John Brockman

Featuring a foreword by David Brooks, This Will Make You Smarter presents brilliant--but accessible--ideas to expand every mind. What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit? This is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, posed to the world's most influential thinkers. Their visionary answers flow from the frontiers of psychology, philosophy, economics, physics, sociology, and more. Surprising and enlightening, these insights will revolutionize the way you think about yourself and the world. Contributors include: Daniel Kahneman on the "focusing illusion" Jonah Lehrer on controlling attention Richard Dawkins on experimentation Aubrey De Grey on conquering our fear of the unknown Martin Seligman on the ingredients of well-beingNicholas Carr on managing "cognitive load" Steven Pinker on win-win negotiating Daniel Goleman on understanding our connection to the natural worldMatt Ridley on tapping collective intelligence Lisa Randall on effective theorizing Brian Eno on "ecological vision" J. Craig Venter on the multiple possible origins of life Helen Fisher on temperament Sam Harris on the flow of thought Lawrence Krauss on living with uncertainty

Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Chris Anderson, Nassim Taleb, and nearly 150 other intellectual rock stars reveal how the internet is changing our minds, culture, and future, in John Brockman's latest compendium from Harper Perennial and Edge.org.

In this fascinating volume, today's foremost scientists discuss their own versions and visions of Einstein: how he has influenced their worldviews, their ideas, their science, and their professional and personal lives. These twenty-four essays are a testament to the power of scientific legacy and are essential reading for scientist and layperson alike. Contributors include: - Roger Highfield on the Einstein myth- John Archibald Wheeler on his meetings with Einstein- Gino C. Segr , Lee Smolin, and Anton Zeilinger on Einstein's difficulties with quantum theory- Leon M. Lederman on the special theory of relativity- Frank J. Tipler on why Einstein should be seen as a scientific reactionary rather than a scientific revolutionary

In a provocative series of essays, more than one hundred of the world's leading thinkers--including Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, Freeman Dyson, Martin Rees, and others both in and outside the world of science--reveal what they believe despite a current lack of supporting evidence about such topics as the future of humankind, the fate of the universe, extraterrestrial life, and more. Original. 25,000 first printing.

Contemporary disaster investigation reports into the Shuttle, Three Mile Island, or the World Trade Centre did not happen by chance, but were the result of an evolution of the discourse communities involved with investigating technological accidents. The relationships of private companies, coroners, outside experts, and government investigators all had to be developed and experimented with before a genre of investigation reports could exist. This book is the story of the evolution of these investigation discourse communities in published reports written between 1833 and 1879. Using the reports generated by seven different accidents on railroads and steamboats between 1833 and 1876, it is possible to observe the changes in how these reports interacted and changed over the course of the nineteenth century: The Explosion of the Steamboat New England in the Connecticut River, 1833; The Explosion of the Locomotive Engine Richmond near Reading Pennsylvania, 1844; The Explosion of the Steam Boat Moselle in Cincinatti, 1838; The Camden and Amboy Railroad Collision in Burlington, New Jersey, 1855; The Gasconade Bridge Collapse on the Pacific Railroad in Missouri, 1855; The Eastern Railroad Collision in Revere, Massachusetts, 1871; The Ashtabula Railroad Bridge Collapse in Ohio, 1876

Thirty-five years ago, C. P. Snow, in a now famous essay, wrote about the polarization of the "two cultures" -- literary intellectuals on the one hand, and scientists on the other. Although he hoped for the emergence of a "third culture" that would bridge the gap, it is only recently that science has changed the intellectual landscape. Brockman's thesis that science is emerging as the intellectual center of our society is brought to life vividly in "The Third Culture, " which weaves together the voices of some of today's most influential scientific figures, including: Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins on the implications of evolution Steven Pinker, Marvin Minsky, Daniel C. Dennett, and Roger Penrose on how the mind works Murray Gell-Mann and Stuart Kauffman on the new sciences of complexity"The Third Culture" is an honest picture of science in action. It is at once stimulating, challenging, and riveting.

New Essays in Technical and Scientific Communication represents the most important collection of writings about technical communications ever compiled. Focusing on a wide range of theoretical and practical issues, these essays reflect the rigor, vitality, and interdisciplinary nature of modern technical communications. This represents a collection of the very best scholarly work being done.