The Power of Positive Idiocy


Book Description

David Feherty, ex-pro golfer and current commentator at NBC Sports and the Golf Channel, delivers a laugh-out-loud funny and totally uncensored collection of rants sure to surprise and crack up golfers everywhere. Have you ever wondered where the weaknesses are in Tiger's game? Or what would happen if there were PGA Tour cheerleaders? Or how Old Tom Morris would play if he came back from the dead? In The Power of Positive Idiocy, readers will be treated to Feherty's answers to these questions, as well as his distinctive commentary on aging, Texas, the Irish, parenting, addiction, Charles Barkley, and, of course, every pro golfer and golfing situation you can imagine. Full of great laughs, ridiculous wisecracks, and some of the best advice for anyone new to the game of golf, Feherty’s remarkable collection is a must have for golfers of every stripe.







Images of Idiocy


Book Description

This book traces the concept of idiocy as it has developed in fiction and film in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It focuses particularly on visual images of idiocy and argues that writers as diverse as Gustave Flaubert, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Joseph Conrad, John Steinbeck, Flannery O'Connor and Rohinton Mistry, and filmmakers such as Jean Renoir, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Werner Herzog and John Huston have all been attracted to idiot figures as a way of thinking through issues of language acquisition, intelligence, creativity, disability, religion and social identity. Martin Halliwell provides a lively and detailed discussion of the most significant literary and cinematic uses of idiocy, arguing that scientific conceptions of the term as a classifiable medical condition are much too narrow. With the explosion of interest in idiocy among American and European filmmakers in the 1990s and the growing interest in its often overlooked history, this book offers a timely reassessment of idiocy and its distinctive place at the intersection of science and culture.




Idiocy


Book Description

In ancient Athens, “idiots” were those selfish citizens who dishonorably declined to participate in the life of the polis, and whose disavowal of the public interest was seen as poor taste and an indication of judgment. Over time, however, the term idiot has shifted from that philosophically uncomplicated definition to an ever-changing sociological signifier, encompassing a wide range of meanings and beliefs for those concerned with intellectual and cognitive disability. Idiocy: A Cultural History offers for the first time a analysis of the concept, drawing on cultural, sociological, scientific, and popular representations ranging from Wordsworth’s “Idiot Boy” and Dickens’ Barnaby Rudge to Down’s “Ethnic classification of idiots.” It tracks how our changing definition of idiocy intersects with demography, political movements, philosophical traditions, economic concerns, and the growth of the medical profession.




Those They Called Idiots


Book Description

Sensitive and sweeping, this is a history of the little-known lives of people with learning disabilities from the communities of eighteenth-century England, to the nineteenth-century asylum, to care in today’s society. Those They Called Idiots traces the little-known lives of people with learning disabilities from the communities of eighteenth-century England to the nineteenth-century asylum, to care in today’s society. Using evidence from civil and criminal courtrooms, joke books, slang dictionaries, novels, art, and caricature, it explores the explosive intermingling of ideas about intelligence and race, while bringing into sharp focus the lives of people often seen as the most marginalized in society.




Surrounded by Idiots


Book Description

Do you ever think you’re the only one making any sense? Or tried to reason with your partner with disastrous results? Do long, rambling answers drive you crazy? Or does your colleague’s abrasive manner rub you the wrong way? You are not alone. After a disastrous meeting with a highly successful entrepreneur, who was genuinely convinced he was ‘surrounded by idiots’, communication expert and bestselling author, Thomas Erikson dedicated himself to understanding how people function and why we often struggle to connect with certain types of people. Surrounded by Idiots is an international phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It offers a simple, yet ground-breaking method for assessing the personalities of people we communicate with – in and out of the office – based on four personality types (Red, Blue, Green and Yellow), and provides insights into how we can adjust the way we speak and share information. Erikson will help you understand yourself better, hone communication and social skills, handle conflict with confidence, improve dynamics with your boss and team, and get the best out of the people you deal with and manage. He also shares simple tricks on body language, improving written communication, advice on when to back away or when to push on, and when to speak up or shut up. Packed with ‘aha!’ and ‘oh no!’ moments, Surrounded by Idiots will help you understand and communicate with those around you, even people you currently think are beyond all comprehension. And with a bit of luck you can also be confident that the idiot out there isn’t you!




Office Idiots


Book Description

Most books that deal with ridiculous behaviors in the workplace are premised largely on conjecture, anecdotes, and limited data, but that’s not the case with Office Idiots. Written by Ken Lloyd, one of the foremost experts on jerks at work, this book relies on data from actual workplaces across America to present a sweeping and frighteningly accurate snapshot of the antics of office idiots. Based on thousands of letters to his newspaper column and Website, jerksatwork.com, this book spotlights office idiots wherever they exist in an organization, followed by practical advice on what to do and even what to say when you encounter them. In addition to providing a vast array of hands-on (and hands-off!) tools, Office Idiots will also show you how to: Deal with some of the most off-the-wall and absurd forms of office idiocy. Avoid enabling behaviors that actually bring out office idiocy in others. Make sure you don’t become an office idiot.







Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots


Book Description

Have you confronted any of these coworkers or bosses recently? The Grumpy Martyr The Boss's Pet The Credit Snatcher Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots is designed to help people with all their office issues, from an exasperating coworker to a boss from hell. This book helps readers quickly pinpoint their problems and implement immediate tactics to resolve them. Vicky Oliver has helped more than 5,000 working people at different levels in different fields resolve their work problems. Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots is a direct result of what she has learned as a career expert who has made herself available to help people in their times of need. With this book in hand, readers will have the answers to all their difficult work issues and will see their job satisfaction skyrocket.




The Official Dictionary of Idiocy


Book Description

Get your snark on, with this hilarious compendium from the author of The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm. It’s the perfect book for today’s world. The battle for sanity and intelligence rages on! Read any news story today and it’s clear that idiots are everywhere. For that reason, James Napoli, the esteemed director of the National Sarcasm Society, has created a smart-aleck new dictionary that defines pop-culture touchstones and throws shade on the hopelessly foolish. With copiously illustrated and snarky entries on everything from “Alternative Facts” and “Congress” to “Cable News” and “Uber” (A convenient way to entrust your transportation to a potential serial killer . . .”), The Official Dictionary of Idiocy brings some much-needed laughter to these crazy days.