A full-color celebration of stunning visual illusions and the science behind them."[An] entertaining compilation . . . Readers will find the visual puzzles positively addictive." — Physics Today"Fascinating." ―Mental FlossIn Champions of Illusion, Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik present a smorgasbord of mystifying images, many selected from thei...

In a quest to advocate for her daughter, Pepper Stetler uncovers the dark history of the IQ test, leading her to question what exactly we are measuring when we measure intelligence.When Pepper Stetler learned that her daughter, Louisa, who has Down Syndrome, would be required to take periodic IQ tests to secure support in school, she asked a simple question: Why? The hunt for an answer set Stetler on a winding, often dark investigation into how the IQ came...

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...

“An elegant, wide-ranging history” (The New York Review of Books) of the centuries-long quest to discover the critical role of germs in disease thatreveals as much about human reasoning—and the pitfalls of ego—as it does about microbes.“Levenson takes readers through an entertaining . . . journey of missed opportunities in microbiology and the eventual advances that arose in this field.”—ScienceScientists and enthusiastic ...

Hungry for a treasure trove of weird and wonderful facts beyond your wildest imagination? Then keep on reading...Did you know that trees collaborate, communicate, and engage in chemical warfare?Or that humans are better at smelling rain than sharks are at smelling blood?Or that Napoleon once fought a pack of tame rabbits... and lost?Sometimes, life gets boring. Your sense of wonder often gets lost in a pile of chores, paperwork, and ...

The sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912 is one of the most dramatic stories in maritime history. The largest passenger steamship in the world, fitted with more advanced safety features than any of her rivals, she was proclaimed to be virtually unsinkable. Just how and why the Titanic foundered on such a beautiful April evening is the subject of this fascinating book.Author Rupert Matthews has written a highly readable account of the story of the

Discover hundreds of intriguing, entertaining & often hilarious origins to the English language's most curious phrases in this trivia book from a bestselling author.English is filled with interesting phrases. This book reveals the surprising, captivating and even hilarious origins behind 400 of them, including:• Read between the Lines• Cat Got Your Tongue?• Put a Sock in It• Close, but No Cigar• Bring Home the Bacon• Caught Red-Handed• Under the Wea...

"Walker takes us on a fascinating and enjoyable wander through the confluence of science, nature, and spirituality without getting us lost." ―Terence McKeown, documentary filmmaker, producer of Planet Hunters , Playing God with Planet Earth , and Stonehenge UncoveredWhen science and spirituality coalesce, secrets of the natural world a...

This poignant philosophy about the human capacity for love in the face of tragedy from the New York Times–bestselling author is as relevant today as it was when it was first broadcast.Transcribed from a series of recorded conversations streamed over German public radio in 1970, the profound ideas and thoughts collected in this volume represent a lifetime of the renowned psychoanalyst and social philosopher's explorations into human emotion and behavior thr...

MIT presents a concise primer on machine learning—computer programs that learn from data, and the basis of applications like voice recognition and driverless cars.No in-depth knowledge of math or programming required!Today, machine learning underlies a range of applications we use every day, from product recommendations to voice recognition—as well as some we don’t yet use every day, including driverless cars. It is the basis for a new appr...

'Turing writes on codebreaking with understandable authority and compelling panache.'- Michael Smith, bestselling author of Station X.The Enigma cipher was supposed to be the German's impenetrable defence for its military communications against prying eyes during World War II. All manner of secrets were entrusted to it. When the Allies finally managed to crack the code, it heralded a turning point in the war.Written by Dermot Turing ...

A "charming, informative" firsthand account of Australia's wonderfully unique mammals—and how our perceptions impact their future (Tim Flannery, New York Review of Books ).Think of a platypus: They lay eggs (that hatch into so-called platypups), produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs, and can detect electricity. Or a wombat: Their teeth never stop growing, they poop cubes, and they defend themselves with rei...