Marvin Minsky -- one of the fathers of computer science and cofounder of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT -- gives a revolutionary answer to the age-old question: "How does the mind work?"Minsky brilliantly portrays the mind as a "society" of tiny components that are themselves mindless. Mirroring his theory, Minsky boldly casts The Society of Mind as an intellectual puzzle whose pieces are assembled along the way. Each chapter -- on a self-contained page -- corresponds...

In this mind-expanding book, scientific pioneer Marvin Minsky continues his groundbreaking research, offering a fascinating new model for how our minds work. He argues persuasively that emotions, intuitions, and feelings are not distinct things, but different ways of thinking.By examining these different forms of mind activity, Minsky says, we can explain why our thought sometimes takes the form of carefully reasoned analysis and at other times turns to emotion. He shows how our mi...

The classic science fiction thriller that "contains some of the best extrapolation on the nature and creation of AI ever offered in fiction" ( Kirkus Reviews ).The SFWA Grand Master and author of Make Room! Make Room!—the novel that inspired the movie Soylent Green—teams up with a pioneering artificial intelligence expert in "a fine example of collaboration, in which a scientist and a writer craft a thril...

A special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s masterpiece, “a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century” (Time), featuring a new introduction by Kevin Powers, author of the National Book Award finalist The Yellow BirdsSelected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all timeSlaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s...

Contact with a narcissist can be at once exhilarating and confusing, hurtful and seductive. It can make you feel like you are losing your mind, yet without an understanding of why you feel that way. Some narcissistic people, many in fact, seem quite normal, welcoming, even nice. But betrayal often follows, and so does hurt. This little ebook can be used to help you recognize the many ways narcissism looks and how it seduces in relationships, friendships and at work. Understanding the disea...

"A supremely enjoyable, intoxicating work." —NatureHow did we come to have minds? For centuries, poets, philosophers, psychologists, and physicists have wondered how the human mind developed its unrivaled abilities. Disciples of Darwin have explained how natural selection produced plants, but what about the human mind?In From Bacteria to Bach and Back, Daniel C. Dennett builds on recent discoveries from biology and computer science to show...

An essential work for readers seeking compassionate, wise guidance about the powerful relationship between mothers and their sons and daughters.Mother love is often seen as sacred, but for many children the relationship is a painful struggle. Using the newest research on human attachment and brain development, Terri Apter, an internationally acclaimed psychologist and writer, unlocks the mysteries of this complicated bond. She showcases the five different types of difficult mother—...

BE YOURSELFBE INTROVERTED BE HAPPYAll your life you've heard the myths . . .•Introverts are depressed and lonely.•Introverts wish they were more outgoing.•Introverts lack self-confidence.These stereotypes about introverts have been propagated by the people who do all the loud talking—the extroverts. To counter these (and many more) common misconceptions, author Elizabeth Wagele, a self-proclaimed introvert, offers a book that delivers the truth: The Happy Introvert.This compassionate guide...

"In his brilliant new book, Burton systematically shows that certainty is a mental state . . . that doesn't dependably reflect object truth." — ForbesYou recognize when you know something for certain, right? You "know" the sky is blue, or that the traffic light had turned green, or where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001—you know these things, well, because you just do.In On Being Certain, neurologist Robert Burton challenges the...

Uses the disciplines of psychology, anthropology, sociology and psychiatry to explain what makes people act the way they do.

Owner of "the most remarkable mind on the planet," (according to Entertainment Weekly) Daniel Tammet captivated readers and won worldwide critical acclaim with the 2007 New York Times bestselling memoir, Born On A Blue Day, and its vivid depiction of a life with autistic savant syndrome. In his fascinating new book, he writes with characteristic clarity and personal awareness as he sheds light on the mysteries of savants' incredible mental abilities, and our own....

A no-holds-barred assault on outdated teaching methods—with dramatic and practical proposals on how education can be made relevant to today's world.Praise for Teaching As a Subversive Activity“A healthy dose of Postman and Weingartner is a good thing: if they make even a dent in the pious . . . American classroom, the book will be worthwhile.”—New York Times Book Review“Teaching and knowledge are subversive in that...