Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, Shermer argues, is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. Our brains connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen, and these patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive-feedback loop of belief confirmation. Shermer outlines the numerous cognitive tools our brains engage to reinforce our beliefs as truths.Interlaced with his theory of belief, Shermer provides countless real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and the paranormal. Ultimately, he demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not a belief matches reality.

    Everything we think and everything we choose to do alters our brain and fundamentally changes who we are, a process that continues until the end of our lives. Few people think of the brain as being susceptible to change in its actual structure, but in fact we can preselect the kind of brain we will have by continually exposing ourselves to rich and varied life experiences. Unlike other organs that eventually wear out with repeated and sustained use, the brain actually improves the more we challenge it. Most of us incorporate some kind of physical exercise into our daily lives. We do this to improve our bodies and health and generally make us feel better. Why not do the same for the brain? The more we exercise it, the better it performs and the better we feel. Think of Restak as a personal trainer for your brain—he will help you assess your mental strengths and weaknesses, and his entertaining book will set you to thinking about the world and the people around you in a new light, providing you with improved and varied skills and capabilities. From interacting with colleagues to recognizing your own psychological makeup, from understanding the way you see something to why you’re looking at it in the first place, from explaining the cause of panic attacks to warding off performance anxiety, this book will tell you the whys and hows of the brain’s workings. Packed with practical advice and fascinating examples drawn from history, literature, and science, Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot provides twenty-eight informative and realistic steps that we can all take to improve our brainpower.

    She wants to keep her secrets. Will true love take them both off track?Aspiring country music star, Shay Summerville, only wants to be writing and singing his music, so when his boss at the auto body shop—aka—his father, tells him it’s his turn to pick up the snobby, Harvard stranded princess who needs a tow, he does everything he can to get out of it.Spending her summer at her family’s lake house wasn’t on Jaycee McCade’s happy list. Frankly, not much had been on that happy list since her mother passed away three months before. When a tow truck spirals out of control and nearly hits her, she never imagined she’d be kissing the guy driving the truck. And she really never imagined liking it.When summer love captures both of their hearts, they have to make a choice—give up on their dreams or create a new one together.

    It is ideal as a reader for all courses in epistemology.

    With special emphasis on vision Searle explains how the raw phenomenology of perception sets the content and the conditions of satisfaction of experience. The central question concerns the relationbetween the subjective conscious perceptual field and the objective perceptual field. Everything in the objective field is either perceived or can be perceived. Nothing in the subjective field is perceived nor can be perceived precisely because the events in the subjective field consist of theperceivings, whether veridical or not, of the events in the objective field.Searle begins by criticizing the classical theories of perception and identifies a single fallacy, what he calls the Bad Argument, as the source of nearly all of the confusions in the history of the philosophy of perception. He next justifies the claim that perceptual experiences have presentationalintentionality and shows how this justifies the direct realism of his account. In the central theoretical chapters, he shows how it is possible that the raw phenomenology must necessarily determine certain form of intentionality. Searle introduces, in detail, the distinction between different levelsof perception from the basic level to the higher levels and shows the internal relation between the features of the experience and the states of affairs presented by the experience. The account applies not just to language possessing human beings but to infants and conscious animals. He alsodiscusses how the account relates to certain traditional puzzles about spectrum inversion, color and size constancy and the brain-in-the-vat thought experiments. In the final chapters he explains and refutes Disjunctivist theories of perception, explains the role of unconscious perception, andconcludes by discussing traditional problems of perception such as skepticism.

    Although she and her husband, Cary, have built a billion-dollar dream, his success threatens to break their fragile marriage. She may lose Cary to the temptations of another woman. But Amelia carries her own damning secret–with consequences that will reverberate across an empire.TEXAS SUNRISEBillie Coleman Kingsley, beloved matriarch of the clan, is dying. So the Coleman family, driven apart by passion and betrayal and scattered around the world, gathers together in this time of sorrow. But even as Billie’s strength fails, she offers new hope to heal the rifts that separate them, instilling her conviction that life goes on after tragedy. As members of the family struggle to deal with the shattering news of Billie’s illness, they must also transform their lives.Don’t miss these enticing novels in the Texas saga, now in one volume!

    until he gets a call from his missing sister! It takes him on a journey where he meets a young hooker, hillbillies, truckers, and a crazy church. He also meets someone he never knew: himself.

    "The Write-Brain Workbook" is the first of its kind–an easy, fun, and playful way to exercise your creative writing muscles each day.Eliminate the dreaded emptiness of the blank pageWrite without the pressure of preconceived expectationsLearn about your own unique writing processBuild the momentum of a quick daily writing practiceUnlock writer's blockApply the breakthroughs from daily practice to your "real" writingExpand how you see yourself as a writerExperiment with different ways to approach writingAffirm your commitment to being a writer"The Write-Brain Workbook" is bursting with 366 innovative exercises that let you experiment and play with words and styles. Whether you love the pure joy of writing, are just getting started, or are trying to get past a particular writing block ... this is the book you've been waiting for!

    Longing to Know is a book about knowing: knowing how we know things, knowing how we know people, and knowing how we know God. This book is for those who are considering Christianity for the first time, as well as Christians who are struggling with issues related to truth, certainty, and doubt. As such, it is a wonderful resource for evangelists, pastors, and counselors. This unique look at the questions of knowing is both entertaining and approachable. Questions for reflection make it ideal for students of philosophy and all those wrestling with the questions of knowledge.

    It includes "The Question of Lay Analysis", "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality", "On Dreams", "The Ego and the Id", "Beyond the Pleasure Principle" and 15 shorter pieces. Together, they provide a comprehensive picture of all the central Freudian concepts, and how they connect up to make one of the most challenging bodies of thought of the 20th century.

    Without proof she composed the hit song, Callie is forced to take her twin boys with her, move out of Nashville and live with her aunt in Georgia. Having her dreams shattered leaves her trying to figure out how she will support her little family. Reconnecting with Ty Carter, her long-ago crush from high school and the guy who broke her heart, has her questioning her resolve to leave romance out of her new life. Ty isn't just a good-looking cowboy, he's sweet to her boys and makes Callie feel beautiful and alive. As her feelings for Ty grow stronger, the music reawakens inside her, inspiring her creativity and the desire to sing. Giving love a second chance might be the key to a forever love, and the start of a new music career...but can it be both? Author's Note: This book originally appears as The Cowboy's Second Go, in the Big Sky Timeless Western Collection. Chasing Moonbeams features a never before published epilogue you won't want to miss! It also has been updated with added content that more closely ties into the Georgia Moon Romance series.

    He had no way of knowing it was to e the autumn of his youth, and that his entire generation would soon be thrust into the most devastating conflict in history.Seven decades later, author John J. Newkirk retraces this epic ride with his father, Jack, in a silent hope the old soldier will still be proud of the America he fought for. Each mile brings discovery as the author learns of his namesake, the heroic Squadron Leader of the legendar Flying Tigers, and of his father's life on the road and in the jungles of the South Pacific during World War II.The result is quintessential Americana, a sweeping portrait of the grit, guts, ingenuity, and sacrifice that defined a nation, and a timely lesson from the Greatest Generation on how we can overcome our most pressing challenges and reclaim the American Dream."

    In her groundbreaking new book, Sian Beilock, author of the highly acclaimed Choke, which Time magazine praised for its “smart tips...in order to think clearly...and be cool under pressure,” draws on her own cutting-edge research to turn the conventional understanding of the mind upside down in ways that will revolutionize how we live our lives. At the heart of How the Body Knows Its Mind is the tantalizing idea that our bodies “hack” our brains. The way we move affects our thoughts, our decisions, and even our preferences for particular products. Called “embodied cognition,” this new science—of which Beilock is a foremost researcher—illuminates the power of the body and its physical surroundings to shape how we think, feel, and behave. Beilock’s findings are as varied as they are surprising. For example, pacing around the room can enhance creativity; gesturing during a speech can help ensure that you don’t draw a blank; kids learn better when their bodies are part of the learning process; walking in nature boosts concentration skills; Botox users experience less depression; and much more. From the tricks used by advertisers to the ways body language can improve your memory, Beilock explains a wealth of fascinating interconnections between mind and body and how mastering them can make us happier, safer, and more successful.

    Sapolsky, America's most beloved neurobiologist/primatologist. Organized into three sections, each tackling a Big Question in natural science, Monkeyluv offers a lively exploration of the influence of genes and the environment on behavior; the social and political -- and, of course, sexual -- implications of behavioral biology; and society's shaping of the individual. From the mating rituals of prairie dogs to the practice of religion in the rain forest, the secretion of pheromones to bugs in the brain, Sapolsky brilliantly synthesizes cutting-edge scientific research with wry, erudite observations about the enormous complexity of simply being human. Thoughtful, engaging, and infused with pop-cultural insights, this collection will appeal to the inner monkey in all of us.

    In 1989, when Dr. Betty Edwards revised the book, it went straight to the Times list again. Now Dr. Edwards celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her classic book with a second revised edition.Over the last decade, Dr. Edwards has refined her material through teaching hundreds of workshops and seminars. Truly The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, this edition includes:the very latest developments in brain researchnew material on using drawing techniques in the corporate world and in educationinstruction on self-expression through drawingan updated section on using colordetailed information on using the five basic skills of drawing for problem solving