Social Reality

Why have Israelis and Palestinians failed to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict that has cost so much and lasted so long? In Paradigm Lost, Ian S. Lustick brings 50 years as an analyst of the Arab-Israeli dispute to bear on this question and offers a provocative explanation of why continued attempts to divide the land will have no more success than would negotiations to establish a one-state solution.

Without consciousness there is nothing. Have you ever wondered why and how the world around you came to exist, and whether there might be an afterlife experience awaiting you after our physical bodies die? Might there actually be a God and a heaven of some sort? The hypothesis presented in this book is that our seemingly physical universe of matter and energy is a virtual simulation which is thought into existence by a universal consciousness which we call God.

Best-selling author Chris Mooney uses cutting-edge research to explain the psychology behind why today’s Republicans reject reality - it’s just part of who they are. From climate change to evolution, the rejection of mainstream science among Republicans is growing, as is the denial of expert consensus on the economy, American history, foreign policy, and much more. Why won’t Republicans accept things that most experts agree on? Why are they constantly fighting against the facts?

What does it mean to be human in the 21st century? How do we be real people in a world of online personas and "authentic" simulated experiences? In this innovative examination of our present reality, award-winning writer Laurence Scott charts the ways our traditional mental models of the world have started to fray. Effortlessly applying philosophy to the quotidian, Scott "makes banal things shimmer with meaning" (Guardian).

Heralded as the most significant technological innovation since the smartphone, virtual reality is poised to transform our very notions of life and humanity. Though this tech is still in its infancy, to those on the inside, it is the future. VR will change how we work, how we experience entertainment, how we feel pleasure and other emotions, how we see ourselves, and most importantly, how we relate to each other in the real world. And we will never be the same. Peter Rubin, senior culture editor for Wired and the industry's go-to authority on the subject, calls it an "intimacy engine".

We may not always see what truly hides within the minds and hearts of certain people, and where we believe is a good, pure individual, lays a terrible murderer capable of the most horrible acts. Robert Berdella was one such man, a helpful and friendly individual who - in a spree separated by a few years - managed to capture and horrifically torture seven young men, murdering six along the way. Control and dominance were his tools, pain was his method.

In einer Welt, in der digitale Medien den Alltag unserer Kinder prägen, stehen viele Eltern vor der Herausforderung, den Einfluss von Social Media auf die mentale Gesundheit und das soziale Leben ihrer Kinder zu verstehen. "Social Media: Zwischen Filtern und Realität" bietet eine wertvolle Orientierungshilfe, die sowohl Eltern als auch Jugendlichen hilft, die Chancen und Risiken der digitalen Welt zu erkennen und einen gesunden Umgang mit Social Media zu entwickeln.

A pandemic in the 21st century creates a technical elite class which shuns physical contact and depends on virtual reality for all social interactions. Duke Landon is among the top echelon of the Royal World Commonwealth and poised for success. His life is a privileged orchestra of politics, finance, and leisure pursuits which rarely intersect with the framework of boring reality. The elite rule the world and rarely bother with the primitive humans who eke out a minimal existence in the hot, violent climate that has reclaimed the earth.

On Being Unreasonable mounts a vital and spirited defence of why and how being unreasonable can help improve the world. It examines and parses the pros and cons of our rules around reason, but leaves us with the rousing question: What if behaving unreasonably at times might be the best way to bring about meaningful change that is long overdue?

L'inimmaginabile accade. Da Oriente a Occidente l'epidemia di Covid-19 dilaga come una peste destinata a cambiare la vita umana sul pianeta Terra. Le metropoli si spengono. I supermercati si svuotano. Le strutture del sistema collassano. Metà della popolazione mondiale è reclusa in regime di quarantena. Giuseppe Genna scivola tra le maglie del lockdown per riempire di parole l'orrore impronunciabile, restituito a malapena dalla numerologia dei morti, opaco agli sguardi che spiano il mondo desolato.

On the 50th anniversary of Robert Pirsig’s classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, John Zdanowski, a six-time $100 million business builder, applies the Metaphysics of Quality to inspire and empower the entrepreneur in each of us to create something from nothing. Blending personal anecdotes, business case studies, simple diagrams, and philosophical poetry to convey the deep meaning of complicated subjects …so you get it.

Times are difficult; Joseph Grant's meditative delivery wraps his listeners in hope, tenderness, and gratitude. Wandering and Welcome is a beacon of poetic kindness rooted in honesty, Scripture, and truth. You'll want to call loved ones and replay pieces to them. Some sections will make you sigh in astonishment, some will cause you to pause in revelation, and others will bring tears of joy and appreciation. If a book could be both giant reality check and tender hug all wrapped in one, this would be it.

Democratic Ideals and Reality, which was first published in 1919, represents a post-World War I worldview that would become the template for future geopolitical movements. As well as the UK, USA, and Europe, there is a focus on Russia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Some of Mackinder's predictions would come to pass later in the century with the outbreak of World War II and the political consequences this would bring in the aftermath.

Truth: A User's Guide explores how we can guard against the noise of competing truths, in business, in our personal relationships, and within ourselves, but also how we can use them to our advantage. Written with authority and humour, this is an accessible and illuminating narrative that will find a wide audience among listeners in search of understanding why the meaning of "truth" seems to have gone completely haywire.

We can’t avoid the persistent questions about the meaning of life—and the nature of reality. But science is the only means of answering them. So declares philosopher Alex Rosenberg in this bracing, surprisingly sanguine take on a world without god. The science that makes us nonbelievers, he demonstrates, tells us the nature of reality, the purpose of everything, the difference between right and wrong, how the mind works, even the direction of human history.

This limited-edition insight unveils the Wizard's theories on how thoughts are assembled in the mind from stored sensory associations. Properly used, this knowledge will allow you to deepen perception and heighten interest in all your attempts at visual and auditory messaging.

The author of the acclaimed Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them) brings “her singular sensibility, her genius for language, her love of our deeply imperfect world” (Karen Karbo, author of In Praise of Difficult Women) to this insightful exploration of reality TV and the shifting definitions of truth in America.

This booklet contains arguments regarding the original evil of mankind: the concept of division. Intended for use by realists who wish to see the world changed into something better, it has everything that a thinker may need in order to see the road ahead toward a better tomorrow.

Through more than 50 Koans - pleasingly paradoxical vignettes following the ancient Zen tradition - leading physicist Anthony Aguirre takes the listener across the world from West to East, and through ideas spanning the age, breadth, and depth of the Universe. Using these beguiling Koans (Could there be a civilization on a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made?

HOW DO POLITICIANS IN TODAY'S world attain power? How do nations become powerful? Why do human beings follow others unquestioningly, even if it is to their own detriment? What factors determine which politicians, nations and organizations will dominate the modern world? Through much of human history, societal control was determined by militaristic strength. Individuals and tribes fought to control vital resources and land.