A captivating collection of celestial questions from one of America's most prolific authors. With genius and insight, Isaac Asimov answers questions about science--and about life--with facinating theories and facts that promise to amaze and delight. From the beauty and mystery of a quasar to the dangers of nuclear fusion, Asimov explores both the macrocosm and the microcosm with wit and charm.

Sparkling with charm and the legendary Asimov wit, this remarkable collection of 17 essays delivers a delightful potpourri of chemical conundrums, galactic puzzles, and awesome astronomical anomalies. (Asimov is) as formidable and readable as ever.--Kirkus Reviews.

What is meant by the term "intelligence" and, once de- fined, how do we go about achieving a valid measurement of this faculty? This classic textbook, originally published in 1979, and now reissued with a new preface by Sybil Eysenck, incorporates a broad range of findings and reanalyzes much of the existing literature in this area. In The Structure and Measurement of Intelligence, Hans Eysenck draws on methods for determining the effect of genetics and environment on the development of intelligence and examines the validity of the term as defined in relation to internal as well as external criteria. He tests a number of hypotheses on intelligence against empirical research findings and considers various criticisms in detail. The significance of intelligence and its measurement in society are explored in depth. Eysenck greatly expands upon such questions as: Does IQ measure intelligence? How valid is the nature versus nurture argument? and, How might socioeconomic status influence one's intelligence? Designed primarily for students and scholars in psychology and education, this text will make thought-provoking reading for all concerned with the development and measurement of intelligence in the individual.

Groundbreaking research over the last 10 years has given rise to the hologenome concept of evolution. This concept posits that the holobiont (host plus all of its associated microorganisms) and its hologenome (sum of the genetic information of the host and its symbiotic microorganisms), acting in concert, function as a unique biological entity and therefore as a level of selection in evolution. All animals and plants harbor abundant and diverse microbiota, including viruses. Often the amount of symbiotic microorganisms and their combined genetic information far exceed that of their host. The microbiota with its microbiome, together with the host genome, can be transmitted from one generation to the next and thus propagate the unique properties of the holobiont. The microbial symbionts and the host interact in a cooperative way that affects the health of the holobiont within its environment. Beneficial microbiota protects against pathogens, provides essential nutrients, catabolizes complex polysaccharides, renders harmful chemicals inert, and contributes to the performance of the immune system. In humans and animals, the microbiota also plays a role in behavior. The sum of these cooperative interactions characterizes the holobiont as a unique biological entity. Genetic variation in the hologenome can be brought about by changes in either the host genome or the microbial population genomes (microbiome). Evolution by cooperation can occur by amplifying existing microbes, gaining novel microbiota and by acquiring microbial and viral genes. Under environmental stress, the microbiome can change more rapidly and in response to more processes than the host organism alone and thus influences the evolution of the holobiont. Prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics and phage therapy are discussed as applied aspects of the hologenome concept.

Realism and the Aim of Science is one of the three volumes of Karl Popper's Postscript to the Logic of scientific Discovery. The Postscript is the culmination of Popper's work in the philosophy of physics and a new famous attack on subjectivist approaches to philosophy of science.

Why do 70 percent of Americans believe in angels, while others are convinced that they were abducted by aliens? What makes people believe in improbable things when all the evidence points to the contrary? And don't almost all of us, at some time or another, engage in magical thinking? In Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, evolutionary biologist Lewis Wolpert delves into the important and timely debate over the nature of belief, looking at its psychological foundations to discover just what evolutionary purpose it could serve. Wolpert takes us through all that science can tell us about the beliefs we feel are instinctive. He deftly explores different types of belief those of children, of the religious, and of those suffering from psychiatric disorders and he asks whether it is possible to live without belief, or whether it is a necessary component of a functioning society."

This is a collection of essays covering a number of topics in science. Also use The Tragedy of the Moon.

The highly acclaimed first edition of this major work convincingly established Gerald Holton’s analysis of the ways scientific ideas evolve. His concept of “themata,” induced from case studies with special attention to the work of Einstein, has become one of the chief tools for understanding scientific progress. It is now one of the main approaches in the study of the initiation and acceptance of individual scientific insights. Three principal consequences of this perspective extend beyond the study of the history of science itself. It provides philosophers of science with the kind of raw material on which some of the best work in their field is based. It helps intellectual historians to redefine the place of modern science in contemporary culture by identifying influences on the scientific imagination. And it prompts educators to reexamine the conventional concepts of education in science. In this new edition, Holton has masterfully reshaped the contents and widened the coverage. Significant new material has been added, including a penetrating account of the advent of quantum physics in the United States, and a broad consideration of the integrity of science, as exemplified in the work of Niels Bohr. In addition, a revised introduction and a new postscript provide an updated perspective on the role of themata. The result of this thoroughgoing revision is an indispensable volume for scholars and students of scientific thought and intellectual history.

The Road to Infinity [paperback] Asimov, Isaac

Second printing of the paperback edition, with new cover.

It's a Wonderful Town! [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) Surprise! Surprise! [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) Making It! [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) Moving Ahead [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) To the Top [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright! [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) The Comet That Wasn't [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) The Sea-Green Planet [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1976) Discovery By Blink [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) Asimov's Corollary [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) The Magic Isle [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) The Dark Companion [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) Twinkle, Twinkle, Microwaves [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) The Final Collapse [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) Of Ice and Men [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) Oblique the Centric Globe [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977) The Opposite Poles [Asimov's Essays: F&SF] (1977)

Twenty-six essays probe the phenomena of the universe that have shaped and will shape the future of man from the development of multicellular life to twenty possible ways the world could end.

Reissued in a new trade paperback format and design, "This richly researched, sensitively edited, annotated volume portrays indelibly, in their own words, the lives of American black women before, during, and immediately after the Civil War. . . ". Following a successful run in New York, an acclaimed stage adaptation of this work is touring nationally in 1997. Photos.

An unsparing, incisive, yet ultimately hopeful look at how we can shed the American obsession with self-reliance that has made us less healthy, less secure, and less fulfilled The promise that you can "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is central to the story of the American Dream. It's the belief that if you work hard and rely on your own resources, you will eventually succeed. However, time and again we have seen how this foundational myth, with its emphasis on individual determination, brittle self-sufficiency, and personal accomplishment, does not help us. Instead, as income inequality rises around us, we are left with shame and self-blame for our condition. Acclaimed journalist Alissa Quart argues that at the heart of our suffering is a do-it-yourself ethos, the misplaced belief in our own independence and the conviction that we must rely on ourselves alone. Looking at a range of delusions and half solutions--from "grit" to the false Horatio Alger story to the rise of GoFundMe--Quart reveals how we have been steered away from robust social programs that would address the root causes of our problems. Meanwhile, the responsibility for survival has been shifted onto the backs of ordinary people, burdening generations with debt instead of providing the social safety net we so desperately need. Insightful, sharply argued, and characterized by Quart's lively writing and deep reporting, and for fans of Evicted and Nickel and Dimed, Bootstrapped is a powerful examination of what ails us at a societal level and a plan for how we can free ourselves from these self-defeating narratives.

First published in 1963, this title considers the philosophical problems encountered when attempting to provide a clear and general explanation of scientific principles, and the basic confrontation between such principles and experience. Beginning with a detailed introduction that considers various approaches to the philosophy and theory of science, Israel Scheffler then divides his study into three key sections - Explanation, Significance and Confirmation - that explore how these complex issues involved have been dealt with in contemporary research. This title, by one of America's leading philosophers, will provide a valuable analysis of the theory and problems surrounding the Philosophy of Science.

From stem cell research to global warming, human cloning, evolution, and beyond, political debates about science have raged in recent years - and, to the chagrin of most observers, have increasingly fallen into the familiar categories of America's culture wars. In Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy, Yuval Levin explores the complicated meanings of science and technology in American politics and finds that the science debates have a lot to teach us about our political life. These debates, Levin argues, reveal some serious challenges to American self-government, and put on stark display the deepest strengths and greatest weaknesses of both the left and the right. American life has been profoundly shaped by science and technology, and will be all the more so in the coming decades, making it crucial that we understand how to think and speak about science in politics. Yuval Levin's smart and eminently well-reasoned book makes the important point that the purpose of science is a moral one -- to improve human life -- and that judging what that involves is sometimes a job for more than science alone in a democratic society. Levin's insights speak directly to today's political debates and make his book a must-read for policymakers and all those who care about science and society. --Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House Imagining the Future goes far beyond the contemporary polarized debates over science to unpack the moral premises of the modern scientific project and its consequences for American democracy. In the process, Yuval Levin provides us with a deep understanding of policy issues from genetic engineering to global warming. --Francis Fukuyama, Johns Hopkins University This book is important to the thinking of both progressives and conservatives. Clearly and incisively, it shows how science and technology are shaping humanity's future and world views. Levin alerts democratic societies that human dignity and equality are imperiled unless we provide political and moral guidance to prevent the submergence of humanity in its own ingenuity. --Edmund Pellegrino, Chairman, President's Council on Bioethics