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Earth Is a Nuclear Planet is a book on nuclear energy unlike any other. It makes the reader feel like a genius by clearly explaining all the relevant basic science in a fun and entertaining way. Faced by the looming catastrophe of devastating climate change, more and more environmentalists and climate scientists are turning to nuclear power as the cleanest, safest, and ultimately least costly technology for generating the electricity we all need. But there are many myths and conceptions about nuclear energy, irresponsibly hyped by the sensational media, which require to be understood, debunked, and cleared away. Earth Is a Nuclear Planet goes through all these myths and misconceptions, carefully noting all the fallacies and misunderstandings which plague discussion of the energy options confronting humankind. Mike Conley and Tim Maloney, two superbly talented popular writers, have spent years questioning a select panel of leading scientists to arrive at a fresh and luminous understanding of the issues surrounding nuclear power. All their factual claims are documented with abundant citations, which some readers will readily skip while others will follow them up. Every scientific claim made in the book has been checked and rechecked a dozen times by fully accredited experts. On the issue of nuclear safety, Conley and Maloney pay special attention to the notorious accidents, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, identifying the misconceptions which prevail, and spotlighting many surprising facts along the way. "Fears of nuclear energy are often completely backward. For example, should a person be more afraid of a radioactive material with a long half-life or a short half-life? Anti-nuclear propaganda encourages more fear of the long half-life material. "It's going to be radioactive for a million years!" Actually, something that will continue to be radioactive for a long time means it isn't very radioactive right now. All other things being equal (size of sample, type of radiation) material with a short half-life is more dangerous. "I have always known the half-life example of mistaken fear, but I was amazed to see how many examples the authors of Earth Is a Nuclear Planet found. Writing this book must have been an amazing research project. It has 60 pages of endnotes plus 30 pages of supplements. The supplements are more detailed explanations of things like calculations of mining wastes. By relegating some of the heavy-duty material to a separate section, the authors made the main part of the book very readable. "For example, the book has several chapters on the Linear No Threshold (LNT) theory: the title of one chapter is 'No Safe Dose of BS'. LNT claims that there is 'no safe dose' of radiation. Since life on Earth includes background radiation, I guess we are all going to die. Wait, . . . wait, . . . we ARE all going to die! But not of the effects of radiation. "The authors explain that BS in the chapter title means Bad Science. (Of course, it does. Why didn't I notice that?) For me, reading this book was enjoyable as well as informative. "We live on a planet with a great deal of natural radioactivity. There are also many ways in which radioactive material can be used for human health and happiness. This comprehensive book is a guide to our nuclear planet and our nuclear future. Please read it!"Meredith Angwin, author of Shorting the Grid

CRISIS! Dog and Cat find out the family is moving. Dog freaks out. He does NOT want to move. He goes through all the classic stages: denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. Cat tries to get him to acceptance. But Cat is fine—really she is—or is she? Dog and Cat plow through the days until moving. They eat. They nap. They argue. They take care of their owners. But can they figure out how to stop this terrible move? Dog & Cat is told in a series of funny concrete (shape) poems and hilarious conversations. Perfect for any kid, age 9 and up. Or anyone who just wants a fun book.

The media and the politicians are always screaming at usabout horrifying, end-of-the-world threats, and also about miraculous newtechnologies that will save us and transform our lives.  These are the two types of Hype-Fear Hype andHope Hype.  They work together tobefuddle our minds and keep us on edge. Both forms of Hype, according to Arnold Schelsky are overblown, exaggerated to the nth degree, and scientificallyworthless. Climate change does not threaten us with extinction, machines cannever conspire against their human creators-and on the other hand, "globalgovernance" cannot solve any of our serious problems, while most of themiraculous expectations for quantum physics are scientific nonsense. AI is a focus of both types of Hype, with provablyfalse predictions that machines will be able to think and create, provablyfalse predictions that machines will replace employees causing massunemployment, and provably false predictions that machines can conceivepurposes or intentions hostile to humans. Fear Hypejustifies the move toward a permanent state of emergency while Hope Hypetitillates us with wild dreams which can never be realized. The political result is a system Schelsky calls "neo-feudalism."  Thepsychological result is a rapid oscillation between extreme, unwarranted Fearand extreme, unwarranted expectations of salvation and bliss. In thelife of any animal, overactivity is short-lived and restricted to emergencysituations. No living being can sustain overactivity for longer periods withoutself-harm.  Hype is a form of toxicoveractivity of entire societies.  Todaythe West is in an accelerated Hype Cycle, hyping ourselves from one peak ofexcitement to the next. Valuesconducive to the Hype Cycle have been developing in the West since the1920s.  Schelsky favors renewedemphasis on pre-1920s values. Arnold Schelsky lives in Germany and frequently visits the United States.  He is a medical doctor, scientist, andentrepreneur, who now runs his own AI company and never exaggerates the meritsof his products.

"Homeschooling Quick Start is a straightforward, user-friendly guide for the parent who sees an urgent need to start homeschooling their child, and also the parent who is wondering whether they have what it takes to homeschool. Written in a format that allows for a quick overview, and then diving deeper into detailed aspects of homeschooling, this book explains what's necessary for homeschooling and lays out the steps needed to start homeschooling from scratch, with plenty of examples and firsthand experience."--

In 2022 the Belgian clinical psychologist Mattias Desmet went viral when he identified official government policies on the Covid Pandemic as a kind of collective insanity he calls Mass Formation. Desmet points out that official policies were not modified to conform with scientific findings, instead the findings were ignored and seriously harmful policies were fanatically promoted regardless of the evidence. Many thousands have died because of the lockdowns and the adverse effects of the vaccines. Meanwhile critics and dissenters were demonized and persecuted by methods normally associated with the Salem witch trials or Stalin's purges. Desmet's bold new theory was greeted by Covid skeptics like Robert Malone, Bret Weinstein, and Tucker Carlson with enthusiastic agreement.  Desmet's numerous social media videos racked up millions of viewers, even before his book, The Psychology of Totalitarianism, became an instant best-seller in all major world languages. Desmet's theory of mass formation (sometimes called mass formation psychosis, a label he disavows) explains the official ideology of the lockdowns and vaccines along the same lines as historical pogroms and totalitarian regimes, drawing upon the insights of thinkers such as Gustave Le Bon, Hannah Arendt, and Michel Foucault. In 1951, Hannah Arendt predicted that the totalitarianism of Stalin and Hitler would be succeeded by the totalitarianism of faceless bureaucratic 'experts'. This prediction, Desmet claims, is now fulfilled by the fear-mongering and deliberate encouragement of popular ignorance and mass hysteria associated with the Covid lockdowns and vaccines. Ultimately, argues Desmet, we are vulnerable to the craziness of mass formation because we place too much reliance on a mechanistic view of the world and the cosmos and too much trust in the judgment of politically appointed authorities. In Mattias Desmet: Critical Responses, an interdisciplinary group of distinguished writers give us searching criticisms of Desmet's theory and world-view, from a variety of political and scientific perspectives. In different ways they call into question many of Desmet's methods, assumptions, and conclusions. Sandra Woien is Senior Lecturer in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. She edited the highly-acclaimed anthologies, Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses (2022) and Sam Harris: Critical Responses (2023).

Steven Pinker is a controversial scholar in many fields and a popular voice on social media. His books and talks are followed by millions of thoughtful readers, not confined to academics.  He has written and spoken about violence, rationality, sex differences, human nature, language as a biological instinct, and other topics. Pinker's many best-selling books include Rationality (2021), Enlightenment Now (2018), The Better Angels of Our Nature (2011), The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (2002), and How the Mind Works (1997). In Steven Pinker: Critical Responses, a number of distinguished writers from various backgrounds give us searching criticisms of Pinker's theory and world-view, reflecting a diversity of political and scientific perspectives. In different ways they call into question many of Pinker's methods, assumptions, and conclusions. Steven Pinker: Critical Responses is the fourth volume in the Critical Responses series, which brings together criticisms of famous public intellectuals with a major following on social media, treated seriously but without academic pretensions or trappings. Ray Scott Percival is a philosopher who has taught at Lancaster University and the United Arab Emirates University.  He founded the Karl Popper Web and the Enlightenment Defended page on Facebook. He is the author of The Myth of the Closed Mind: Understanding Why and How People Are Rational (2012).

"Anthony Bourdain committed suicide in 2018 and is now more popular than ever. He is famous for being brave enough to eat things most Americans would not regard as food, including a whole cobra, raw seal's eyeballs, and unwashed warthog rectum. His book Kitchen Confidential (2000) was his first best-seller but not his last. Though best known as an authority on food and international travel, Bourdain also wrote popular crime novels and books on history and other topics. He was a fan and friend of The Ramones, and dedicated his hilarious book The Nasty Bits (2007) to the members of the band. Bourdain was a heavy user of multiple drugs, a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and an exposer of sexual harassment both in the restaurant business and the movies. All his writings and recorded conversations are witty and penetrating, and express his strong personal opinions on many subjects, from vegetarianism to religion. Anthony Bourdain and Philosophy is a collection of chapters by a diverse group of philosophers on many aspects of Bourdain's life and work. Among the topics discussed: What counts as food, and what counts as good food? What can we learn from travel that we could not glean from books and movies? Do eating habits bring people together or drive them apart? Is suicide a moral issue or just a matter of personal preference? Is it okay for an addictive personality to indulge his many indications, including addictions to work and sports? Are vegetarianism and other progressive lifestyle features "first world luxuries"? Scott Calef is professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Ohio Wesleyan University. He edited Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All Will Be Revealed (2009), and has written many scholarly articles on philosophy"--

Warren Zevon and Philosophy is a collection of chapters on Zevon's life and music, authored by philosophers who are also Zevon fans, providing new and exciting insights into Zevon's thinking, his cynical lyrics, and the cruel ironies of his roller-coaster life and career. Since his death in 2003 at the age of fifty-six, Warren Zevon's following has grown, and seven books on Zevon have appeared in the last few years, with more in the works. The Zevon legend continues to attract attention both because of the outstanding quality of his best songs and because of the poignant trajectory of his life. According to the novelist Carl Hiaasen, Zevon "left behind a wildly intelligent and captivating body of music." Warren Zevon was an American rock'n'roll singer-songwriter, born in Chicago, though associated with the music scene in Los Angeles. His early albums, Warren Zevon (1976) and Excitable Boy (1978) attracted a loyal fan following and ecstatic praise from critics. As a special talent to watch, the teenage Zevon was introduced to several notable people, including even Igor Stravinsky. Zevon's descent into alcoholism and other addictions, along with his debauchery and erratic behavior, took its toll and his performances suffered, an aspect disturbingly captured in the memoir by his ex-wife Crystal Zevon, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon (2008). In the last few years of his life, Zevon rehabilitated somewhat, and his work returned to an impressive level of quality. His remarkable final albums, Life'll Kill Ya (2000), My Ride's Here (2002), and The Wind (2003) have made a lasting impact. The last of these was given the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, while the song "Disorder in the House," performed by Zevon with Bruce Springsteen, won Best Rock Vocal Performance. John MacKinnon teaches philosophy at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has published scholarly articles on aesthetics and philosophy of literature.

Between the Parliament of Religions which met in Chicago in 1893 at the time of the Columbian Exposition, and World War I, Asian religions and philosophies made a significant impact on the United States, causing a profound change in thinking about them, including their relevance to the present. More so than any other religion, Buddhism became a crutch for those who, in the final decades of the nineteenth century, became disillusioned with Christianity‿s claim to superiority over all other faiths. Like so many intellectuals at the time, Carus was seeking a path from the older theologies into a new secular world and its uncertain future. Through The Buddha's Midwife, Paul Carus not only brought elements of Buddhism to the United States, but much of the Western world. This book was written to recount the journey of one of the principal contributors to the spread of Buddhist thinking in American thought and culture. Now, reissued for the first time since its original publishing, The Buddha's Midwife returns to excite and inspire new audiences.Â

Sam Harris, a previously unknown neuroscientist, single-handedly generated the New Atheism with his best-selling book The End of Faith, which quickly became a huge best-seller following its release in 2004.Harris went on to write several more best-sellers on a range of topics and has become one of the world’s most followed podcasters. He is well-known for his controversial positions in many areas, including the unique danger of Islam, the advocacy of atheist spirituality through meditation, the beneficial use of psychedelics, denial of the existence of free will, his belief that science can tell us what’s right and wrong, and his extreme alarmism with regard to the future of artificial intelligence. Sam Harris: Critical Responses is a collection of essays criticizing different aspects of Harris’s thinking from a range of diverse perspectives—left and right, Christian and atheist, philosophical, psychological, and political. These twenty serious criticisms of Sam Harris, written by experts from diverse political and ideological backgrounds, are often severe while maintaining an approach that is reasonable and respectful. As one noted author commented on Sandra Woien’s previous collection, Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses, “Both fans and foes will appreciate this volume.”Forward by Stephen R. C. Hicks. Stephen is a professor of Philosophy at Rockford University. He is the author of Explaining Postmodernism (2004) and Nietzsche and the Nazis (2010).

Pokémon is one of the most amazing pop culture phenomena of our epoch, with deep metaphysical roots and profound philosophical implications. Pokémon and Philosophy celebrates this cultural icon while helping its readers unpack the hidden secrets of Pokémon. In this collection of essays, modern-day philosophers examine and dissect the video game extravaganza. They explore its creators' original intent to entertain audiences, as well as examine the expansion of the Pokémon empire and its various wide-reaching effects on Western popular culture. Using a collection of diverse backgrounds, cutting-edge arguments and convictions, Pokémon and Philosophy encourages its readers to stay curious and to explore the world of Pokémon a little further in our attempt to philosophically 'catch 'em all'!This is the latest edition (#6) in our series, Pop Culture and Philosophy.Nicolas Michaud has edited Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout (2016), Discworld and Philosophy: Reality Is Not What It Seems (2016), and Frankenstein and Philosophy: The Shocking Truth (2013). He co-edited, with Jennifer Watkins, Iron Man vs. Captain America and Philosophy: Give Me Liberty or Keep Me Safe (2018).

The New York Times has praised Dave Chappelle as “an American folk hero” for his ability to communicate across lines of race, class, and culture at a time when Americans are more polarized than they have ever been.Dave Chappelle and Philosophy brings together twenty-five chapters by philosophers of diverse backgrounds and varying points of view, looking closely at the hilarious, annoying, exhilarating, upsetting, and thought-provoking aspects of Chappelle’s wonderfully rich output. This volume of the Pop Culture and Philosophy Series serves as an invitation to think about some of the most urgent moral and political questions of our time.

The celebrated literary critic and theorist of popular culture Paul A. Cantor predicted that the next greatest work of art in the history of world civilization will be a videogame. In the opinion of many gamers, Dark Souls is the video game that has come closest to fulfilling this prophecy. This action-adventure RPG features some of the most astounding artistry and visual imagery throughout its complex storylines. The creators' choice to intentionally direct players' focus onto individual character development through the usage of exploration, interconnecting environments, and rebirth has made Dark Souls one of the highest grossing video games of all time. Its cyclical world views make it ripe with philosophical elements and inspirations, making it truly unique and launching an unparalleled empire of gaming. Now, modern-day philosophers explore the deeper topics and issues lying within Dark Souls' lore, delving into its twists and turns to identify insightful and thoughtful discussions, idioms and thematic elements to inspire the everyday gamer. This is book #4 in our series, Pop Culture and Philosophy. -- Nicolas Michaud

A lot of thought goes into making Hollywood films and television series. The best artists of the twentieth century chose this medium over the arts they would have practiced in previous centuries --the painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, actors, and most of all the director, the master auteur, packed up their gear and went west. As time has gone on, television and movie-making converged into one huge canvas for all that creative thinking. Let's think about some of the best things that got thunk in the last hundred years, see if we can uncover the deeper layers of that thinking and sling a little philosophy at the screen.

Queen and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind is a collection of cutting-edge philosophical essays on the rock group Queen, founded in 1970 and originally featuring lead vocalist Freddie Mercury.  Queen's reputation and fan following continue to grow in the twenty-first century. These insightful and provocative chapters include:? uncover the origins of Queen's unique style in prog rock, vulgarity, and lower versus higher Romanticism? examine Queen's view of love and friendship? draw upon three timeless Queen songs, "We Will Rock You," "We Are the Champions," and "Don't Stop Me Now" and Socrates's behavior in the Apology, to understand the "rocking" nature of philosophy? identify the connections between ancient matriarchal religion and Queen's love for strong female imagery? explore how Brian May's astrophysics brings to bear the issues of absolute versus relative spacetime and how the philosophies of Newton, Mach, and Einstein contribute to Queen's creative output? analyze the structure of Queen's sound to answer the inevitable question, How can four people make all that music?? expose what Queen's songs tell us about the contemporary theory of mental illness and therapy? scrutinize Roger Taylor's stark impressions of ordinary life and death, and their alignment to the cynical musings of Diogenes of Sinope and Seneca's blunt observations on the shortness of life? look at the movie Highlander through the music of Queen and reveal how both song and cinema convey the philosophy of bushido, the soul of the samurai

“All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.” Karl Marx might have been thinking of punk rock when he wrote these words in 1847, but he overlooked the possibility that new forms of solidity and holiness could spring into existence overnight.Punk rock was a celebration of nastiness, chaos, and defiance of convention, which quickly transcended itself and developed its own orthodoxies, shibboleths, heresies, and sectarian wars. Is punk still alive today? What has it left us with? Does punk make any artistic sense? Is punk inherently anarchist, sexist, neo-Nazi, Christian, or—perish the thought—Marxist? When all’s said and done, does punk simply suck? These obvious questions only scratch the surface of punk’s philosophical ramifications, explored in depth in this unprecedented and thoroughly nauseating volume. Thirty-two professional thinkers-for-a-living and students of rock turn their x-ray eyes on this exciting and frequently disgusting topic, and penetrate to punk’s essence, or perhaps they end up demonstrating that it has no essence. You decide. Among the nail-biting questions addressed in this book:● Can punks both reject conformity to ideals and complain that poseurs fail to confirm to the ideals of punk?● How and why can social protest take the form of arousing revulsion by displaying bodily functions and bodily abuse?● Can punk ethics be reconciled with those philosophical traditions which claim that we should strive to become the best version of ourselves?● How close is the message of Jesus of Nazareth to the message of punk?● Is punk essentially the cry of cis, white, misogynist youth culture, or is there a more wholesome appeal to irrepressibly healthy tendencies like necrophilia, coprophilia, and sadomasochism?● In its rejection of the traditional aesthetic of order and complexity, did punk point the way to “aesthetic anarchy,” based on simplicity and chaos?● By becoming commercially successful, did punk fail by its very success?● Is punk what Freddie Nietzsche was getting at in The Birth of Tragedy, when he called for Dionysian art, which venerates the raw, instinctual, and libidinous aspects of life?

If you love wine, this book will give you all the knowledge and self-confidence you need to become a world-class wine taster. It reveals in methodical steps exactly how to acquire essential wine-tasting skills. Cees (it’s pronounced ‘Case’) van Casteren is a brilliant scientist, author, and international wine competition judge, as well as one of the global super-elite (less than 500 top experts worldwide) who have been able to earn the supreme title, Master of Wine.Anyone Can Taste Wine first appeared in Dutch and instantly established itself in the Netherlands as far and away the most authoritative and popular book on the subject.From the book’s introductory chapter:“Many people typically believe that the ability to taste comes from some kind of inborn, innate aptitude—as though ‘taste’ were a genetic hand-me-down—something that you either have, or you don’t have. But that’s not true.“Wine tasting is a skill. Anyone can taste wine, as long as they have normally functioning senses of smell and taste. Anyone (that is) who is motivated to learn and practice—a lot—can become a good wine taster. Genes or no genes.“Much of this skill will involve awareness of how to train your senses. While there are genetic differences between humans in terms of smelling and tasting, these innate differences do not make one taster better than another. Research by taste professor Linda Bartoshuk, previously at the University of Yale, has shown that a wine taster’s ability to taste is mainly due to the amount of training that the taster has experienced. Specifically, exercises dedicated to recognizing wine scents and developing an attendant wine language are the main contributing factors in developing wine tasting abilities. The difficulty that most besets inexperienced tasters is a lack of suitable vocabulary that would enable them to name and describe the flavors and scents that they taste and smell. This vital skill, being able to describe flavors and aromas in words, remains a common problem, even for the most experienced of wine tasters. According to Professor Tim Jacob of Cardiff University, a method that will enable you to associate smells and flavors with a suitable repertoire of words will contribute greatly to the enhancement of tasting skills . . . that is . . . you just need a method. The more user-friendly, the easier it will be to learn and remember.And that’s exactly what I realized at the start of my Master of Wine studies. The method had to be user-friendly in order to help me to remember all relevant aspects for tasting, describing, and analyzing the wine. In search of these aspects, I started with . . . the wine itself. With this fascinating blend of water (colorless, odorless, tasteless), alcohol (colorless, odorless, slightly sweet), acids, sugars, pigments, aromas, and tannins which together give wine its color, smell, and taste.“And I was quite quick to learn that this very curious and complex combination of color, aromas, alcohol, acids, sugars and tannins actually were the ‘relevant aspects’ I was looking for, and therefore the targets of my attention while developing a method. The answer to my quest was indeed in the wine itself!”

Better Call Sauland Philosophy: I Think Therefore I Scam is a collection of twenty-three essaysexploring the philosophical themes in the hit television show Better CallSaul, a prequel to the TV show Breaking Bad. The sixth and final season of Better CallSaul aired from April to August 2022.The central character is JimmyMcGill, whom we know from Breaking Bad as Saul Goodman. In Better Call Saul he first takes thename of Saul Goodman from the phrase ?S'all Good, Man!? Jimmy/Saul is a naturalcon artist who not only scams from self-interest but also because he enjoys it.He has a strange relationship with his brother, the distinguished lawyerCharles McGill, who resents Jimmy's delinquency and advantage in parentalaffection. Jimmy/Saul becomes a lawyer for a drug cartel, and most of the peoplehe meets are criminals and other kinds of villains.Like Breaking Bad, BetterCall Saul raises a wide range of philosophical issues including the natureof good and evil, personal identity, free will and determinism, the law as itrelates to morality, the ethical implications of the war on drugs, death anddying, and many more. Better Call Saul and Philosophy offers thoughtfulfans of the show deeper and more provocative insights into the story and thecharacters. Topics covered include: the moralityof keeping promises to wrongdoers, the nature of psychosomatic illness,difficult moral choices facing lawyers, just how good or bad are some of thecompromised characters in the show, the unintended consequences of the War onDrugs, the similarities between drug cartels and governments, whether badpeople are just unlucky, the perils of self-deception, and whether we everreally have much of a choice.Better Call Saul and Philosophyis Volume 8 in the path-breaking series, Pop Culture and Philosophy.

Microchips, government-replaced bird drones, QAnon and vaccine tracers: these are just a few of the most common conspiracies we have heard over and over again throughout most of 2020-2021's news cycles. There are common categories of conspiracy theories, variants of which pop up over and over again, and new and outrageous theories that seemingly appear overnight. While most of them are easily debunked, conspiracy theories and their root causes can be used to closely track people's most significant philosophical concerns at a point in time. In this up-to-date study of conspiracy theories, the authors look at the history of conspiracy theories, discuss the history and hallmarks of such theories, and examine what counts as a conspiracy theory--and what doesn't.