Critical Masses And Critical Choices

Critical Masses and Critical Choices examines American attitudes on issues of national and international security. Based on over 13,000 in-depth interviews conducted over a ten-year period, Kerry Herron and Hank Jenkins-Smith have created a unique and rich set of data providing insights into public opinion on nuclear deterrence, terrorism, and other security issues from the end of the Cold War to the present day. Their goal is to shed light not only on changes in public opinion about a range of security-related policy issues, but also to gauge the depth of the public’s actual understanding of these matters. Prior to this study, the predominant view held that the American people were incapable of articulate and consistent thought on complex political subjects. This book overturns that notion and demonstrates the sometimes surprisingly cogent positions held by ordinary members of the public on intricate national issues. The book’s solid data, based on long-term studies, combined with crisp writing and often startling conclusions, will appeal to a wide range of readers: scholars, journalists, and policy makers. Critical Masses and Critical Choices is the definitive account of the change in public perceptions on security threats and reactive strategies from the early 1990s to the post 9/11 period. This broad and highly original study will prove an indispensable tool for policy makers and scholars alike.

"Is there a 'physics of society'? Ranging from Hobbes and Adam Smith to modern work on traffic flow and market trading, and across economics, sociology, psychology, Phillip Ball shows how much we can understand of human behaviour when we cease to try to predict and analyse the behaviour of indiviuals and look to the impact of hundreds, thousands or millions of individual human decisions, whether in circumstances in which human being co-operate or conflict, when their aggregate behaviour is constructive and when it is destructive. By perhaps Britain's leading young science writer, this is a deeply thought-provoking book, causing us to examine our own behaviour, whether in buying the Harry Potter book, voting for a particular party or responding to the lures of advertisers."

Documenting 10 years of fun, radical, spontaneous bicycle demonstrations that challenge the autocentric world.

The problem of collective action is that each group member wants other members to make necessary sacrifices while he or she 'free rides', reaping the benefits of collective action without doing the work. Therefore, no one does the work and the common interest is not realized. This book analyses the social pressure whereby groups solve the problem of collective action.

This book investigates how citizens in the United States and Russia have used the democratic process to force their governments to address the horrendous environmental damage caused by the nuclear arms race. It is the first in-depth comparative study of environmental activism and democracy in the two countries. Critical Masses focuses on two crucial areas--the Hanford Reservation in Washington State and the Mayak Complex in Russia--that were at the heart of their nations' nuclear weapons programs, examining how the surrounding communities were affected. It explores nuclear weapons production, how both governments concealed environmental and health dangers from people living nearby, and how Russian and American citizens think about environmental issues. And it provides insights into the process of democratization in Russia and the limits of democracy in the United States, as well as the development of nuclear policy in the post-Cold War era.

Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

Third World superweapon proliferation is more frightening than the cold war arms race. This new arms race is a genocidal contest, fueled by hatred and meant to settle old racial, ethnic, and religious scores.

Ever since the horrors of 9/11, Brian had been lost. His quest for purpose led him to France in the spring of 2003. There, everything changed when he joined with fellow seekers-Katrina, a German physicist; Hadji, an Indian engineer; Alia, a Brazilian pilot; and Qui Jen, a Japanese ninja-as part of the Holistic Group dedicated to the transformation of the planet through the creation of Critical Mass. As foretold in ancient texts, Critical Mass is both a beautifully simple and incomprehensibly complex concept for change. To achieve this rare state, 3,511 people must be trained to come together in a single thought. If this can be accomplished, that one thought will manifest as a new reality, a self-aware planet, a Global Brain. Brian is challenged to accept the responsibilities of the Uniter, the one who would come and start the world anew. But the Monarchists, a group with considerably less philanthropic goals, have vowed to stop at nothing to ensure that their vision is the one that comes to pass. The first group to achieve Critical Mass will win the planet. In order to realize his spiritual potential to save humanity, Brian and his crew travel the world in search of knowledge to use the Tree of Life, an ancient map of consciousness. Can they achieve their goals before the Monarchists achieve theirs? Only time and fate will tell ...