Stupid People And Why You Cannot Have Nice Things

Stupid people are everywhere, constantly ruining everything. Politics, religion, science, and social interactions are broken by stupid behavior so often that good sense is the exception rather than the rule in any of them. Sometimes we are the stupid people doing all of that. Even the allegedly brightest among you have likely reduced much of the world down to an overly simplistic all-or-nothing mentality that will only get you so far (at most to the presidency). This book is evidence-free, refusing to scare you with any pesky research that you will not understand. After luring you in, I will kick you in the pants and insult you mercilessly because nobody else has ever told you the plain old truth about anything. Seriously, somebody should tell you "No!" and mean it at least once a day. If you are already a parent who really takes part in raising kids, you can disregard this last part. This book refuses to fix you, because digits and pieces of paper do not do such things. Instead, I will explain why you may be unhappy due to your unquestioning acceptance of incredibly stupid childish assumptions. If you are unhappy, you may find reasons for happiness here, but that will be mainly because you will notice how much better you feel after the kicks in the butt have stopped.

Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And yet a dose of stupidity can be useful and produce good, short-term results: it can nurture harmony, encourage people to get on with the job and drive success. This is the stupidity paradox. The Stupidity Paradox tackles head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity. You'll discover what makes a workplace mindless, why being stupid might be a good thing in the short term but a disaster in the longer term, and how to make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging thoughtless conformity. It shows how harmony and action in the workplace can be balanced with a culture of questioning and challenge. The book is a wake-up call for smart organisations and smarter people. It encourages us to use our intelligence fully for the sake of personal satisfaction, organisational success and the flourishing of society as a whole.

In this humorous of modern fatherhood, Edwards shares his stories as a parent.

It's Not Rocket Surgery, It's Brain Science! If you have a brain (spoiler alert: if you're reading this, you do!), you've probably wondered how and why it works the way it does (and why it sometimes...doesn't). What do dreams mean? Why do we fall in love? Can doing brain-teasers make us smarter? What about "smart drugs"? Dr. Alison Caldwell, a neuroscientist and Micah Caldwell, a licensed clinical therapist (and, together, the hosts of the popular YouTube series Neuro Transmissions) are here to answer those questions, and hundreds more you never thought to ask, such as...does your cat really love you? What can therapists learn from TRON? Can my diet make me smarter? Why do some people really like feet? And much, much more. Book jacket.

Reluctant family law attorney Jamie Quinn is loving life - and why wouldn't she? Her boyfriend Kip is back from Australia, her long-lost dad finally has his visa and she's about to start her dream job at an art foundation. It all falls apart when Jamie is accused of stealing priceless art from a rare book collection. If she can't find out who framed her, she can kiss her dream job goodbye, and her law license too. Meanwhile, Kip has problems of his own. Now an environmental activist, he uncovers a deadly secret - one that just might get him killed. Jamie's in trouble, Kip's in danger, and Duke Broussard has gone AWOL. How could Jamie's favorite P.I. abandon her at a time like this?

All six books in 'Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries', a series by Barbara Venkataraman, now in one volume! Death By Didgeridoo: Attorney Jamie Quinn is on a six-month hiatus from practicing law to deal with her beloved mother's death. Rarely leaving the house, she shares most of her days with her late mother's cranky cat. But soon, Jamie is forced into action by a frantic call from her Aunt Peg, whose autistic son Adam is in police custody and suspected of murdering his music teacher. It's up to Jamie to find the real killer, but can she piece together the evidence and bring the murderer to justice before it's too late? The Case Of The Killer Divorce: When a bitter divorce case turns into a murder investigation, Jamie's client becomes the prime suspect. When she can't untangle truth from lies, Jamie enlists the help of Duke Broussard, her favorite private investigator, to try to clear her client's name. Jamie's also hoping that in his spare time, Duke can help her find her long-lost father. But can the two find out who the killer is, and bring him to justice? Peril In The Park: Someone has decided to make life difficult for Jamie Quinn's boyfriend, Kip Simons: the new director of Broward County parks. There is trouble in the park, but who's the culprit? Is it the angry supervisor passed over for promotion, or the disgruntled employee Kip recently fired? Or maybe there's someone with an even bigger ax to grind. In any case, there's a dead guy in the park and Kip has gone missing. With the help of her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie must race against the clock to find Kip before it's too late. Engaged In Danger: Life is finally good for reluctant family law attorney James Quinn. Her father may get his visa soon, her boyfriend is the bomb, and her law practice is growing like crazy. But when she agrees to take on a high-profile divorce case, everything falls apart. What looked like an opportunity to work with her friend Grace and make some serious bucks has turned into a deadly game, one that could destroy their friendship and tear their town apart. Why couldn't Jamie just leave well enough alone? Jeopardy In July: The fifth book in the Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries series leads Jamie to La Vida Boca: a posh assisted living facility in Boca Raton where old people are dying at an alarming rate. With its sterling reputation, dedicated staff and top-notch medical care, none of the deaths are considered suspicious. But when members of the poker club start to die under strange circumstances, attorney Jamie Quinn finds herself once again embroiled in a mystery. With help from her new friend, Jessie Sandler, and her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, can Jamie stop the killer in time, or will she become the next victim? Malice In Miami: Reluctant family law attorney Jamie Quinn is loving life - and why wouldn't she? Her boyfriend Kip is back from Australia, her long-lost dad finally has his visa and she's about to start her dream job. It all falls apart when Jamie is accused of stealing priceless art from a rare book collection. If she can't find out who framed her, she can kiss her dream job goodbye, and her law license too. Meanwhile, Kip has problems of his own. Now an environmental activist, he uncovers a deadly secret - one that just might get him killed. Jamie's in trouble, Kip's in danger, and Duke Broussard has gone AWOL. How could Jamie's favorite P.I. abandon her at a time like this?

Internet trolls live to upset as many people as possible, using all the technical and psychological tools at their disposal. They gleefully whip the media into a frenzy over a fake teen drug crisis; they post offensive messages on Facebook memorial pages, traumatizing grief-stricken friends and family; they use unabashedly racist language and images. They take pleasure in ruining a complete stranger's day and find amusement in their victim's anguish. In short, trolling is the obstacle to a kinder, gentler Internet. To quote a famous Internet meme, trolling is why we can't have nice things online. Or at least that's what we have been led to believe. In this provocative book, Whitney Phillips argues that trolling, widely condemned as obscene and deviant, actually fits comfortably within the contemporary media landscape. Trolling may be obscene, but, Phillips argues, it isn't all that deviant. Trolls' actions are born of and fueled by culturally sanctioned impulses -- which are just as damaging as the trolls' most disruptive behaviors. Phillips describes, for example, the relationship between trolling and sensationalist corporate media -- pointing out that for trolls, exploitation is a leisure activity; for media, it's a business strategy. She shows how trolls, "the grimacing poster children for a socially networked world," align with social media. And she documents how trolls, in addition to parroting media tropes, also offer a grotesque pantomime of dominant cultural tropes, including gendered notions of dominance and success and an ideology of entitlement. We don't just have a trolling problem, Phillips argues; we have a culture problem. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things isn't only about trolls; it's about a culture in which trolls thrive.

“If you’ve been looking for something different to level up your health, fitness, and personal growth, this is it.”—Melissa Urban, Whole30 CEO and New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Boundaries “Michael Easter’s genius is that he puts data around the edges of what we intuitively believe. His work has inspired many to change their lives for the better.”—Dr. Peter Attia, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlive Discover the evolutionary mind and body benefits of living at the edges of your comfort zone and reconnecting with the wild—from the author of Scarcity Brain, coming in September! In many ways, we’re more comfortable than ever before. But could our sheltered, temperature-controlled, overfed, underchallenged lives actually be the leading cause of many our most urgent physical and mental health issues? In this gripping investigation, award-winning journalist Michael Easter seeks out off-the-grid visionaries, disruptive genius researchers, and mind-body conditioning trailblazers who are unlocking the life-enhancing secrets of a counterintuitive solution: discomfort. Easter’s journey to understand our evolutionary need to be challenged takes him to meet the NBA’s top exercise scientist, who uses an ancient Japanese practice to build championship athletes; to the mystical country of Bhutan, where an Oxford economist and Buddhist leader are showing the world what death can teach us about happiness; to the outdoor lab of a young neuroscientist who’s found that nature tests our physical and mental endurance in ways that expand creativity while taming burnout and anxiety; to the remote Alaskan backcountry on a demanding thirty-three-day hunting expedition to experience the rewilding secrets of one of the last rugged places on Earth; and more. Along the way, Easter uncovers a blueprint for leveraging the power of discomfort that will dramatically improve our health and happiness, and perhaps even help us understand what it means to be human. The Comfort Crisis is a bold call to break out of your comfort zone and explore the wild within yourself.