor of the first antivirus software "Doug Hubbard has provided an easy-to-read, demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves to make less risky, more profitable business decisions. We encourage our clients to try his powerful, practical techniques." -Peter Schay EVP and COO of The Advisory Council "As a reader you soon realize that actually everything can be measured while learning how to measure only what matters. This book cuts through conventional cliches and business rhetoric and offers practical steps to using measurements as a tool for better decision making. Hubbard bridges the gaps to make college statistics relevant and valuable for business decisions." -Ray Gilbert EVP Lucent "This book is remarkable in its range of measurement applications and its clarity of style. A must-read for every professional who has ever exclaimed, 'Sure, that concept is important, but can we measure it?'" -Dr. Jack Stenner Cofounder and CEO of MetraMetrics, Inc.