Answers to science's most enduring questions from "Can I break the light-speed barrier like on Star Trek?" and "Is there life on other planets?" to "What is empty space made of?" This is an indispensable guide to physics that offers readers an overview of the most popular physics topics written in an accessible, irreverent, and engaging manner while still maintaining a tone of wry skepticism. Even the novice will be able to follow along, as the topics are addressed using plain English and (almost) no equations. Veterans of popular physics will also find their nagging questions addressed, like whether the universe can expand faster than light, and for that matter, what the universe is expanding into anyway. Gives a one-stop tour of all the big questions that capture the public imagination including string theory, quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the beginning of time Explains serious science in an entertaining, conversational, and easy-to-understand way Includes dozens of delightfully groan-worthy cartoons that explain everything from special relativity to Dark Matter Filled with fascinating information and insights, this book will both deepen and transform your understanding of the universe.

It's Sapiens for teenagers.' The Times LIFE IS WEIRD. Nothing gives you a sense of perspective like finding out just how weird. I'm an extremely curious chap and with this book I wanted to share the content of my noggin, because I think these are the 147 things that have helped me through this thing we call life. Sometimes because it shows how lucky we are to be here at all, but often because I’m a moron and learned whatever lesson it taught me the hard way, and I’d like to save you the pain of making the same mistakes (I refer here to the waxing of my pubic hair). Ever wondered if first times are over-rated (hint: they are), whether you’ll ever find the one (hint: there are 7 billion of us) or pondered the sheer unlikelihood of the you who is you being in the world right now? If so, then YouTube superstar and fact-obsessed, over-sharer Jim Chapman is here to explain it all – whether it’s why your heart actually aches after a break-up, what’s happening when you get hangry, or why people are just so plain RUDE online. Along the way, we’ll find out how much fun he has when Tanya’s sleep-talking and why he looked like a gangly T-rex with wonky teeth when he was a teenager. As with his videos, no subject is off-limits, as Jim lifts the lid on his life and his relationships, sharing embarrassing stories and things he’s learnt along the way (trust us, the thing about kangaroos will really freak you out).

Have you boggled your mind today? You Are Here has it all. Literally all, from quantum foam to the Unobservable Universe.What science tells about our alien world belongs to all of us, and it can be imagined and grasped and understood. People say that this or that thing is "just too big (or small, or complicated, or weird) to imagine”—but let's not give up so easily! Let's see if we can find ways to imagine them. Because science tells us things about where we live that are, in the most literal sense of that overused word, wonderful. And a universe is a terrible thing to waste.If the Milky Way is Boston, and Andromeda is New York City, the giant elliptical galaxy IC 1101 stretches from New England to the Carolinas—and our entire solar system out to Neptune is a grain of sugar in Harvard Square.EXTRA! Notes on everything from cellular slime molds and rogue waves to Dark Energy and the Linde Universe.EXTRA EXTRA!! (So exciting, you may have a Lorentz Contraction) "Einstein Sheds Light on Time: The Tale of Zippy the Tourist."

A fascinating exploration of the nature of consciousness This engaging and readable book provides an introduction to consciousness that does justice both to the science and to the philosophy of consciousness, that is, the mechanics of the mind and the experience of awareness. The book opens with a general discussion of the brain and of consciousness itself. Then, exploring the areas of brain science most likely to illuminate the basis of awareness, Zeman focuses on the science of sleep and waking and on the science of vision. He describes healthy states and disorders--epilepsy, narcolepsy, blindsight and hallucinations after stroke--that provide insights into the capacity for consciousness and into its contents. And he tracks the evolution of the brain, the human species, and human culture and surveys the main current scientific theories of awareness, pioneering attempts to explain how the brain gives rise to experience. Zeman concludes by examining philosophical arguments about the nature of consciousness. A practicing neurologist, he animates his text with examples from the behavioral and neurological disorders of his patients and from the expanding mental worlds of young children, including his own. His book is an accessible and enlightening explanation of why we are conscious.

Mike Dooley, the beloved creator of Notes from the Universe, distills a career's worth of inspiration into elegant, brief lessons for making our way through the world--conceived as a guidebook for his young daughter to read when she grows up, yet relevant to everyone who's living a life on earth. Mike returns with his most impactful book yet: a volume of almost 500 insights drawn from his 20+ years as a New Thought leader, organized between endearing letters that recall poignant moments of fatherhood. Through books, courses, and live events, Mike has engaged students with his trademark humor, wisdom, and sheer joy in living. He speaks of understanding our innate spirituality and personal responsibility as the means to unlocking our power over the illusions of time and space. A Beginner's Guide to the Universe is filled with gem-like bits of wisdom imparting his most essential, heartfelt advice about living deliberately and creating consciously--comparable to such treasures as Life's Little Instruction Book, The Prophet, and The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down. Cleverly guiding the reader through a range of topics--including family and relationships, power and responsibility, adversity and rebounding, even the nature of heaven, angels, and God--Mike succeeds in making a happy life in this universe seem easily within our reach. The short passages of text placed artfully on each page, in a book that's a pleasure to hold in the hand, make this an ideal gift for a parent, a parent-to-be, a child, a new grad, a dear friend, or anyone who needs a dose of Dooley, whether they know it or not.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy provides an excellent way of looking at some intriguing issues in philosophy, from vegetarianism and Artificial Intelligence to God, space and time. This is an entertaining yet thought provoking volume for students, philosophers and fans of The Hitchhiker's series.

Whether you're a novice or an experienced amateur astronomer, The Rough Guide to the Universe is an indispensable book. Giving both a guide to the universe and an accessible overview of the science of astronomy, the Rough Guide features: bull; Concise information on every planet in the solar system, as well as the sun, moon, asteroids and comets. bull; Practical advice on observing the planets and stars, with binoculars, telescopes and the naked eye. bull; Incisive explanations of the latest theories about how the universe began and how it might end, the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters, and weird concepts such as dark matter, worm holes and superstrings. bull; Dozens of photographs, plus star charts of every constellation, showing the night sky in the Northern and the Southern hemispheres. bull; Detailed listings of star clubs, planetariums, "deep sky " sites and Internet resources. John Scalzi is a writer and backyard astronomer who views the universe from the dark skies of Ohio's Amish Country.

A User's Guide to Thought and Meaning presents a profound and arresting integration of the faculties of the mind - of how we think, speak, and see the world. Ray Jackendoff starts out by looking at languages and what the meanings of words and sentences actually do. He shows that meanings are more adaptive and complicated than they're commonly given credit for, and he is led to some basic questions: How do we perceive and act in the world? How do we talk about it? And how can the collection of neurons in the brain give rise to conscious experience? As it turns out, the organization of language, thought, and perception does not look much like the way we experience things, and only a small part of what the brain does is conscious. Jackendoff concludes that thought and meaning must be almost completely unconscious. What we experience as rational conscious thought - which we prize as setting us apart from the animals - in fact rides on a foundation of unconscious intuition. Rationality amounts to intuition enhanced by language. Written with an informality that belies both the originality of its insights and the radical nature of its conclusions, A User's Guide to Thought and Meaning is the author's most important book since the groundbreaking Foundations of Language in 2002.

This is the largest and most comprehensive atlas of the universe ever created for amateur astronomers. With finder charts of unprecedented detail, in both normal and mirror-image views, and an extensive list of 14,000 objects, it provides a detailed observing guide for almost any practical amateur astronomer, up to the most advanced. Spanning some 3,000 pages, this is a project that is possible only on CD-ROM. The CD-R pages are extensively indexed and referenced for quick location of objects. The accompanying book gives an introduction to the Atlas, showcases the maps, describes the CD-R content and organization, and includes various appendices.

The comic book universe is adventurous, mystifying, and filled with heroes, villains, and cosplaying Comic-Con attendees. This book by one of Wired magazine's art directors traverses the graphic world through a collection of pie charts, bar graphs, timelines, scatter plots, and more. Super Graphic offers readers a unique look at the intricate and sometimes contradictory storylines that weave their way through comic books, and shares advice for navigating the pages of some of the most popular, longest-running, and best-loved comics and graphic novels out there. From a colorful breakdown of the DC Comics reader demographic to a witty Venn diagram of superhero comic tropes and a Chris Ware sadness scale, this book charts the most arbitrary and monumental characters, moments, and equipment of the wide world of comics. Plus, this is the fixed format version, which includes high-resolution images.