Anxiety And The Equation

A man and his equation: the anxiety-plagued nineteenth-century physicist who contributed significantly to our understanding of the second law of thermodynamics. Ludwig Boltzmann's grave in Vienna's Central Cemetery bears a cryptic epitaph: S = k log W. This equation was Boltzmann's great discovery, and it contributed significantly to our understanding of the second law of thermodynamics. In Anxiety and the Equation, Eric Johnson tells the story of a man and his equation: the anxiety-plagued nineteenth-century physicist who did his most important work as he struggled with mental illness. Johnson explains that “S” in Boltzmann's equation refers to entropy, and that entropy is the central quantity in the second law of thermodynamics. The second law is always on, running in the background of our lives, providing a way to differentiate between past and future. We know that the future will be a state of higher entropy than the past, and we have Boltzmann to thank for discovering the equation that underlies that fundamental trend. Johnson, accessibly and engagingly, reassembles Boltzmann's equation from its various components and presents episodes from Boltzmann's life—beginning at the end, with “Boltzmann Kills Himself” and “Boltzmann Is Buried (Not Once, But Twice).” Johnson explains the second law in simple terms, introduces key concepts through thought experiments, and explores Boltzmann's work. He argues that Boltzmann, diagnosed by his contemporaries as neurasthenic, suffered from an anxiety disorder. He was, says Johnson, a man of reason who suffered from irrational concerns about his work, worrying especially about opposition from the scientific establishment of the day. Johnson's clear and concise explanations will acquaint the nonspecialist reader with such seemingly esoteric concepts as microstates, macrostates, fluctuations, the distribution of energy, log functions, and equilibrium. He describes Boltzmann's relationships with other scientists, including Max Planck and Henri Poincaré, and, finally, imagines “an alternative ending,” in which Boltzmann lived on and died of natural causes.

Explains the mathematical properties of universal emotional truths, describing how during a time of personal loss the author developed "emotional equations" as a mechanism for recognizing changeable and unchangeable factors in his healing.

“There's no writer alive like de Botton” (Chicago Tribune), and now this internationally heralded author turns his attention to the insatiable human quest for status—a quest that has less to do with material comfort than love. Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. For in its pages, a master explicator of our civilization and its discontents explores the notion that our pursuit of status is actually a pursuit of love, ranging through Western history and thought from St. Augustine to Andrew Carnegie and Machiavelli to Anthony Robbins. Whether it’s assessing the class-consciousness of Christianity or the convulsions of consumer capitalism, dueling or home-furnishing, Status Anxiety is infallibly entertaining. And when it examines the virtues of informed misanthropy, art appreciation, or walking a lobster on a leash, it is not only wise but helpful.

Solving the Paleo Equation: Stress, Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep is the ultimate guide to customizing your diet and lifestyle practices to your unique physical and metabolic needs. You′ll learn how to maximize your health practices and minimize your time and effort—no more driving yourself to exhaustion in hardcore fitness classes. No more strict, unsustainable, and impractical approaches to nutrition, either. Solving the Paleo Equation will help you not only avoid the ravages of adrenal fatigue, low metabolism, dwindling sex drive, and sleep problems—all-too-common consequences of overzealous workout regimes—it will help you rehabilitate from the unhealthful “health” protocols you’ve pursued in the past. Throughout this book, naturopathic physician Dr. Garrett Smith and independent health researcher and bestselling author Matt Stone address the main areas that the “health seeker” often dangerously ignores, like: • Sleep: One simple change in your bedroom could restore a normal cortisol rhythm! • Stress: Practices to keep your home and workspaces from raising your adrenaline and sapping your testosterone! • Exercise: Simple, free, reliable ways to self-monitor to avoid burnout and overtraining, regardless of the type of exercise! • Nutrition: Learn about the four “Anti-Stress S’s” and their powerful affects in the body! Instead of regurgitating the old-school saw to “eat clean and exercise more,” Smith and Stone focus on the basic pillars of true health and outstanding physical and mental function: sleep, stress, exercise, and nutrition. By analyzing and improving the fundamental areas of physical function—sleep quality, sexual performance, digestion, blood sugar regulation, body temperature, etc.—virtually every system of the body dramatically improves as well. In Solving the Paleo Equation, Smith and Stone go beyond simple Paleo theory and take readers on a journey toward a practical and useful understanding of how their bodies work. Using the simple tools of a thermometer and basic biofeedback markers (urine concentration, temperature of hands and feet, mood stability, bowel transit time, etc.), you will learn how to eat and live the most healthfully for YOU. Solving the Paleo Equation is not a health formula, philosophy, cult, fad, or movement, but an education. It’s the manual on do-it-yourself health enhancement.

DON'T WAIT TO READ THIS BOOK: The world's leading expert on procrastination uses his groundbreaking research to offer understanding on a matter that bedevils us all. Writing with humour, humanity and solid scientific information reminiscent of Stumbling on Happiness and Freakonomics, Piers Steel explains why we knowingly and willingly put off a course of action despite recognizing we'll be worse off for it. For those who surf the Web instead of finishing overdue assignments, who always say diets start tomorrow, who stay up late watching TV to put off going to sleep, The Procrastination Equation explains why we do what we do—or in this case don't—and why in Western societies we're in the midst of an escalating procrastination epidemic. Dr. Piers Steel takes on the myths and misunderstandings behind procrastination and motivation. With accessible prose and the benefits of new scientific research, he provides insight into why we procrastinate even though the result is that we are less happy, healthy, and even wealthy. Who procrastinates and why? How many ways, big and small, do we procrastinate? How can we stop doing it? The reasons are part cultural, part psychological, part biological. And, with a million new ways to distract ourselves in the digitized world, more of us are potentially damaging ourselves by putting things off. But Steel not only analyzes the factors that weigh us down but the things that motivate us—including understanding the value of procrastination.

This book is full of creative ideas for use with children who have difficulty in coping with change, stress and normal levels of anxiety. Supported by a comprehensive but accessible theory section, the practical exercises are a simple and fun way of helping children to learn healthy stress management strategies. Deborah Plummer offers over 100 activities and games specifically aimed at helping children to build emotional resilience. With a mixture of short, snappy activities and longer guided visualizations, these exercises are suitable for use with individuals or groups, and many are appropriate for use with children with complex needs or speech and language difficulties. This unique photocopiable activity book will be an invaluable resource for parents, carers, teachers, therapists and anyone looking for creative, enjoyable ways of helping children to cope with change, stress and anxiety. It is primarily designed for use with individuals and groups of children aged 7-11, but the ideas can easily be adapted for both older and younger children and children with learning difficulties.

Ludwig Boltzmann, an Austrian physicist is considered the forgotten genius who set the atomic revolution in motion. However, he was unaware his vision would lead to the greatest chain of scientific discoveries ever made. His story is presented in this combination of expert storytelling with a deep understanding of physics.

“Anyone can write a blog post, but not everyone can get it liked thirty-five thousand times, and not everyone can get seventy-five thousand subscribers. But the reason we’ve done these things isn’t because we’re special. It’s because we tried and failed, the same way you learn to ride a bike. We tried again and again, and now we have an idea how to get from point A to point B faster because of it.” Three short years ago, when Chris Brogan and Julien Smith wrote their bestseller, Trust Agents, being interesting and human on the Web was enough to build a significant audience. But now, everybody has a platform. The problem is that most of them are just making noise. In The Impact Equation, Brogan and Smith show that to make people truly care about what you have to say, you need more than just a good idea, trust among your audience, or a certain number of fol­lowers. You need a potent mix of all of the above and more. Use the Impact Equation to figure out what you’re doing right and wrong. Apply it to a blog, a tweet, a video, or a mainstream-media advertising cam­paign. Use it to explain why a feature in a national newspaper that reaches millions might have less impact than a blog post that reaches a thousand passionate subscribers. Consider the phenomenally successful British singer Adele. For most musicians, onstage banter basically consists of yelling “Hello, Cleveland!” But Adele connects with her audience, pausing between songs to discuss a falling-out with her friends, or the drama of a break up. Each of these moments comes off as if she were talking directly with you, and you can easily relate. Adele has Impact. As the traditional channels for marketing, selling, and influencing disappear and more people inter­act mainly online, the very nature of attention is changing. The Impact Equation will give you the tools and metrics that guarantee your message will be heard.