“In language that is accessible and on point, Neural Upgrade provides an insightful look into the transformation that comes from accepting responsibility for your own life. Pulling no punches, Peters invites each of us to own our own choices, release from the cycle of blame, choose action rather than reaction, and examine the avenues leading to our own individual, authentic Path in life.” - Janelle Carroll, MEd, RScP

Apertura is not one book, but four as it is what I consider a Space Opera. The events are sent 600 years where in Humanity has managed to achieve colonisation of other systems far from Earth. Along with this come corporate exploitation, conflict and the rise of artificial intelligence. The main character is placed into a situation which is unfamiliar and nuisances of revenge. Technology for the reader will seem familiar yet unfamiliar as will Humanity itself, seemingly superior to 20th Century Man through the various application of technology developed over time. Yet, I have attempted to write in s style that is broad strokes and not technically detailed. Leaving the reader to develop their own impression of what is being read. Apertura is names as such as it means ‘Opening’ in Italian

This book is a must read for anyone parenting, teaching or supporting teens, who wants to empower them to reach their potential. Written by a team of clinical psychologists, it leads you through tried and tested strategies to build strong relationships and improve communication with young people as they develop, learn and grow. In the book we learn that the 'teenage brain' is unique which gives us an incredible opportunity for change and development, but it is also a time when young people are particularly sensitive and potentially vulnerable . It guides you through ways to communicate effectively with teens without negatively affecting their self-esteem. There are plenty of tips about what to say, what not say and the best mindset to use with teens, day to day. The authors draw from the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, years of clinical expertise and first-hand parenting experience. It's relatable like your best friend's advice, and informed by scientific evidence - easy to read, hard to put down.

In Mechanical Gods, two Special Agents of the Coalition find themselves thrust into a world of intrigue and danger as they investigate an Android bombing in the bustling metropolis of New Washington. In this futuristic thriller, reverse engineered Androids and cutting-edge robotics threaten the stability of the newly rebuilt Western United National Coalition Zones. Against a backdrop of advancing capitalism and human augmentation, citizens are monitored by biochips, while Augmented Agents walk a fine line between safeguarding national security and sacrificing personal freedom. As the Agents navigate the ever-evolving landscape of Coalition enemies, they must confront their own limitations and adapt to survive in a world where obsolescence looms large. But beneath the surface lies a web of hidden agendas, forcing our protagonists to question loyalties and uncover truths that could change everything. Mechanical Gods is a pulse-pounding tale of technology, power, and the lengths humanity will go to control its own destiny.

Paul K. Lovett's science fiction satire The Evolution of Robert Carr is an audacious, operatic romp through a dystopian near future where genetic enhancements have pushed the divide between rich and poor ever closer to its social breaking point. The subversive tale opens on Robert Carr's eighteenth birthday when he is about to join the top 2%% of the population by becoming a recipient of an exorbitantly expensive neural enhancement procedure. Yet Robert is rather uniquely reticent to the prospect. He fears becoming distant, cold, inhuman, like his enhanced best friend. And that his girlfriend, one of the revolutionary Dragoons, will spurn him. "Lovett has crafted a sci-fi novel with sharp social commentary that cleverly examines such issues as the staggering income gap, the emerging role of technology, and the place of religion in a tech-driven world." -Kirkus Reviews

When a computer goes wrong, we are told to turn it off and on again. In Am I Dreaming?, science journalist James Kingsland reveals how the human brain is remarkably similar. By rebooting our hard-wired patterns of thinking - through so-called 'altered states of consciousness' - we can gain new perspectives into ourselves and the world around us. From shamans in Peru to tech workers in Silicon Valley, Kingsland provides a fascinating tour through lucid dreams, mindfulness, hypnotic trances, virtual reality and drug-induced hallucinations. An eye-opening insight into perception and consciousness, this is also a provocative argument for how altered states can significantly boost our mental health.

An argument that health is optimal responsiveness and is often best treated at the system level. Medical education centers on the venerable “no-fault” concept of homeostasis, whereby local mechanisms impose constancy by correcting errors, and the brain serves mainly for emergencies. Yet, it turns out that most parameters are not constant; moreover, despite the importance of local mechanisms, the brain is definitely in charge. In this book, the eminent neuroscientist Peter Sterling describes a broader concept: allostasis (coined by Sterling and Joseph Eyer in the 1980s), whereby the brain anticipates needs and efficiently mobilizes supplies to prevent errors. Allostasis evolved early, Sterling explains, to optimize energy efficiency, relying heavily on brain circuits that deliver a brief reward for each positive surprise. Modern life so reduces the opportunities for surprise that we are driven to seek it in consumption: bigger burgers, more opioids, and innumerable activities that involve higher carbon emissions. The consequences include addiction, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and climate change. Sterling concludes that solutions must go beyond the merely technical to restore possibilities for daily small rewards and revivify the capacities for egalitarianism that were hard-wired into our nature. Sterling explains that allostasis offers what is not found in any medical textbook: principled definitions of health and disease: health as the capacity for adaptive variation and disease as shrinkage of that capacity. Sterling argues that since health is optimal responsiveness, many significant conditions are best treated at the system level.

Someone stole something. Something more dangerous than any weapon in existence. Something that the crew of the Ghost are far too familiar with and had hoped to never see again. The Commission to wind down the nightmare experiments of Farsight Corporation has been robbed, and it wasn’t Wil and the crew. They’re hired to recover the stolen data. They get help from two unlikely groups, one will betray them and the Galactic Commonwealth. Sometimes honor gets in the way. Space Opera, space opera adult, space opera series, space opera military science fiction, scifi adventure, space opera book, science fiction adventure, space western, science fiction, scifi, galactic empire, first contact, alien contact, space adventure, scifi series, scifi fun

On the cusp of the twenty-third century, mankind stands on a razor's edge, caught between doom and oblivion with the invisible alien invader on one hand and the benevolent artificial intelligence on the other. One will cost humans their unique individuality, the other will cost humanity its soul, if not its very life. It's up to Ellie Abhartach to decide which. Whatever the outcome, the human race, as we know it, will not survive.

From the author of the New York Times–bestselling Lost Fleet series comes 11 action-packed stories of space exploration. In Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series, Campbell’s hero Captain “Black Jack” Geary explores the furthest reaches of space. Here, Campbell explores what kinds of problems mankind might face as our horizons expand. The third in a series of collections of Campbell’s short stories includes some of Campbell’s favorite stories, and some of his earliest. A brand-new author’s note accompanies each story. “Lady Be Good” is one of Campbell’s most popular stories, winner of Analog magazine’s “AnLab” reader poll for Best Short Story and cited in Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best SF. The Lady Be Good is an old ship, running obscure routes (not all on the right side of the law), with her loyal first officer Kilcannon and reclusive captain. When Kilcannon decides to rescue the survivors of an attack on a Vestral Company ship, a mysterious new passenger thanks him by asking difficult questions about the Lady, with unexpected answers. In “Kyrie Eleison,” the Verio shipwrecked centuries ago on an out-of-the-way planet, and the descendants of the ship’s survivors have gotten along as well as they can by following the orders that were passed on to them. But those orders weren’t intended to govern life on the planet’s surface, and when the Bellegrange arrives on a rescue mission, her captain will have to reckon with the unexpected social order on the planet. In “Do No Harm”, a ship is so technologically advanced that it can repair itself—but turning over the keys might not be the best idea. And in “Down the Rabbit Hole,” a series of failed attempts at faster-than-light travel lead to a novel approach: sending an untested Naval captain out in a space ship to see if he can figure out what’s gone wrong. With eleven stories in all, Ad Astra is the most multi-faceted introduction to the short fiction of Jack Campbell, and an essential complement to his bestselling book-length work.