Fun book of completely random facts.

    In the past, discoveries often had to wait for the rise of the next generation to see questions in a new light and let go of old truisms. Today, in a world that is defined by a rapid rate of change, staying on the cutting edge has as much to do with shedding outdated notions as adopting new ones. In this spirit, John Brockman, publisher of the online salon Edge.org ("the world's smartest website"—The Guardian), asked 175 of the world's most influential scientists, economists, artists, and philosophers: What scientific idea is ready for retirement?Jared Diamond explores the diverse ways that new ideas emerge * Nassim Nicholas Taleb takes down the standard deviation * Richard Thaler and novelist Ian McEwan reveal the usefulness of "bad" ideas * Steven Pinker dismantles the working theory of human behavior * Richard Dawkins renounces essentialism * Sherry Turkle reevaluates our expectations of artificial intelligence * Physicist Andrei Linde suggests that our universe and its laws may not be as unique as we think * Martin Rees explains why scientific understanding is a limitless goal * Alan Guth rethinks the origins of the universe * Sam Harris argues that our definition of science is too narrow * Nobel Prize winner Frank Wilczek disputes the division between mind and matter * Lawrence Krauss challenges the notion that the laws of physics were preordained * plus contributions from Daniel Goleman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Nicholas Carr, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Matt Ridley, Stewart Brand, Sean Carroll, Daniel C. Dennett, Helen Fisher, Douglas Rushkoff, Lee Smolin, Kevin Kelly, Freeman Dyson, and others.

    Peter Bernstein has written a comprehensive history of man's efforts to understand risk and probability, beginning with early gamblers in ancient Greece, continuing through the 17th-century French mathematicians Pascal and Fermat and up to modern chaos theory. Along the way he demonstrates that understanding risk underlies everything from game theory to bridge-building to winemaking.

    A twenty-eight year old — and not widely famous — Christopher Wren was giving a lecture on astronomy. As his audience listened to him speak, they decided that it would be a good idea to create a Society to promote the accumulation of useful knowledge.With that, the Royal Society was born. Since its birth, the Royal Society has pioneered scientific exploration and discovery. Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, John Locke, Alexander Fleming — all were fellows.Bill Bryson’s favourite fellow was Reverend Thomas Bayes, a brilliant mathematician who devised Bayes’ theorem. Its complexity meant that it had little practical use in Bayes’ own lifetime, but today his theorem is used for weather forecasting, astrophysics and stock market analysis. A milestone in mathematical history, it only exists because the Royal Society decided to preserve it — just in case. The Royal Society continues to do today what it set out to do all those years ago. Its members have split the atom, discovered the double helix, the electron, the computer and the World Wide Web. Truly international in its outlook, it has created modern science.Seeing Further celebrates its momentous history and achievements, bringing together the very best of science writing. Filled with illustrations of treasures from the Society’s archives, this is a unique, ground-breaking and beautiful volume, and a suitable reflection of the immense achievements of science.

    Its user base has expanded exponentially as more people are using aromatherapy to treat both acute and chronic stages of illness or disease. More and more people are turning to regular use of aromatherapy to help boost their immune system and improve their overall health. Others are using essential oils to improve skin and hair health as well as a source of natural cleaning around the home. The benefits and uses of aromatherapy are endless and the aromatherapy community continues to come up with new and innovative recipes. This book will cover: The top essential oils for beginners Essential oils for improved hair Essential oils for skin rejuvenation Essential oils massage Essential oils for stress relief and much, much, more! So download today and learn of these remarkable healing techniques as we explore essential oils that can offer numerous benefits to your mental and physical well-being.

    He lost both his legs and his job in the line of duty as a policeman. Baal Curran is a high school senior, full of the promise and heartbreak of her first love, and her first loss. The needle scarring from her diabetes drove away the only boy ever to care for her. Now she has retreated inside herself, determined never to be hurt again. Both of them have discovered Killobyte, an exciting new fantasy adventure game that promises to be the most realistic experience they can imagine. Once again Walter can have the strong legs of a hero, charging through a castle to rescue a captive princess, battling a ferocious dragon, matching wits with a sorcerer. With her face hidden behind a fictional character, Baal can forget her shyness and her fear that others will shrink away from her because of her lifetime of illness. She can laugh and have adventures, and dare to care about someone else again. But Killobyte is more real than even its creators can have dreamed. Within its programming lurks a flaw that has allowed one demented player a kind of power its creators never intended - a power that can trap and "kill" Walter and Baal time after time in the game scenarios. Of course, as long as this game of cat and mouse is kept within the world of computer-generated adventures, it's only a frustration. Walter and Baal seem never to win. But as the games continue, they begin to wonder whether the power of this mystery player can extend outside the framework of the game.... The mystery player is out for power - and the power he has in mind is far more than just racking up points against fictional opponents. He's coming after Walter and Baal in the real world, and his threat is death.

    From stupefying stunts to wacky world’s records, all of Ripley’s riveting findings are here, in an easy-to-browse, impossible-to-put-down color volume. Where else could you learn that: • It’s estimated that 10,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000 snowflakes have fallen to the Earth since the Earth was formed! • Queen Isabeau of Bavaria used a mixture of boar’s brains, crocodile glands, and wolf blood as skin lotion! • Anna Bread married John Butter in Leeds, England, April 22, 1926! • Phil Turco of Madison, Wisconsin, swallowed 339 goldfish in two hours! Bizarre and amazing categories include Accidents and Disasters, Animals and Insects, Archaeology, Feats and Stunts, Prophecies, Records, the Unexplained, and more. It’s fascinating fun for the whole family.