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The Optimism Bias: Why we're wired to look on the bright side
by Tali SharotWinner of the British Psychological Society Book Award for Popular PsychologyPsychologists have long been aware that most people tend to maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life. In fact, optimism may be crucial to our existence. Tali Sharot's original cognitive research demonstrates in surprising ways the biological basis for optimism. In this fascinating exploration, she takes an in-depth, clarifying look at how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how anticipation and dread affect us; and how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions.With its cutting-edge science and its wide-ranging and accessible narrative, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into how the workings of the brain create our hopes and dreams.
The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future
by Keach Hagey“The first major biography of tech’s newest titan, this sets a high bar for those to follow.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “An exemplary blend of biography, financial technology reportage, and futurology.”—Kirkus, starred review From an acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter comes the first biography of the enigmatic leader of the AI revolution, charting his ascent within the tech world as well as his ambitions for this powerful new technology. On November 30, 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a chatbot that captivated the world with its uncanny ability to hold humanlike conversations. Not even a year later, on November 17, 2023, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was summarily fired on a video call by the company’s board. The firing made headlines around the globe: OpenAI is the leader in the race to build AGI—artificial general intelligence, or AI that can think like a human being—and Altman is the most prominent figure in the field. Yet it was mere days before Altman was back running the company he had co-founded, with most of the directors who voted to fire him themselves removed from the board. The episode was a demonstration of how quickly the industry is moving, and of Altman’s power to bend reality to his will. In The Optimist, the Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey presents the most detailed account yet of Altman’s rise, from his precocious childhood in St. Louis to his first, failed startup experience; his time as legendary entrepreneur Paul Graham’s protégé and successor as head of Y Combinator, the start-up accelerator where Altman became the premier power broker in Silicon Valley; the founding of OpenAI and his recruitment of a small yet superior team; and his struggle to keep his company at the cutting edge while fending off determined rivals, including Elon Musk, a former friend and now Altman’s bitter opponent. Hagey conducted more than 250 interviews, with Altman’s family, friends, teachers, mentors, co-founders, colleagues, investors, and portfolio companies, in addition to spending hours with Altman himself. The person who emerges in her portrait is a brilliant dealmaker with a love of risk, who believes in technological progress with an almost religious conviction—yet who sometimes moves too fast for the people around him. With both the promise and peril of AI increasing by the day, Hagey delivers a nuanced, balanced, revelatory account of the individual who is leading us into what he himself has called “the intelligence age.” Altman is a figure out of Isaac Asimov or Neal Stephenson. Or he is the author himself: if it feels as though we have all collectively stepped into a science fiction short story, it is Altman who is writing it.
The Oracle
by William J. BroadA gripping modern-day detective story about the scientific quest to understand the Oracle of Delphi Like Walking the Bible, this fascinating book turns a modern eye on an enduring legend. The Oracle of Delphi was one of the most influential figures in ancient Greece. Human mistress of the god Apollo, she had the power to enter into ecstatic communion with him and deliver his prophesies to men. Thousands of years later, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William J. Broad follows a crew of enterprising researchers as they sift through the evidence of history, geology, and archaeology to reveal-as far as science is able-the source of her visions. .
The Oracle of Night: The History and Science of Dreams
by Daniel Hahn Sidarta RibeiroA groundbreaking history of the human mind told through our experience of dreams—from the earliest accounts to current scientific findings—and their essential role in the formation of who we are and the world we have made. What is a dream? Why do we dream? How do our bodies and minds use them? These questions are the starting point for this unprecedented study of the role and significance of this phenomenon. An investigation on a grand scale, it encompasses literature, anthropology, religion, and science, articulating the essential place dreams occupy in human culture and how they functioned as the catalyst that compelled us to transform our earthly habitat into a human world. From the earliest cave paintings—where Sidarta Ribeiro locates a key to humankind&’s first dreams and how they contributed to our capacity to perceive past and future and our ability to conceive of the existence of souls and spirits—to today&’s cutting-edge scientific research, Ribeiro arrives at revolutionary conclusions about the role of dreams in human existence and evolution. He explores the advances that contemporary neuroscience, biochemistry, and psychology have made into the connections between sleep, dreams, and learning. He explains what dreams have taught us about the neural basis of memory and the transformation of memory in recall. And he makes clear that the earliest insight into dreams as oracular has been elucidated by contemporary research. Accessible, authoritative, and fascinating, The Oracle of Night gives us a wholly new way to understand this most basic of human experiences.
The Oracle of Oil: A Maverick Geologist's Quest for a Sustainable Future
by Mason InmanThe first comprehensive biography of Marion King Hubbert, the "father of peak oil." In 1956, geologist and Shell Oil researcher Marion King Hubbert delivered a speech that has shaped world energy debates ever since. Addressing the American Petroleum Institute, Hubbert dropped a bombshell on his audience: U.S. oil production would peak by 1970 and decline steadily thereafter. World production would follow the same fate, reaching its peak soon after the turn of the millennium. In battles stretching over decades, Hubbert defended his forecasts against opponents from both the oil industry and government. Hubbert was proved largely correct during the energy crises of the 1970s and hailed as a "prophet" and an "oracle." Even amid our twenty-first-century fracking boom, Hubbert's underlying logic holds true--while remaining a source of debate and controversy. A rich biography of the man behind peak oil, The Oracle of Oil follows Hubbert from his early days as a University of Chicago undergraduate to his first, ill-fated forays into politics in the midcentury Technocracy movement, and charts his rise as a top geologist in the oil industry and energy expert within the U.S. government. In a deeply researched narrative that mines Hubbert's papers and correspondence for the first time, award-winning journalist Mason Inman rescues the story of a man who shocked the scientific community with his eccentric brilliance. The Oracle of Oil also skillfully situates Hubbert in his era: a time of great intellectual ferment and discovery, tinged by dark undercurrents of intellectual witch hunts. Hubbert emerges as an unapologetic iconoclast who championed sustainability through his lifelong quest to wean the United States--and the wider world--off fossil fuels, as well as by questioning the pursuit of never-ending growth. In its portrait of a man whose prescient ideas still resonate today, The Oracle of Oil looks to the past to find a guiding philosophy for our future.
The Oral Microbiome: Methods and Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology #2327)
by Guy R. AdamiThis volume discusses the oral microbiome, and oral and systemic health. The chapters in this book cover topics such as analytical techniques for identifying and measuring oral bacteria; strategies for controlling common sources of variability in oral microbiome methods for viral bacterial and fungal analysis; ways to study oral DNA and RNA samples to identify molecular pathways to disease; approaches to functional assays for oral bacteriophage, antibiotic purging of systemic bacteria; and metaproteomic analysis of various oral samples. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and practical, The Oral Microbiome: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for any scientist or researcher looking to further study this exciting and developing field.
The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture from a Journey of 71 Million Miles
by Ron GaranFor astronaut Ron Garan, living on the International Space Station was a powerful, transformative experience—one that he believes holds the key to solving our problems here on Earth. On space walks and through windows, Garan was struck by the stunning beauty of the Earth from space but sobered by knowing how much needed to be done to help this troubled planet. And yet on the International Space Station, Garan, a former fighter pilot, was working work side by side with Russians, who only a few years before were “the enemy.” If fifteen nationalities could collaborate on one of the most ambitious, technologically complicated undertakings in history, surely we can apply that kind of cooperation and innovation toward creating a better world. That spirit is what Garan calls the “orbital perspective.”Garan vividly conveys what it was like learning to work with a diverse group of people in an environment only a handful of human beings have ever known. But more importantly, he describes how he and others are working to apply the orbital perspective here at home, embracing new partnerships and processes to promote peace and combat hunger, thirst, poverty, and environmental destruction. This book is a call to action for each of us to care for the most important space station of all: planet Earth. You don't need to be an astronaut to have the orbital perspective. Garan's message of elevated empathy is an inspiration to all who seek a better world.
The Orca Scientists (Scientists in the Field Series)
by Andy Comins Kim Perez ValiceFollow the scientists working in the Pacific Northwest to learn about the orca whale population there, as they race to save these remarkable mammals from extinction. Perfect for fans of The Great White Shark Scientist and readers looking for excellent nonfiction on this high-interest animal. Orcas have a reputation for being bloodthirsty, but that myth is being debunked as scientists learn more about these "killer" animals. Readers follow scientists in the Pacific Northwest who study the nuanced communication patterns, family structure, and socialization of orca whales, from marine biologists to specialists in the study of sound. With stunning photography and attention to field-based detail, The Orca Scientists paints a vivid picture of the individuals who have made it their life's work to better understand orcas, as well as the whales they are helping to avoid extinction.
The Orchid Cage: A Science Fiction Novel (Science and Fiction)
by Herbert W. FrankeThis book is a new English translation of the classic science fiction story written in 1961 by Herbert W. Franke, widely held to be the most important German-language science-fiction writer. A dead city on a distant planet, two groups of people trying to explore it. Step by step, they penetrate the outer ring with its ultra-modern technology, the half-ruined medieval city center and finally the mysterious center. But is the eerie city really dead? Suddenly the factories start working again, the automatons intervene, and somewhere in the background there is still something hidden that could perhaps awaken. But is it people or machines? Herbert W. Franke leads the reader into an oppressively strange world; only after the startling resolution does it become clear what lies behind the adventures of the intruders - not a cosmic strangeness, but a threatening development that could affect humans in the same way. Franke's novel is thus a parable of the evolution of all humans in the age of technical communication ...
The Orchid Genome (Compendium of Plant Genomes)
by Fure-Chyi Chen Shih-Wen ChinThis book provides information on genome complexity and evolution, transcriptome analysis, miRNome, simple sequence repeats, genome relationships, molecular cytogenetics, polyploidy induction and application, flower and embryo development. Orchids account for a great part of the worldwide floriculture trade both as cut flowers and as potted plants and are assessed to comprise around 10% of global fresh cut flower trade. A better understanding of the basic botanical characteristics, flower regulation, molecular cytogenetics, karyotypes and DNA content of important orchids will aid in the efficient development of new cultivars. The book also describes the composition, expression and function of various microRNAs and simple sequence repeats. Information on their involvement in all aspects of plant growth and development will aid functional genomics studies.
The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth About 2012
by David StuartThe world's foremost expert on Maya culture looks at 2012 hysteria and explains the truth about what the Maya meant and what we want to believe.Apocalypse 2012: An Investigation into Civilizations End. The World Cataclysm in 2012. 2012: The return of Quetzalcoatl. According to many of these alarmingly titled books, the ancient Maya not only had a keen insight into the mystical workings of our planet and the cosmos, but they were also able to predict that the world will end in the year 2012.David Stuart, the foremost scholar of the Maya and recipient of numerous awards for his work, takes a hard look at the frenzy over 2012 and offers a fascination (and accurate) trip through Mayan culture and belief. Stuart shows how the idea that the "end of the Mayan calendar," which supposedly heralds the end of our own existence, says far more about our culture than about the ancient Maya. The Order of Days explores how the real intellectual achievement of ancient Maya timekeeping and worldview is far more impressive and remarkable than any of the popular, and often outrageous, claims about this advanced civilization.As someone who has studied the Maya for nearly all of his life and who specializes in reading their ancient texts, Stuart sees the 2012 hubbub as the most recent in a long chain of related ideas about Mesoamericans, the Maya in particular, that depicts them as somehow oddball, not "of this world," or as having some strong mystical link to other realms.Because the year 2012 has no prominent role in anything the ancient Maya ever actually wrote, Stuart takes a wider look at the Maya concepts of time and their underlying philosophy as we can best understand them. The ancient Maya, Stuart contends, were worthy of study and admiration not because they were strange but because they were altogether human, and they developed a compelling vision of time unlike any other civilization before or since.From the Hardcover edition.
The Order of Time
by Carlo Rovelli<P>From the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, a concise, elegant exploration of time.Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to "flow"? <P>Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike. <P>For most readers this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it remains. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. <P>Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where at the most fundamental level time disappears. He explains how the theory of quantum gravity attempts to understand and give meaning to the resulting extreme landscape of this timeless world. <P>Weaving together ideas from philosophy, science and literature, he suggests that our perception of the flow of time depends on our perspective, better understood starting from the structure of our brain and emotions than from the physical universe. <P>Already a bestseller in Italy, and written with the poetic vitality that made Seven Brief Lessons on Physics so appealing, The Order of Time offers a profoundly intelligent, culturally rich, novel appreciation of the mysteries of time. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Ordered Day: Quotidian Time and Forms of Life in Ancient Rome (Cultural Histories of the Ancient World)
by James KerTraces how the day has served as a key organizing concept in Roman culture—and beyond.How did ancient Romans keep track of time? What constituted a day in ancient Rome was not the same twenty-four hours we know today. In The Ordered Day, James Ker traces how the day served as a key organizing concept, both in antiquity and in modern receptions of ancient Rome. Romans used the story of how the day emerged as a unit of sociocultural time to give order to their own civic and imperial history. Ancient literary descriptions of people's daily routines articulated distinctive forms of life within the social order. And in the imperial period and beyond, outsiders—such as early Christians in their monastic rules and modern antiquarians in books on daily life—ordered their knowledge of Roman life through reworking the day as a heuristic framework.Scholarly interest in Roman time has recently moved from the larger unit of the year and calendar to smaller units of time, especially in the study of sundials and other timekeeping technologies of the ancient Mediterranean. Through extensive analysis of ancient literary texts and material culture as well as modern daily life handbooks, Ker demonstrates the privileged role that "small time" played, and continues to play, in Roman literary and cultural history. Ker argues that the ordering of the day provided the basis for the organizing of history, society, and modern knowledge about ancient Rome. For readers curious about daily life in ancient Rome as well as for students and scholars of Roman history and Latin literature, The Ordered Day provides an accessible and fascinating account of the makings of the Roman day and its relationship to modern time structures.
The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual: A Student's Guide to Techniques
by James W. ZubrickWritten for the laboratory that accompanies the sophomore/junior level courses in Organic Chemistry, Zubrick provides students with a valuable guide to the basic techniques of the Organic Chemistry lab. The book will help students understand and practice good lab safety. It will also help students become familiar with basic instrumentation, techniques and apparatus and help them master the latest techniques such as interpretation of infrared spectroscopy. The guide is mostly macroscale in its orientation.
The Organic Chemistry of Sugars
by Daniel E. Levy Péter FügediIntrigued as much by its complex nature as by its outsider status in traditional organic chemistry, the editors of The Organic Chemistry of Sugars compile a groundbreaking resource in carbohydrate chemistry that illustrates the ease at which sugars can be manipulated in a variety of organic reactions. Each chapter contains numerous examples demonst
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information Overload
by Daniel J LevitinThe information age is drowning us in an unprecedented deluge of data. At the same time, we’re expected to make more—and faster—decisions about our lives than ever before. No wonder, then, that the average person reports frequently losing car keys or reading glasses, missing appointments, and feeling worn out by the effort required just to keep up. But somehow some people become quite accomplished at managing information flow. In The Organized Mind, Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D., uses the latest brain science to demonstrate how those people excel—and how readers can use these methods to regain a sense of mastery over the way they organize their homes, workplaces, and lives. With lively, entertaining chapters on everything from the kitchen junk drawer to health care to gambling in Las Vegas, Levitin reveals how new research into the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory can be applied to daily life. His practical suggestions call for relatively minor changes that require little effort but will have remarkable long-term benefits for mental and physical health, productivity, and creativity. This Is Your Brain on Music showed us how to better play and appreciate music through an understanding of how the brain works. The Organized Mind shows us how to navigate the churning flow of information in our daily lives with the same neuroscientific perspective.
The Organometallic Chemistry of N-heterocyclic Carbenes
by Han Vinh HuynhThe Organometallic Chemistry of N-heterocyclic Carbenes describes various aspects of N-heterocyclic Carbenes (NHCs) and their transition metal complexes at an entry level suitable for advanced undergraduate students and above. The book starts with a historical overview on the quest for carbenes and their complexes. Subsequently, unique properties, reactivities and nomenclature of the four classical NHCs derived from imidazoline, imidazole, benzimidazole and 1,2,4-triazole are elaborated. General and historically relevant synthetic aspects for NHCs, their precursors and complexes are then explained. The book continues with coverage on the preparation and characteristics of selected NHC complexes containing the most common metals in this area, i.e. Ni, Pd, Pt, Ag, Cu, Au, Ru, Rh and Ir. The book concludes with an overview and outlook on the development of various non-classical NHCs beyond the four classical types. Topics covered include: - Stabilization, dimerization and decomposition of NHCs - Stereoelectronic properties of NHCs and their evaluation - Diversity of NHCs - Isomers of NHC complexes and their identification - NMR spectroscopic signatures of NHC complexes - normal, abnormal and mesoionic NHCs The Organometallic Chemistry of N-heterocyclic Carbenes is an essential resource for all students and researchers interested in this increasingly important and popular field of research.
The Organometallic Chemistry of the Transition Metals
by Robert H. CrabtreeFully updated and expanded to reflect recent advances, the sixth edition of this bestselling text provides students and professional chemists with a comprehensive introduction to the principles and general properties of organometallic compounds, as well as including practical information on reaction mechanisms and detailed descriptions of contemporary applications. Increased focus is given to organic synthesis applications, nanoparticle science, and green chemistry.This edition features:New sections on Multifunctional Ligands, Oxidation Catalysis, and Green ChemistryExpanded discussion on topics from the fifth edition: Supramolecular Chemistry, N-Heterocyclic Carbenes, Coupling Reactions, Organometallic Materials, Applications to Organic Synthesis, and Bioorganometallic ChemistryEnd-of-chapter problems and their solutions
The Organometallic Chemistry of the Transition Metals
by Robert H. CrabtreeThe new edition of this bestselling text continues to provide chemistry students and researchers with vital information on organometallic compounds, their preparation, and use in synthesis. It explores the fundamentals of the field and its modern applications. Includes end-of-chapter problems and their solutions Has up-to-date examples of fundamental reaction steps and emphasis on key topics like oxidation catalysis, CH functionalization, nanoclusters, and nanoparticles Adds coverage for ligand-assisted additions and eliminations, proton-coupled electron transfer, surface catalysis, green energy, and photoredox catalysis
The Orienting Response in Information Processing
by Heikki Lyytinen Risto Naatanen Evgeni N. Sokolov John SpinksThis book is a testimony to Evgeny Nikolaevich Sokolov's years of work in developing knowledge in the areas of perception, information processing and attention, and to the research it has spawned. It presents a historical account of a research program, leading the reader toward a cognitive science approach to the study of perception and attention. An understanding of neuroscience and mathematical modeling are helpful prerequisites. The co-authors collected data on orienting, attention, and information processing in the brain using single-cell recordings, central, autonomic, cognitive, behavioral, and verbal measures. This commonality brought them together for a series of meetings which resulted in the production of this book. The book ends with a review of some of the co-authors studies that have developed from or in parallel with Sokolov's research. They investigate, in particular, the concepts of attention and anticipation using a psychophysiological methodology.
The Origin Of Humankind (SCIENCE MASTERS)
by Richard Leakey Richard E. LeakeyA meticulously clear account of how early ape-men of the African savanna developed into fully human beings.Leakey has always been interested in far more than the mere physical features presented by fossils, and here he is particularly concerned with non-tangible human attributes, such as art, language and consciousness itself.Leakey's personal involvement in many of the key discoveries of hominid fossils, and his friendships and rivalries with his fellow fossil hunters, add more than a dash of spice to his narrative."An outstanding account of our current understanding of human evolution" Sunday Times"An elegant summary of what is currently known about human evolution" Observer
The Origin Of Plants: The People And Plants That Have Shaped Britain's Garden History
by Maggie Campbell-CulverA fascinating history of Britain's plant biodiversity and a unique account of how our garden landscape has been transformed over 1000 years, from 200 species of plant in the year 1000 to the astonishing variety of plants we can all see today. Thousands of plants have been introduced into Britain since 1066 by travellers, warriors, explorers and plant hunters - plants that we now take for granted such as rhododendron from the Far East, gladiolus from Africa and exotic plants like the monkey puzzle tree from Chile.Both a plant history and a useful reference book, Maggie Campbell-Culver has researched the provenance and often strange histories of many of the thousands of plants, exploring the quirky and sometimes rude nature of the plants, giving them a personality all of their own and setting them in their social context. The text is supported by beautiful contemporary paintings and modern photographs in 2 x 8 pp colour sections.
The Origin Of The Universe (SCIENCE MASTERS)
by John D. BarrowA leading cosmologist explains our current understanding of space and timeThere was immense excitement in the scientific community and among the general public when the COBE space probe sent back data that proved not only that the Big Bang had happened but also that it had happened at more or less exactly the time that astronomers had calculated. Barrow describes these finds and then goes on to explain how they allow us to reach back and shed light upon events at the dawn of time.What does it mean to say that the universe appeared out of nothing? Did it need a beginning, and will it ever end? Why do we think that most of the universe is invisible?The ideas that cosmologists are wrestling with are challenging and extraordinary: here they are explained with unfailing fluency.
The Origin Of The Universe: Science Masters Series
by John D. BarrowThere is no more profound, enduring or fascinating question in all of science than that of how time, space, and matter began. Now John Barrow, who has been at the cutting edge of research in this area and has written extensively about it, guides us on a journey to the beginning of time, into a world of temperatures and densities so high that we cannot recreate them in a laboratory. With new insights, Barrow draws us into the latest speculative theories about the nature of time and the "inflationary universe,” explains "wormholes,” showing how they bear upon the fact of our own existence, and considers whether there was a "singularity” at the inception of the universe. Here is a treatment so up-to-date and intellectually rich, deaing with ideas and speculation at the farthest frontier of science, that neither novice nor expert will want to miss what Barrow has to say. The Origin of the Universe is ”In the Beginning” for beginners-the latest information from a first-rate scientist and science writer.
The Origin Then and Now: An Interpretive Guide to the Origin of Species
by David N. ReznickAn accessible modern guide to Darwin's masterworkCharles Darwin's Origin of Species is one of the most widely cited books in modern science. Yet tackling this classic can be daunting for students and general readers alike because of Darwin's Victorian prose and the complexity and scope of his ideas. The "Origin" Then and Now is a unique guide to Darwin's masterwork, making it accessible to a much wider audience by deconstructing and reorganizing the Origin in a way that allows for a clear explanation of its key concepts. The Origin is examined within the historical context in which it was written, and modern examples are used to reveal how this work remains a relevant and living document for today.In this eye-opening and accessible guide, David Reznick shows how many peculiarities of the Origin can be explained by the state of science in 1859, helping readers to grasp the true scope of Darwin's departure from the mainstream thinking of his day. He reconciles Darwin's concept of species with our current concept, which has advanced in important ways since Darwin first wrote the Origin, and he demonstrates why Darwin's theory unifies the biological sciences under a single conceptual framework much as Newton did for physics. Drawing liberally from the facsimile of the first edition of the Origin, Reznick enables readers to follow along as Darwin develops his ideas.The "Origin" Then and Now is an indispensable primer for anyone seeking to understand Darwin's Origin of Species and the ways it has shaped the modern study of evolution.