What is consciousness? This is the main question asked by the author, Prof Schuster, a specialist in complex adaptive systems and evolution models. From a natural scientific viewpoint he seeks answers to such questions as: How does this process work? How is our consciousness functionally organized as an evolutionary control process? And what is the difference between us and animals?Based on the hypothesis that human consciousness mainly has large evolutionary benefits in social beha...

This book provides readers from academia and industry with an up-to-date overview of important advances in the field, dealing with such fundamental fluid mechanics problems as nonlinear transport phenomena and optimal control of mixing at the micro- and nanoscale.The editors provide both in-depth knowledge of the topic as well as vast experience in guiding an expert team of authors. The review style articles offer a coherent view of the micromixing methods, resulting in a much-neede...

This book offers a comprehensive picture of nonequilibrium phenomena in nanoscale systems. Written by internationally recognized experts in the field, this book strikes a balance between theory and experiment, and includes in-depth introductions to nonequilibrium fluctuation relations, nonlinear dynamics and transport, single molecule experiments, and molecular diffusion in nanopores.The authors explore the application of these concepts to nano- and biosystems by cross-linking key m...

Leading authorities in the field review current experimental and theoretical knowledge oncriticality and brain function.The book begins by summarizing experimental evidence for criticality and self-organizedcriticality in the brain. Subsequently, important breakthroughs in modeling of critical neuronal circuits and how to establish self-organized criticality in the brain are described.A milestone publication, defining upcoming directions of research in this ne...

Since modeling multiscale phenomena in systems biology and neuroscience is a highly interdisciplinarytask, the editor of the book invited experts in bio-engineering, chemistry, cardiology, neuroscience,computer science, and applied mathematics, to provide their perspectives.Each chapter is a window into the current state of the art in the areas of research discussed and the book is intended for advanced researchers interested in recent developments in these fields. Wh...

A distinctive discussion of the nonlinear dynamical phenomena of semiconductor lasers.The book combines recent results of quantum dot laser modeling with mathematical details and an analytic understanding of nonlinear phenomena in semiconductor lasers and points out possible applications of lasers in cryptography and chaos control. This interdisciplinary approach makes it a unique and powerful source of knowledge for anyone intending to contribute to this field of research....

For the last 14 years of his life, the brilliant, caustic, and hilarious George Carlin worked on his autobiography—now, written with bestselling author Tony Hendra and posthumously published, Carlin has proven that even after death, he is still one of the funniest men who ever lived.One of the undisputed heavyweight champions of American comedy, with nineteen appearances on the Johnny Carson show, thirteen HBO specials, five Grammys, and a critical Supreme Court ba...

Great ideas are all around us, waiting to be discovered. Here’s how to find them.We’re used to imagining creativity as a lightbulb moment—sudden, mysterious, reserved for the gifted few. But what if ideas aren’t conjured from thin air? What if they’re discovered—more like precious artifacts that we unearth and refine?In How Great Ideas Happen, cognitive scientist George Newman draws on cutting-edge research to show that creativity isn’t magic, it’s...

From the premiere Beatles biographer—author of the New York Times bestseller John Lennon: The Life and Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation—a rare and “absorbing biography” (Wall Street Journal) of George Harrison, the most misunderstood and mysterious Beatle, based on decades-long research and unparalleled access to inside sources.Despite being hailed as one of the best guitarists of his era, George Harrison, particularly in ...

Mapping Mainstream Economics: Genealogical Foundations of Alternativity seeks to establish a definition of the mainstream economics, and by extension the alternatives to it, by adopting a genealogical approach: tracing the methodological development of the economic mainstream through its ancestry, which allows for a definition of the mainstream that is separate from politically charged categories or gridlocked academic arguments between received schools of thought.The book...

From Juno and Canadian Country Music Award winner George Canyon comes a heartfelt and candid memoir charting his humble beginnings in rural Nova Scotia, the hard-won success he found under the bright lights of Nashville, Tennessee, and all the life lessons he learned on and off the road that ultimately led him home.Today, George Canyon is a Platinum Award–winning country musician, known for hits such as “Good Day to Ride,” “I Want You to Live,” and songs that tell ...

Declared “the best survival book in a decade” by Outside Magazine, 438 Days is the true story of the man who survived fourteen months in a small boat drifting seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean.On November 17, 2012, two men left the coast of Mexico for a weekend fishing trip in the open Pacific. That night, a violent storm ambushed them as they were fishing eighty miles offshore. As gale force winds and ten-foot waves pummeled their sma...