In this inspiring book of personal insight and sound advice, veteran scientist Carl J. Sindermann gives an insider's look at the competitive world of science and reveals the best strategies for attaining prominence and success. Taking apart the many different roles scientists must play during their careers, Sindermann compares common mistakes scientists make with what the best strategists do-whether they are publishing papers, presenting data, chairing meetings, or coping with government or academic bureaucracy. In the end, he maintains, well-honed interpersonal skills, a savvy eye on one's competitors, and excellent science are the keys to a satisfying and successful career.

The interpersonal strategies that surround the act of doing good science--hereafter referred to as scientific game play ing-have received some published attention, and many of the game rules are almost axiomatic among successful prac titioners of science. There is a need, however, to review pe riodically what we know and what we think we know about the art, and to add new insights that become available. This book is a response to that need; it has been written for science practitioners and grandstanders of the 1980s, drawing on in Sights and perceptions gained from victories and defeats of the 1970s. It seems especially important that the strategies and rules of scientific game playing be reviewed critically as we move into the decade of the 1980s, since many of those rules have changed during the 1970s--in fact each recent decade has seen significant changes. The 1950s were expansionist, when sci entific jobs were relatively easy to find, when faculties were expanding, when students were plentiful, and when federal grants were readily available. The 1960s began as a period of stabilization, and then became one of unrest and reexami nation of purpose. The climate was still good; students were v vi PREFACE still abundant, but there was less growth in faculty size, and federal grants reached a plateau. In the 1970s the student population started to decline, and federal funding for research began to dry up.

Explains how companies must pinpoint business strategies to a few critically important choices, identifying common blunders while outlining simple exercises and questions that can guide day-to-day and long-term decisions.

Do games hold the secret to better productivity? If you’ve ever found yourself engrossed in Angry Birds, Call of Duty, or a plain old crossword puzzle when you should have been doing something more productive, you know how easily games hold our attention. Hardcore gamers have spent the equivalent of 5.93 million years playing World of Warcraft while the world collectively devotes about 5 million hours per day to Angry Birds. A colossal waste of time? Perhaps. But what if we could tap into all the energy, engagement, and brainpower that people are already expending and use it for more creative and valuable pursuits? Harnessing the power of games sounds like a New-Age fantasy, or at least a fad that’s only for hip start-ups run by millennials in Silicon Valley. But according to Adam L. Penenberg, the use of smart game design in the workplace and beyond is taking hold in every sector of the economy, and the companies that apply it are witnessing unprecedented results. “Gamification” isn’t just for consumers chasing reward points anymore. It’s transforming, well, just about everything. Penenberg explores how, by understanding the way successful games are designed, we can apply them to become more efficient, come up with new ideas, and achieve even the most daunting goals. He shows how game mechanics are being applied to make employees happier and more motivated, improve worker safety, create better products, and improve customer service. For example, Microsoft has transformed an essential but mind-numbing task—debugging software—into a game by having employees compete and collaborate to find more glitches in less time. Meanwhile, Local Motors, an independent automaker based in Arizona, crowdsources designs from car enthusiasts all over the world by having them compete for money and recognition within the community. As a result, the company was able to bring a cutting-edge vehicle to market in less time and at far less cost than the Big Three automakers. These are just two examples of companies that have tapped the characteristics that make games so addictive and satisfying. Penenberg also takes us inside organizations that have introduced play at work to train surgeons, aid in physical therapy, translate the Internet, solve vexing scientific riddles, and digitize books from the nineteenth century. Drawing on the latest brain science as well as his firsthand reporting from these cutting-edge companies, Penenberg offers a powerful solution for businesses and organizations of all stripes and sizes.

"When you are doing something that is a brand new adventure, breaking new ground, whether it is something like a techno logical breakthrough or simply a way of living that is not what the community can help you with, there is always the danger of too much enthusiasm, of neglecting certain mechan ical details. Then you fall off. 'A danger path this is. ' When you follow the path of your desire and enthusiasm and emotion, keep your mind in control, and don't let it pull you compulsively into disaster. " Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth Through ten years of working with and observing scientists in the bio medical fields, I have found Joseph Campbell's words to be especially applicable to the scientist who decides to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Joseph Campbell was not a student of entrepreneurship. His scholarship was contained in a series of comprehensive studies of mythology, the captivating stories of mankind's search over the ages for truth, meaning and significance. Still, his advice here contains many of the essential ingredients of successful science-based venturing: the charting of new ground socially, technological breakthroughs, enthusiasm and emotion balanced by careful reasoning, and finally, awareness of the danger of neglecting details. Coming from such a different philosophical and occupational culture into entrepreneurship and business, the scientist faces extraordinary challenges although the rewards of putting together a successful company can be equally satisfying.

"Many parents work more hours outside of the home and their lives are crowded with more obligations than ever before; many children spend their evenings and weekends trying out for all-star teams, traveling to regional and national tournaments, and eating dinner in the car while being shuttled between activities. In this vivid ethnography, based on almost 200 interviews with parents, children, coaches and teachers, Hilary Levey probes the increase in children's participation in activities outside of the home, structured and monitored by their parents, when family time is so scarce. As the parental "second shift" continues to grow, alongside it a second shift for children has emerged--especially among the middle- and upper-middle classes--which is suffused with competition rather than mere participation. What motivates these particular parents to get their children involved in competitive activities? Parents' primary concern is their children's access to high quality educational credentials--the biggest bottleneck standing in the way of, or facilitating entry into, membership in the upper-middle class. Competitive activities, like sports and the arts, are seen as the essential proving ground that will clear their children's paths to the Ivy League or other similar institutions by helping them to develop a competitive habitus. This belief, motivated both by reality and by perception, and shaped by gender and class, affects how parents envision their children's futures; it also shapes the structure of children's daily lives, what the children themselves think about their lives, and the competitive landscapes of the activities themselves"--

Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely seen as potentially constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. The Believing Primate aims to describe and discuss these scientific accounts as well as to assess their implications. The volume begins with essays by leading scientists in the field, describing these accounts and discussing evidence in their favour. Philosophical and theological reflections on these accounts follow, offered by leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This diverse group of scholars address some fascinating underlying questions: Do scientific accounts of religion undermine the justification of religious belief? Do such accounts show religion to be an accidental by-product of our evolutionary development? And, whilst we seem naturally disposed toward religion, would we fare better or worse without it? Bringing together dissenting perspectives, this provocative collection will serve to freshly illuminate ongoing debate on these perennial questions.

A lively, deeply reported tour of the science and strategies helping athletes like Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Carli Lloyd, and LeBron James redefine the notion of “peak age.” Season after season, today’s sports superstars seem to defy the limits of physical aging that inevitably sideline their competitors. How much of the difference is genetic destiny and how much can be attributed to better training, medicine, and technology? Is athletic longevity a skill that can be taught or a mental discipline that can be mastered? Can career-ending injuries be predicted and avoided? Journalist Jeff Bercovici spent extensive time with professional and Olympic athletes, coaches, and doctors to find the answers to these questions. His quest led him to training camps, tournaments, hospitals, antiaging clinics, and Silicon Valley startups, where he tried cutting-edge treatments and technologies firsthand and investigated the realities behind health fads like alkaline diets, high-intensity interval training, and cryotherapy. Through fascinating profiles and first-person anecdotes, Bercovici illuminates the science and strategies extending the careers of elite older athletes, uncovers the latest advances in fields from nutrition to brain science to virtual reality, and offers empowering insights about how the rest of us can find peak performance at any age.