This text introduces readers to different kinds of music and the role it plays in society.

An eye-opening journey into a world of visionaries, billionaires, and eccentrics harnessing technology for nothing less than the salvation of mankind Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our bodies-our capabilities, intelligence, and lifespans-in the hopes that, through technology, we can become something better than ourselves. It has found support among Silicon Valley billionaires and some of the world's biggest businesses. In To...

The presidential inaugural poet--and unforgettable new voice in American poetry--presents a collection of poems that includes the stirring poem read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States.

Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography and broadcasting, an award-winning writer explores how humans have attained, stored, and disseminated knowledge.

A guide to raising responsible, safe, and communicative kids in the digital world. From cell phone contracts, rules for earning an allowance, and creating a family mantra, this book teaches readers to solve problems before they happen.

Publisher Annotation: Why does mystery create a mental itch that must be scratched? New York Times bestselling author Jonah Lehrer unlocks the secrets of mystery's allure, putting together recent discoveries in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology and shining a new light on everything from the formulas of our favorite detective shows to the tricks of successful advertising campaigns and the calculated risks of the stock market....

From the author of the "dazzling epic"* Brilliant, a compelling history of silence as a powerful shaper of the human mind-in prisons, in places of contemplation, and in our own lives Through her evocative intertwined histories of the penitentiary and the monastery, Jane Brox illuminates the many ways silence is far more complex than any absolute; how it has influenced ideas of the self, soul, and society. Brox traces its place as a transformative...

Examines the role of the unexpected, discussing why improbable events are not anticipated or understood properly, and how humans rationalize the black swan phenomenon to make it appear less random.

"Generation Robot covers a century of science fiction, fact and, speculation--from the 1950 publication of Isaac Asimov's seminal robot masterpiece, I, Robot, to the 2050 Singularity when artificial and human intelligence are predicted to merge. Beginning with a childhood informed by pop-culture robots in movies, in comic books, and on TV in the 1960s to adulthood where the possibilities of self-driving cars and virtual reality are daily conversation,...