Thinking Beyond The Unthinkable

STEVENSON/THINKING BEYOND THE UNTH

Discover how human beings react to danger–and what makes the difference between life and death Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? In her quest to answer these questions, award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley traces human responses to some of recent history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. To understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts. She even has her own brain examined by military researchers and experiences, through realistic simulations, what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire. Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better–with just a little help.

Critical thinking, proactive decision-making, and dynamic creativity are thinking skills essential to success in our professional and personal endeavors. Few of us, however, know how to maximize these skills at critical moments. In Why Didn't I Think of That? Charles McCoy, who honed his critical thinking techniques on the bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court, shows you how to sharpen your left-brain power -- observation, accuracy, and analysis -- to achieve optimum results. McCoy creatively entertains as he teaches, offering insight gained from prominent cases over which he has presided. He draws examples from catastrophic events (Exxon Valdez oil spill, Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster), real business problems encountered by major corporations and government agencies (Pepsi, Citibank, the U.S. Marines, NASA), the civil rights struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as fictional events (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and It's a Wonderful Life).

Challenging Future Practice Possibilities examines influences that are maintaining the status quo and others that are pushing interest-driven change.

An eloquent discussion of classical social theory from Charles Lemert. Ideal introduction for students.

'Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the street to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space.' Douglas Adams, Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy We human beings have trouble with infinity - yet infinity is a surprisingly human subject. Philosophers and mathematicians have gone mad contemplating its nature and complexity - yet it is a concept routinely used by schoolchildren. Exploring the infinite is a journey into paradox. Here is a quantity that turns arithmetic on its head, making it feasible that 1 = 0. Here is a concept that enables us to cram as many extra guests as we like into an already full hotel. Most bizarrely of all, it is quite easy to show that there must be something bigger than infinity - when it surely should be the biggest thing that could possibly be. Brian Clegg takes us on a fascinating tour of that borderland between the extremely large and the ultimate that takes us from Archimedes, counting the grains of sand that would fill the universe, to the latest theories on the physical reality of the infinite. Full of unexpected delights, whether St Augustine contemplating the nature of creation, Newton and Leibniz battling over ownership of calculus, or Cantor struggling to publicise his vision of the transfinite, infinity's fascination is in the way it brings together the everyday and the extraordinary, prosaic daily life and the esoteric. Whether your interest in infinity is mathematical, philosophical, spiritual or just plain curious, this accessible book offers a stimulating and entertaining read.

This much anticipated sequel to the New York Times Bestseller Impossible – a fantasy full of suspense, mystery, and romance – will appeal to fans of Beautiful Creatures, Raven Boys, and Wicked Lovely. Fenella was the first Scarborough girl to be cursed, hundreds of years ago, and she has been trapped in the faerie realm ever since, forced to watch generations of daughters try to break this same faerie curse that has enslaved them all. But now Fenella’s descendant, Lucy, has accomplished the impossible and broken the curse, so why is Fenella still trapped in Faerie? In her desperation, Fenella makes a deal with the faerie queen: If she can accomplish three acts of destruction, she will be free, at last, to die. What she doesn't realize is that these acts must be aimed at her own family – and if she fails, the consequences will be dire, for all of the Scarborough girls. How can she possibly choose to hurt her own cherished family – not to mention the new man whom she’s surprised to find herself falling in love with? But if she doesn’t go through with the tasks, how will she manage to save her dear ones?