Serendipity


Book Description

Many of the things discovered by accident are important in our everyday lives: Teflon, Velcro, nylon, x-rays, penicillin, safety glass, sugar substitutes, and polyethylene and other plastics. And we owe a debt to accident for some of our deepest scientific knowledge, including Newton's theory of gravitation, the Big Bang theory of Creation, and the discovery of DNA. Even the Rosetta Stone, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the ruins of Pompeii came to light through chance. This book tells the fascinating stories of these and other discoveries and reveals how the inquisitive human mind turns accident into discovery. Written for the layman, yet scientifically accurate, this illuminating collection of anecdotes portrays invention and discovery as quintessentially human acts, due in part to curiosity, perserverance, and luck.




Connecting with Coincidence


Book Description

We've all experienced or heard of surprising events and unexplainable coincidences—money that seems to come from nowhere, a spontaneous idea that turns into a life-changing solution, meeting our soulmate on a flight we weren't supposed to take, or families being reunited by "accident" after years of separation. Often these coincidences are explained as being controlled by a higher power or pure chance. But for the first time since Carl Jung's work, comes bold new research that explains scientifically how we can identify, understand, and perhaps even control the frequency of coincidences in our everyday lives. Bernard Beitman, a leading expert on Coincidence Studies, proposes a greater personal responsibility which depends partly upon newly discovered "grid cells" located in the brain, near the hippocampus. But neuroscience cannot complete the entire puzzle, and in this fascinating guide, Beitman provides the missing piece. From analyzing true stories of synchronicity from around the globe and throughout history, he shares key personality characteristics and situational factors that contribute to the occurrence of meaningful coincidences in our lives. Where other books on coincidences tend to be theoretical, inspirational, or story collections only, Beitman's book is the first to provide a scientific understanding and practical ways in which readers can use them in their own lives. He reveals: How to activate your observing self so you don't miss synchronistic moments How serendipity can offer insights into solving problems or making difficult decisions Why stress activates meaningful coincidences Which states of mind impede our ability to experience synchronicity How to interpret the meaning of a coincidence Why being attuned to coincidences is a learned skill—and how to hone your sensitivity.




Status of the Hubble Space Telescope


Book Description




Popular Science


Book Description

Popular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve their technology and their world. The core belief that Popular Science and our readers share: The future is going to be better, and science and technology are the driving forces that will help make it better.




Applied Anthropology


Book Description

This collection brings together recent innovative work in applied and practicing anthropology. Organised around the theme of unexpectedness, it examines some of the novel spaces, topics, and methods that anthropologists are involved with. The volume emphasises non-traditional settings and demonstrates the important role of anthropology in addressing some of the pressing issues facing society today. The contributors offer detailed ethnographic examples from their own research and work that give students valuable insight and advice. Drawn mainly from the United States, the case studies illustrate the diverse arenas in which anthropologists operate, from law and finance to education and health care. Simultaneous consideration is given to practical applications, theoretical reflections, and professional experiences.




Plant Cell Biology


Book Description

Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology, Third Edition connects the fundamentals of plant anatomy, plant physiology, plant growth and development, plant taxonomy, plant biochemistry, plant molecular biology, and plant cell biology. It covers all aspects of plant cell biology without emphasizing any one plant, organelle, molecule, or technique. Although most examples are biased towards plants, basic similarities between all living eukaryotic cells (animal and plant) are recognized and used to best illustrate cell processes. This is a must-have reference for scientists with a background in plant anatomy, plant physiology, plant growth and development, plant taxonomy, and more. - Includes chapter on using mutants and genetic approaches to plant cell biology research and a chapter on -omic technologies - Explains the physiological underpinnings of biological processes to bring original insights relating to plants - Includes examples throughout from physics, chemistry, geology, and biology to bring understanding on plant cell development, growth, chemistry, and diseases - Provides the essential tools for students to be able to evaluate and assess the mechanisms involved in cell growth, chromosome motion, membrane trafficking, and energy exchange




The Scientist


Book Description




Hosteled Prodigal


Book Description

The narrative of Hosteled Prodigal is set in a millenial one-world environment governed by the United Federation of North American States (UFNAS, or "yoofnas," as popularly pronounced). Little has turned out well for Bill Scolan, employed as a bawdy house promoter, when his PhD thesis is scuttled by a hedonistic faculty still imbued with an outmoded new age ideology. One day in near depression, nightmares-in-head are interrupted by an intruder. The bouncer-pimp breaking in announces the murder of the house madam and Bill's half-sister, estranged snuggle partner, Julie. The self-reproach and shame incurred by the incestuous affair, while it lasted, is deepened when the brute also delivers the mob's "pink slip" to Bill. In a chronic pity-party, Bill's mood spirals downward. Life-style resentment has been building ever since childhood when his immature advances to a gang of older children were always rebuffed. Relocated in a cheap apartment, Bill fends off girls on the make for a pimp guardian. Through Ann, Bill becomes reacquainted with Mary, the daughter of the surrogate mother whom the child Billy furtively used to visit. Restored to more sociably interpersonal relations, the influence of these two erstwhile female judges-in-his-head eventually outweighs Bill's malign inclinations towards warped guilt and remorse.







Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Women


Book Description

This book critically analyzes the sex industry in Israel, using feminist concepts and scholarship to elaborate on the power of prostitution to shape a world in which women are objects for fulfilling men's desires. A comprehensive collection of research-based articles that examine prostitution, trafficking in women and pornography from divergent disciplinary angles, it reveals the interconnectedness of these three aspects of the sex trade which objectifies, commercializes and exploits human – and in particular women’s – sexuality. Showing these practices to be embedded in a capitalist and patriarchal oppressive context that is accommodated by state institutions, this volume rejects the argument that it is possible to choose prostitution, and that feminist pornography is possible. With case studies including the conspicuous context of migration that attracts sex traffickers, the liberal discourse introduced by cinema, the media and the arts that serve to legitimate prostitution and pornography, the chauvinist-macho culture that perceives and treats women as sex objects, and the issues of male prostitution and men as clients, Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Women: Israel’s Blood Money constitutes a study of Israel as a unique context in which the sex trade can prosper, in spite of geographical, religious and institutional constraints. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of sociology, anthropology, history, cultural studies and gender and women’s studies.