Rooted in neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology, this study explores what happens when we stop paying attention and the effect on our behavior.If we've done our job well—and, let's be honest, if we're lucky—you'll read to the end of this description. Most likely, however, you won't. Somewhere in the middle of the next paragraph, your mind will wander off. Minds wander. That's just how it is.That may be bad news for me, but is it bad news for peopl...

In this enlightening biography, award- winning academic psychologist Michael Corballis tells the story of how the field of cognitive psychology evolved and the controversies and anecdotes that occurred along the way.Since the Second World War, psychology has undergone several scientific movements, from behaviourism to cognitive psychology and finally to neuroscience. In this fascinating biography, Corballis recounts his career as a researcher who played a part in these monumental c...

What gives the human brain the creative ability that defines us all as individuals? Although the silicon version is hard on its heels, the brain remains the most remarkable computer in existence. Leading us through cognitive theory, neuroscience and Darwinian evolution with his trademark wit and wisdom, Michael Corballis explains what we know—and don’t know—about our minds. How do we know if we’re really the top dogs in brain power? Does our creativity stem solely from the right brain? Fro...

A root-and-branch rethinking of how history has shaped the science of genetics.In 1900, almost no one had heard of Gregor Mendel. Ten years later, he was famous as the father of a new science of heredity—genetics. Even today, Mendelian ideas serve as a standard point of entry for learning about genes. The message students receive is plain: the twenty-first century owes an enlightened understanding of how biological inheritance really works to the persistence of an i...

"A delightful exposition of commonly-encountered statistical fallacies and paradoxes and why they matter." —Samuel H. Preston, coauthor of Demography: Measuring and Modeling Population ProcessesAn essential guide to the ways data can improve decision making.Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate abil...

" With poignancy and audacity, Frame builds an unexpected bridge between mathematical beauty and human sorrow, illuminating both." —Francis Su, author of Mathematics for Human FlourishingWe all know the euphoria of intellectual epiphany—the thrill of sudden understanding. But coupled with that excitement is a sense of loss: a moment of epiphany can never be repeated. In Geometry of Grief *,*mathematician Michael Frame draws on a career's worth of ...

National Book Award Finalist: The "impressive" conclusion to the "magisterial trilogy on the mythology of violence in American history" ( Film Quarterly)."The myth of the Western frontier—which assumes that whites' conquest of Native Americans and the taming of the wilderness were preordained means to a progressive, civilized society—is embedded in our national psyche. U.S. troops called Vietnam 'Indian country.' President John Kennedy invoked 'New Frontier...

Not just the stories, but what they mean. Are myths really the repositories of deep wisdom and mystical secrets?Readers' Favorite Book Award WinnerWhat is myth, and why does it have such a hold on the human imagination? How does myth relate to near forms such as legend and fairy tale, and to other modes of understanding such as religion and science? What is a hero, what is a monster, and what function does magic serve? How has our relationship with...

Explore the impact of words in menu construction alongside the power of comfort food; why the first bite is not always with the eyes; and how the worlds of sex, symbolism and animal instinct are simmering just beneath the surface in all of us.Continually eye-opening and perceptive, often witty and entertaining, Moreish sets a place for persuasive packaging, in-your-face pop songs, underhand menu writing and over-the-top advertising. It demonstrates that, while we o...

EDWARD J. SMITH was the celebrated captain who went down with his ship.THOMAS ANDREWS was the great and selfless hero who died saving women and children.BRUCE ISMAY was the selfish coward who caused the ship to sink.When disaster struck on the night of 14 April 1912, the lives of everyone aboard the Titanic were changed forever. Lives were lost, heroes were made – and villains were cast.The Triumvirate

"[This] work is a call not just for leaders to better communicate with their teams but for the everyday person to humanize those they disagree with." —Cy Wakeman, New York Times–bestselling author of The Reality-Based Rules of the WorkplaceStart building bridges instead of barriers! This essential guide offers a simple five-part framework that will help you have honest and enlightening conversations despite deep and fundamental disagreements....

" Mental Immunity is the perfect vaccine for the mind-viruses infecting our culture: alternative facts, fake news, and conspiracy thinking, to name a few." —Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of The Believing BrainAstonishingly irrational ideas are spreading. Covid denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. Conspiracy thinking hijacks minds and incites mob violence. T...