A provocative exploration of how humans are wired to seek short-term success at the expense of long-term survival-an evolutionary 'glitch" that explains everything from toxic workplaces to climate change
In this eye-opening work, entrepreneur and philosopher Kristian Rönn argues that today's biggest challenges-climate change, fake news, artificial intelligence, even terrible bosses-are less the work of 'bad people' doing 'bad things' than the product of fundamental evolutionary forces. These forces compel us to act-but often in short-sighted ways that disadvantage others and imperil our own future prosperity. Rönn calls these deeply rooted impulses "Darwinian demons.' Left unchecked, their consequences will grow in magnitude as the power of technology accelerates. In short, evolution has set a trap for us. How can we avoid it?
Rönn, who previously worked at the Future of Humanity Institute (the intellectual hub that has produced groundbreaking books including Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom and The Precipice by Toby Ord), shows that we must learn to cooperate in new ways if we are to surmount these Darwinian optimization traps, whether in the workplace or to solve our biggest existential threats. Evolution may be to blame for the trap-but humans need not fall for it. Our salvation, he writes, will involve the creation of new systems that understand, track, and manage what humankind values most.
Bold, brilliant, and ultimately optimistic, The Darwinian Trap is a new lens on humanity's past, present, and future-and a call to rethink our priorities for the sake of generations to come.
From internationally renowned expert in resuscitation and near-death experience Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, comes a groundbreaking look at what happens to us when we die, based on the largest-ever research study run on near-death experiences
What happens to us when we die?
For millennia, we've sought the answers, and we've hoped to find them in near-death experiences. But while those answers have come haphazardly and can't be trusted, groundbreaking research is now formalizing our understanding of death in new and thrilling ways. At the frontlines of that research is Dr. Sam Parnia.
Lucid Dying is the first book to formally explore what happens to the human mind and consciousness not only in the period leading up to death, but also during and after death. Using data derived from multiple scientific studies, Dr. Parnia shows that the entity we refer to as consciousness-our Self-does not seem to become annihilated at the moment of death. In fact, during death, our consciousness follows a very specific narrative arc, in which we relive our lives not only from our own experiences, but from the perspective of everyone we've interacted with. What follows is a purposeful review of our own actions, thoughts, and intentions towards others.
These studies also show that there is a universal experience of death that is meaningful, transcendent, positive, and transformative-not hallucinatory, delusional, or illusory as previously imagined. With empirical research and gripping anecdotes that explore the notion of a collective unconsciousness. Dr. Parnia shows how we can access this deeper wisdom to lead more intentional lives.
An award-winning science writer discovers she's faceblind and investigates the neuroscience of sight, memory, and imagination-while solving some long-running mysteries about her own life.
Science writer Sadie Dingfelder has always known that she's a little quirky. But while she's made some strange mistakes over the years, it's not until she accosts a stranger in a grocery store (whom she thinks is her husband) that she realizes something is amiss.
With a mixture of curiosity and dread, Dingfelder starts contacting neuroscientists and lands herself in scores of studies. In the course of her nerdy midlife crisis, she discovers that she is emphatically not neurotypical. She has prosopagnosia (faceblindness), stereoblindness, aphantasia (an inability to create mental imagery), and a condition called severely deficient autobiographical memory.
As Dingfelder begins to see herself more clearly, she discovers a vast well of hidden neurodiversity in the world at large. There are so many different flavors of human consciousness, and most of us just assume that ours is the norm. Can you visualize? Do you have an inner monologue? Are you always 100 percent sure whether you know someone or not? If you can perform any of these mental feats, you may be surprised to learn that many people-including Dingfelder-can't.
A lively blend of personal narrative and popular science, Do I Know You? is the story of one unusual mind's attempt to understand itself-and a fascinating exploration of the remarkable breadth of human experience.
A radically thought-provoking account of a major shift in how we understand our Earth, not simply as an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather as a planet that came to life.
The notion of a living world is one of humanity's oldest beliefs. Though once scorned by many scientists, the concept of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. Life not only adapts to its surroundings-it also shapes them in dramatic and enduring ways. Over billions of years, life transformed a lump of orbiting rock into our cosmic oasis, breathing oxygen into the atmosphere, concocting the modern oceans, and turning rock into fertile soil. Life is intertwined with Earth's capacity to regulate its climate and maintain balance.
Through compelling narrative, evocative descriptions, and lucid explanations, Jabr shows us how Earth became the world we've known, how it is rapidly becoming a very different world, and how we will determine what kind of Earth our descendants inherit for millennia to come.
By early morning of June 30, 1860, a large crowd began to congregate in front of Oxford University's brand-new Museum of Natural History. The occasion was the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the subject of discussion was Charles Darwin's new treatise: fact or fiction?
Darwin claimed to have solved 'that mystery of mysteries,' introducing a logical explanation of the origin of species-how they adapted, even transmogrified, through natural selection. At stake, on that summer's day of spirited debate, was the very foundation of modern biology, not to mention the future of the church. Without fear of exaggeration, Darwin's thesis would forever change our understanding of the life sciences and the natural world. And yet the author himself was nowhere to be found in the debate hall-instead, he was miles away, seeking respite from a spate of illnesses that had plagued him for much of his adult life.
In Origin Story, medical historian Howard Markel recounts the two-year period (1858 to 1860) of Darwin's writing of On the Origin of Species through its spectacular success and controversy. Simultaneously, Markel delves into the mysterious health symptoms Darwin developed, combing the literature to emerge with a cogent diagnosis of a case that has long fascinated medical historians.
An eye-opening account of what the left and right get wrong about sex and gender—and how we can be a thoughtful, sex-smart society.
On Sex and Gender focuses on three sequential and consequential questions: What is sex as opposed to gender? How does sex matter in our everyday lives? And how should it be reflected in law and policy? All three have been front-and-center in American life and politics since the rise of the trans rights movement: They are included in both major parties' political platforms. They are the subject of ongoing litigation in the federal courts and of highly contentious legislation on Capitol Hill. And they are a pivotal issue in the culture wars between left and right playing out around dinner tables, on campuses and school boards, on op-ed pages, and in corporate handbooks.
Doriane Coleman challenges both sides to chart a better way. In a book that is equal parts scientific explanation, historical examination, and personal reflection, she argues that denying biological sex and focusing only on gender would have detrimental effects on women's equal opportunity, on men's future prospects, and on the health and welfare of society. Structural sexism needed to be dismantled—a true achievement of feminism and an ongoing fight—but going forward we should be sex smart, not sex blind.
This book is a clear guide for reasonable Americans on sex and gender—something everyone wants to understand but is terrified to discuss. Coleman shows that the science is settled, but equally that there is a middle ground where common sense reigns and we can support transgender people without denying the facts of human biology. She livens her narrative with a sequence of portraits of exceptional human beings from legal pioneers like Myra Bradwell and Ketanji Brown Jackson to champion athletes like Caster Semenya and Cate Campbell to civil rights giants like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Pauli Murray. Above all, Coleman reminds us that sex not only exists, but is also good—and she shows how we can get both sex and gender right for society.
A narrative investigation into the new science of plant intelligence and sentience, from National Association of Science Writers Award winner and Livingston Award finalist Zoe Schlanger'.
Look at the green organism across the room or through the window: the potted plant, or the grass, or a tree. Think how a life spent constantly growing yet rooted in a single spot comes with tremendous challenges. To meet them, plants have come up with some of the most creative methods for surviving of any living thing, us included. Many are so ingenious that they seem nearly impossible.
There is no doubt that plants are important: plants, or their green precursors the blue-green algae and algae themselves, have produced all the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, allowing animals to evolve.
But did you know they can communicate when they are being eaten, allowing nearby plants to bolster their defences. They move and that movement stops when they are anaesthetised, just like animals. They also use electricity for internal communication, just like animals. They can hear the sounds of caterpillars eating, just like animals. Plants can remember the last time they have been visited by a bee and how many times they have been visited, so have a concept of time and can count, just like animals. Plants can not only communicate with each other, they can also communicate with other species of plant and animals, allowing them to manipulate animals to defend or fertilise them. This is unlike most other animals.
So look again at the potted plant, or the grass or the tree and wonder: Are plants intelligent? Perhaps even more fundamental is are they conscious?
Is the only real difference between animals and plants that plants are light eaters, animals aren’t.
The Light Eaters will completely redefine how you think of plants. Packed with the most amazing stories of the life of plants it will open your eyes to the extraordinary green life forms we share the planet with. Of course, like animals, plants can also detect light.
Toddlers hold the secrets to having more fun and living a fulfilling life. These are secrets we once knew and
ones that a Harvard-trained physician can help us rediscover.
Terrible twos, temper tantrums, and grocery store meltdowns are usually the first things that come to mind when
people think of toddlers. But pediatric emergency medicine physician and researcher Dr. Hasan Merali has long
thought toddlers are among the best people in our society and adults could do well to learn from them. These
extraordinary youngsters can be impulsive, yes, but with this comes a remarkable ability to take risks and ask
questions—two qualities that can help us enjoy life more. Toddlers act kindly toward strangers, are eager to
work with others to solve problems, and demonstrate extraordinary dedication and perseverance. These are
all traits that many of us aspire to have in order to improve both our personal and professional lives.
To unpack this behavior, Dr. Merali includes many humorous examples from his experience as a pediatrician
and father, but the core lessons are drawn from two decades worth of fascinating and surprising studies in
child psychology and development. Merali connects these studies to research about adults to create the first
book to offer adults important lessons that can be gleaned from toddlers. Toddlers can teach you many things,
including how to:
Lose weight naturally
Sleep better
Build stronger friendships
Improve teamwork
Be more productive
Have more fun, and
Live a more fulfilling life
Sleep Well, Take Risks, Squish the Peas shows us how toddlers bring out the best in humanity and how we
can, too. It’s a whole new way of looking at and learning from toddlers.
A thought-provoking and eye-opening work in the vein of Sapiens, Walking the Bible, and The Language of God that offers a compelling argument for how science is not only compatible with faith, but can enrich it.
For more than a century, philosophers and scientists have wrestled with reconciling evolution and religion, a debate that continues today. James Stump, the Vice President at BioLogos—a nonprofit started by Francis Collins, the scientist who led the international Human Genome Project and later served as Director of the National Institutes of Health—is both a man of science and a man of faith. In this moving and deeply thoughtful book, he shows Christians a hopeful way forward out of the morass.
The Sacred Chain seeks to open the dialogue between theology and science, to be a bridge to understanding and a view of God and nature that encompasses both. Stump draws on philosophy, theology, and the latest scientific research to tackle some of the biggest questions facing humanity and people of faith today, involving issues such as:
How to consider the Bible
How to understand the long history of the universe
How a mind or soul could have evolved
How evolution factors into faith
How a species is defined
How a good and loving God could create a world rife with pain
Deeply researched, wonderfully accessible, and both intellectually and emotionally engaging, The Sacred Chain provides clarity in our uncertain times, revealing a bigger picture of our world and our place within it. It is a panorama consistent with the scientific findings about who we are and where we come from that can actually bolster our faith as it engages our curiosity about ourselves, our universe, and the nature of existence itself.
The Sacred Chain is illustrated with 30 black-and-white line drawings.
Can you tell a tomato from a grape? Lawn from an oak tree? Then congratulations - you are a botanist.
Self-confessed bad birdwatcher Simon Barnes thought he knew nothing about plants. He didn't object to them: trees are interesting, because birds perch in them; plants are useful as they create habitats and birds live in habitats. But while admiring the tenacity of some sea kale and yellow-horned poppy to thrive on an inhospitable shingle beach, he was struck by a truth - it all begins with plants.
In this funny and inspiring book, Simon Barnes tells the story of a lifelong relationship with plants, and the realisation of the fact. Taking us from thinking ourselves ignorant about plants, to gently starting to observe seasons, patterns and places, Barnes guides us on a journey to better observing the beauty and diversity of the natural world.
Both a primer on how to appreciate the plants around us and an exploration on how they make our external and interior worlds, How to be a Bad Botanist opens our eyes to the wonders around us. Plants are everywhere, in every part of your life, and you know more than you think.
