"In today's technological society, with an unprecedented amount of information at our fingertips, learning plays a more central role than ever. In How We Learn, Stanislas Dehaene decodes its biological mechanisms, delving into the neuronal, synaptic, and molecular processes taking place in the brain. He explains why youth is such a sensitive period, during which brain plasticity is maximal, but also assures us that our abilities continue into adulthood,...

First published in 1841, this history chronicles the popular foolishness of Mackay's day. It is divided into three broad categories, including 'National Delusions,' 'Peculiar Follies,' and 'Philosophical Delusions.' The author discusses and usually debunks a wide variety of subjects and events. These include economic bubbles like the tulip craze of Holland in 1637 or the Mississippi Company financial bubble of 1719; alchemy, which was of particular...

Judge Not: How Invisible Situations Shape Our Lives by David, J. Y. Combs, PhD explores the vast, and often invisible, power that situations have in shaping our lives. Human beings tend to assume that the behavior we observe in other people is a window into who they are. So, when we see a person engage in a good behavior, we tend to think that they are a good person. If we see a bad behavior... we assume the person is bad, flawed, or defective. But...

Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited. "The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the "story" of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare's language intact. Specific stage directions...

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. These classic essays address concerns of religious faith from a philosophical perspective. "The Will to Believe" is a defense of the legitimacy of religious faith-though not as a defense of the validity of such faith. James responds to the often corrosive effect of rationality on religious faith by arguing that it is most rational to choose faith. He continues his...

Robert Ornstein and Paul Ehrlich explain that we are causing our own problems because we have created a world where our basic mental functions are no longer suitable. We evolved over a period of millions of years to survive in small tribal families on the wild grassy plains of East Africa. Now the way we live has nothing to do with that time and place, but the mental tools that were, developed to survive on the savanna have remained unchanged. These...

La obra resume la extensa trayectoria intelectual, académica y clínica del autor, de treinta años de duración en la investigación de la esperanza. Presenta los fundamentos epistemológicos de la esperanza y deriva el marco teórico referencial a partir de la cosmovisión bíblica. Se precisan los contenidos semánticos en una definición operativa de la esperanza-desesperanza integrada por ocho dimensiones dialécticas básicas. Se operacionalizó...

Uncovers the roots and consequences of and offers solutions to the widespread alienation and disconnection that beset modern society Since the beginning of the 21st century, people have become increasingly disconnected from themselves, each other, and the world around them. A "crisis of connection" stemming from growing alienation, social isolation, and fragmentation characterizes modern society. The signs of this crisis of connection are everywhere,...