Biology & Chemistry Audiobooks | Science & Technology

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True Audiobook

Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. Or you met someone at a party who insisted the Holocaust never happened or that no one ever walked on the moon. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? Longtime skeptic Guy P. Harrison shows you how in this down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims. A veteran journalist, Harrison has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored "the most haunted house in America," frolicked in the inviting waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a "contrite Roswell alien." Harrison is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation. For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction. Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, Harrison invites readers to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.

Guy P. Harrison (Author), Erik Synnestvedt (Narrator)

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The Last Lost World: Ice Ages, Human Origins, and the Invention of the Pleistocene

An enlightening investigation of the Pleistocene's dual character as a geologic time-and as a cultural idea The Pleistocene is the epoch of geologic time closest to our own. It's a time of ice ages, global migrations, and mass extinctions-of woolly rhinos, mammoths, giant ground sloths, and not least early species of Homo. It's the world that created ours. But outside that environmental story there exists a parallel narrative that describes how our ideas about the Pleistocene have emerged. This story explains the place of the Pleistocene in shaping intellectual culture, and the role of a rapidly evolving culture in creating the idea of the Pleistocene and in establishing its dimensions. This second story addresses how the epoch, its Earth-shaping events, and its creatures, both those that survived and those that disappeared, helped kindle new sciences and a new origins story as the sciences split from the humanities as a way of looking at the past. Ultimately, it is the story of how the dominant creature to emerge from the frost-and-fire world of the Pleistocene came to understand its place in the scheme of things. A remarkable synthesis of science and history, The Last Lost World describes the world that made our modern one.

Lydia V. Pyne, Stephen J. Pyne (Author), Walter Dixon (Narrator)

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The Half-life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date

New insights from the science of science Facts change all the time. Smoking has gone from doctor recommended to deadly. We used to think the Earth was the center of the universe and that Pluto was a planet. For decades, we were convinced that the brontosaurus was a real dinosaur. In short, what we know about the world is constantly changing. But it turns out there's an order to the state of knowledge, an explanation for how we know what we know. Samuel Arbesman is an expert in the field of scientometrics-literally the science of science. Knowledge in most fields evolves systematically and predictably, and this evolution unfolds in a fascinating way that can have a powerful impact on our lives. Doctors with a rough idea of when their knowledge is likely to expire can be better equipped to keep up with the latest research. Companies and governments that understand how long new discoveries take to develop can improve decisions about allocating resources. And by tracing how and when language changes, each of us can better bridge generational gaps in slang and dialect. Just as we know that a chunk of uranium can break down in a measurable amount of time-a radioactive half-life-so too any given field's change in knowledge can be measured concretely. We can know when facts in aggregate are obsolete, the rate at which new facts are created, and even how facts spread. Arbesman takes us through a wide variety of fields, including those that change quickly, over the course of a few years, or over the span of centuries. He shows that much of what we know consists of "mesofacts"-facts that change at a middle timescale, often over a single human lifetime. Throughout, he offers intriguing examples about the face of knowledge: what English majors can learn from a statistical analysis of The Canterbury Tales, why it's so hard to measure a mountain, and why so many parents still tell kids to eat their spinach because it's rich in iron. The Half-life of Facts is a riveting journey into the counterintuitive fabric of knowledge. It can help us find new ways to measure the world while accepting the limits of how much we can know with certainty.

Samuel Arbesman (Author), Sean Pratt (Narrator)

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The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

Jonathan Gottschall explores why we tell stories and what stories reveal about human nature, in this original and insightful book. Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It's easy to say that humans are "wired" for story, but why? In this delightful and original book, Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. He argues that stories help us navigate life's complex social problems-just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. Storytelling has evolved, like other behaviors, to ensure our survival. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal. Did you know that the more absorbed you are in a story, the more it changes your behavior? That all children act out the same kinds of stories, whether they grow up in a slum or a suburb? That people who read more fiction are more empathetic? Of course, our story instinct has a darker side. It makes us vulnerable to conspiracy theories, advertisements, and narratives about ourselves that are more "truthy" than true. National myths can also be terribly dangerous: Hitler's ambitions were partly fueled by a story. But as Gottschall shows in this remarkable book, stories can also change the world for the better. Most successful stories are moral-they teach us how to live, whether explicitly or implicitly, and bind us together around common values. We know we are master shapers of story. The Storytelling Animal finally reveals how stories shape us.

Jonathan Gottschall (Author), Kris Koscheski (Narrator)

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Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch

Roundworld is in trouble again, and this time it looks fatal. Having created it in the first place, the wizards of Unseen University feel vaguely responsible for its safety. They know the creatures who lived there escaped the impending Big Freeze by inventing the space elevator - they even intervened to rid the planet of a plague of elves, who attempted to divert humanity onto a different time track. But now it's all gone wrong - Victorian England has stagnated and the pace of progress would embarrass a limping snail. Unless something drastic is done, there won't be time for anyone to invent spaceflight and the human race will be turned into ice-pops. Why, though, did history come adrift? Was it Sir Arthur Nightingale's dismal book about natural selection? Or was it the devastating response by an obscure country vicar called Charles Darwin, whose bestselling Theology of Species made it impossible to refute the divine design of living creatures? Either way, it's no easy task to change history, as the wizards discover to their cost. Can the God of Evolution come to humanity's aid and ensure Darwin writes a very different book? And who stopped him writing it in the first place?

Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen, Terry Pratchett (Author), Michael Fenton Stevens, Stephen Briggs (Narrator)

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David Attenborough In His Own Words

David Attenborough discusses his life and achievements in this collection of BBC radio and TV interviews: Parkinson (broadcast on BBC One, 2th December 1975, featuring Michael Parkinson), Profile (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1st July 1976, featuring Kathleen Cheesmond), Desert Island Discs (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1th March 1979, featuring Roy Plomley), Desert Island Discs (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 25th December 1998, featuring Sue Lawley), Mark Lawson Talks To David Attenborough (broadcast on BBC Four, 27th February 2005, featuring Mark Lawson), Front Row (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26th October 2011, featuring Mark Lawson) and Desert Island Discs (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 29th January 2012, featuring Kirsty Young).

David Attenborough (Author), David Attenborough (Narrator)

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The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning

Consciousness is our gateway to experience: it enables us to recognize Van Gogh's starry skies, be enraptured by Beethoven's Fifth, and stand in awe of a snowcapped mountain. Yet consciousness is subjective, personal, and famously difficult to examine: philosophers have for centuries declared this mental entity so mysterious as to be impenetrable to science. In The Ravenous Brain, neuroscientist Daniel Bor departs sharply from this historical view, and builds on the latest research to propose a new model for how consciousness works. Bor argues that this brain-based faculty evolved as an accelerated knowledge gathering tool. Consciousness is effectively an idea factory-that choice mental space dedicated to innovation, a key component of which is the discovery of deep structures within the contents of our awareness. This model explains our brains' ravenous appetite for information-and in particular, its constant search for patterns. Why, for instance, after all our physical needs have been met, do we recreationally solve crossword or Sudoku puzzles? Such behavior may appear biologically wasteful, but, according to Bor, this search for structure can yield immense evolutionary benefits-it led our ancestors to discover fire and farming, pushed modern society to forge ahead in science and technology, and guides each one of us to understand and control the world around us. But the sheer innovative power of human consciousness carries with it the heavy cost of mental fragility. Bor discusses the medical implications of his theory of consciousness, and what it means for the origins and treatment of psychiatric ailments, including attention-deficit disorder, schizophrenia, manic depression, and autism. All mental illnesses, he argues, can be reformulated as disorders of consciousness-a perspective that opens up new avenues of treatment for alleviating mental suffering. A controversial view of consciousness, The Ravenous Brain links cognition to creativity in an ingenious solution to one of science's biggest mysteries.

Daniel Bor (Author), Walter Dixon (Narrator)

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What Einstein Didn't Know: Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions

A Washington Post columnist offers a fun, fascinating guide to everyday science for those who never wore a slide rule or a pocket protector. How does soap know what's dirt? How do magnets work? Why do ice cubes crackle in your glass . . . And how can you keep them quiet? They are the questions that torment all of us. Now Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, provides definitive-and amazingly simple-explanations for the mysteries of everyday life. Shattering myths (such as the common belief that salt melts the ice in your driveway) . . . providing insider secrets (like what lights up a neon sign) . . . and daring you to perform your own experiments ( find out what happens when you use a sharp knife to scratch the inside of a beer glass filled with brew!), Dr. Wolke provides astounding facts, cant-lose- bar bets, and sometimes shocking truths. Why is the sky blue? A candle flame yellow? Or bleached clothes white? Don't stay in the dark. When it comes to unraveling the mysteries of modern living, maybe Einstein didn't know. But you can-even if you've never lit a Bunsen burner-with this fascinating, eye-opening book about our astonishing world.

Robert L. Wolke (Author), Sean Runnette (Narrator)

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The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes more incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own DNA. In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future.

Sam Kean (Author), Henry Leyva (Narrator)

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Why is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human

Why do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to kill yourself? Does free will really exist? And why is the penis shaped like that anyway? In Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?, the research psychologist and award-winning columnist Jesse Bering features more than thirty of his most popular essays from Scientific American and Slate, as well as two new pieces, that take readers on a bold and captivating journey through some of the most taboo issues related to evolution and human behavior. Exploring the history of cannibalism, the neurology of people who are sexually attracted to animals, the evolution of human body fluids, the science of homosexuality, and serious questions about life and death, Bering astutely covers a generous expanse of our kaleidoscope of quirks and origins. With his characteristic irreverence and trademark cheekiness, Bering leaves no topic unturned or curiosity unexamined, and he does it all with an audaciously original voice. Whether you're interested in the psychological history behind the many facets of sexual desire or the evolutionary patterns that have dictated our current mystique and phallic physique, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? is bound to create lively discussion and debate for years to come.

Jesse Bering (Author), Jesse Bering (Narrator)

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The Science Of Discworld II: The Globe

The acclaimed Science of Discworld centred around an original Pratchett story about the Wizards of Discworld. In it they accidentally witnessed the creation and evolution of our universe, a plot which was interleaved with a Cohen & Stewart non-fiction narrative about Big Science. In The Science of Discworld II our authors join forces again to see just what happens when the wizards meddle with history in a battle against the elves for the future of humanity on Earth. London is replaced by a dozy Neanderthal village. The Renaissance is given a push. The role of fat women in art is developed. And one very famous playwright gets born and writes The Play. Weaving together a fast-paced Discworld novelette with cutting-edge scientific commentary on the evolution and development of the human mind, culture, language, art, and science, this is a book in which 'the hard science is as gripping as the fiction'. (The Times)

Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen, Terry Pratchett (Author), Michael Fenton Stevens, Stephen Briggs (Narrator)

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Words Can Change Your Brain

Sometimes it feels as if the more we talk, the less we are heard. But in groundbreaking research, Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman have discovered a powerful strategy called Compassionate Communication that allows two brains to work together as one. In twelve clear steps, Compassionate Communication actually changes our brain structure - as well as the brain of the person we are talking to - in a way that helps establish a bond between people. In this unique state - free from conflict and distrust - we can communicate more effectively, listen more deeply, collaborate without effort, and succeed more quickly at any task. Using data collected from MBA students, couples in therapy, caregivers, and brain scans, Newberg and Waldman have seen again and again that Compassionate Communication can transform a difficult conversation into a deeply satisfying one, literally in a matter of a few minutes. Whether you are negotiating with your boss or your employees, arguing with your spouse, or coping with your kids, Compassionate Communication is a simple and unbeatable way to achieve a win-win dialogue to help you reach your goals. With its clear prescription and proven results, Words Can Change Your Brain will change how you think and speak to virtually everyone.

Andrew Newberg (Author), Mark Robert Waldman (Narrator)

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Biology & Chemistry Audiobooks in Science & Technology