The Weirdness

The Weirdness PDF Author: Jeremy P. Bushnell
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612193161
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Literary fiction meets the otherworldly in this “wonderfully weird and entertaining” urban fantasy for Millennial fans of Victor LaValle (Esquire). “An utterly charming, silly, and heartily entertaining coming-of-age story about a man-boy who learns to believe in himself by reckoning with evil.” —Boston Globe What do you do when you wake up hung over and late for work only to find a stranger on your couch? And what if that stranger turns out to be an Adversarial Manifestation—like Satan, say—who has brewed you a fresh cup of fair-trade coffee? And what if he offers you your life’s goal of making the bestseller list if only you find his missing Lucky Cat and, you know, sign over your soul? If you’re Billy Ridgeway, you take the coffee.

The Weirdness of the World

The Weirdness of the World PDF Author: Eric Schwitzgebel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691239304
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
How all philosophical explanations of human consciousness and the fundamental structure of the cosmos are bizarre—and why that’s a good thing Do we live inside a simulated reality or a pocket universe embedded in a larger structure about which we know virtually nothing? Is consciousness a purely physical matter, or might it require something extra, something nonphysical? According to the philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel, it’s hard to say. In The Weirdness of the World, Schwitzgebel argues that the answers to these fundamental questions lie beyond our powers of comprehension. We can be certain only that the truth—whatever it is—is weird. Philosophy, he proposes, can aim to open—to reveal possibilities we had not previously appreciated—or to close, to narrow down to the one correct theory of the phenomenon in question. Schwitzgebel argues for a philosophy that opens. According to Schwitzgebel’s “Universal Bizarreness” thesis, every possible theory of the relation of mind and cosmos defies common sense. According to his complementary “Universal Dubiety” thesis, no general theory of the relationship between mind and cosmos compels rational belief. Might the United States be a conscious organism—a conscious group mind with approximately the intelligence of a rabbit? Might virtually every action we perform cause virtually every possible type of future event, echoing down through the infinite future of an infinite universe? What, if anything, is it like to be a garden snail? Schwitzgebel makes a persuasive case for the thrill of considering the most bizarre philosophical possibilities.

The Weirdness

The Weirdness PDF Author: Jeremy P. Bushnell
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612193161
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Literary fiction meets the otherworldly in this “wonderfully weird and entertaining” urban fantasy for Millennial fans of Victor LaValle (Esquire). “An utterly charming, silly, and heartily entertaining coming-of-age story about a man-boy who learns to believe in himself by reckoning with evil.” —Boston Globe What do you do when you wake up hung over and late for work only to find a stranger on your couch? And what if that stranger turns out to be an Adversarial Manifestation—like Satan, say—who has brewed you a fresh cup of fair-trade coffee? And what if he offers you your life’s goal of making the bestseller list if only you find his missing Lucky Cat and, you know, sign over your soul? If you’re Billy Ridgeway, you take the coffee.

Global Weirdness

Global Weirdness PDF Author: Climate Central
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307743365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Global Weirdness summarizes everything we know about the science of climate change, explains what is likely to happen to the climate in the future, and lays out, in practical terms, what we can do to avoid further shifts. In sixty easy-to-read entries, Climate Central tackles basic questions such as: -Is climate ever “normal”? -Why and how do fossil-fuel burning and other human practices produce greenhouse gases? -What natural forces have caused climate change in the past? -What risks does climate change pose for human health? -What accounts for the diminishment of mountain glaciers and small ice caps around the world since 1850? -What are the economic costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions? Illustrated throughout with clarifying graphics, Global Weirdness enlarges our understanding of how climate change affects our daily lives, and arms us with the incontrovertible facts we need to make informed decisions about the future of the planet, and of humankind.

The WEIRDest People in the World

The WEIRDest People in the World PDF Author: Joseph Henrich
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374710457
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

Weird in a World That's Not

Weird in a World That's Not PDF Author: Jennifer Romolini
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062472755
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
A guide to career success for the awkward, the offbeat, the introverted, and anyone who feels like they don’t fit in: “A book as funny as it is wise.” —Rumaan Alam, New York Times–bestselling author of Leave the World Behind As a brand-new employee at a mandatory corporate retreat, Jennifer Romolini—who was afraid of heights—found herself, under pressure, clawing her way to the top of a rope ladder. There, she promptly froze in terror until someone climbed up to help her down. It didn’t seem like an auspicious beginning, but the awkward, anxious, twenty-seven-year-old misfit stayed in the job (where climbing was not actually a required skill), and went on to succeed. She navigated through the New York media industry and became a boss—an editor-in-chief, an editorial director, and a vice president—all within little more than a decade. In this book, she asserts that being outside the norm and achieving high-level success are not mutually exclusive, even if it seems like only office-politicking extroverts are set up for reward. Part career memoir, part real-world guide, Weird in a World That’s Not offers relatable advice on how to achieve your dreams when you feel like you don’t fit in and the odds seem stacked against you. She helps you face your fears, find the right career, and get and keep a job—and offers empathetic, clear-cut answers to important questions: How do I navigate the awkwardness of networking? How do I deal with intense office politics? How do I leave my crappy job? How do I learn how to be a boss, not just a #boss? And, most importantly: How do I do all this and stay true to who I really am? Authentic, funny, and moving, Weird in a World That’s Not will help you tap into your inner tenacity and find your path, no matter how off-the-beaten-path you are.

Perplexities of Consciousness

Perplexities of Consciousness PDF Author: Eric Schwitzgebel
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262295083
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
A philosopher argues that we know little about our own inner lives. Do you dream in color? If you answer Yes, how can you be sure? Before you recount your vivid memory of a dream featuring all the colors of the rainbow, consider that in the 1950s researchers found that most people reported dreaming in black and white. In the 1960s, when most movies were in color and more people had color television sets, the vast majority of reported dreams contained color. The most likely explanation for this, according to the philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel, is not that exposure to black-and-white media made people misremember their dreams. It is that we simply don't know whether or not we dream in color. In Perplexities of Consciousness, Schwitzgebel examines various aspects of inner life (dreams, mental imagery, emotions, and other subjective phenomena) and argues that we know very little about our stream of conscious experience. Drawing broadly from historical and recent philosophy and psychology to examine such topics as visual perspective, and the unreliability of introspection, Schwitzgebel finds us singularly inept in our judgments about conscious experience.

Weird

Weird PDF Author: Olga Khazan
Publisher: Hachette Go
ISBN: 0316418498
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
Learn why the concept of "weird" is being reclaimed and turned into a badge of honor, used to show how being different—culturally, socially, physically, or mentally—can be a person's greatest strength. Most of us have at some point in our lives felt like an outsider, sometimes considering ourselves "too weird" to fit in. Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt there was something different about her. This feeling has permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life. She decided to reach out to other people who were unique in their environments to see if they had experienced similar feelings of alienation, and if so, to learn how they overcame them. Weird is based on in-person interviews with many of these individuals, such as a woman who is professionally surrounded by men, a liberal in a conservative area, and a Muslim in a predominantly Christian town. In addition, it provides actionable insights based on interviews with dozens of experts and a review of hundreds of scientific studies. Weird explores why it is that we crave conformity, how that affects people who are different, and what they can do about it. First, the book dives into the history of social norms and why some people hew to them more strictly than others. Next, Khazan explores the causes behind-and the consequences of-social rejection. She then reveals the hidden upsides to being "weird," as well as the strategies that people who are different might use in order to achieve success in a society that values normalcy. Finally, the book follows the trajectories of unique individuals who either decided to be among others just like them; to stay weird; or to dwell somewhere in between. Combining Khazan's own story with those of others and with fascinating takeaways from cutting-edge psychology research, Weird reveals how successful individuals learned to embrace their weirdness, using it to their advantage.

High Weirdness

High Weirdness PDF Author: Erik Davis
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 1907222871
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Book Description
An exploration of the emergence of a new psychedelic spirituality in the work of Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna, and Robert Anton Wilson. A study of the spiritual provocations to be found in the work of Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna, and Robert Anton Wilson, High Weirdness charts the emergence of a new psychedelic spirituality that arose from the American counterculture of the 1970s. These three authors changed the way millions of readers thought, dreamed, and experienced reality—but how did their writings reflect, as well as shape, the seismic cultural shifts taking place in America? In High Weirdness, Erik Davis—America's leading scholar of high strangeness—examines the published and unpublished writings of these vital, iconoclastic thinkers, as well as their own life-changing mystical experiences. Davis explores the complex lattice of the strange that flowed through America's West Coast at a time of radical technological, political, and social upheaval to present a new theory of the weird as a viable mode for a renewed engagement with reality.

The Insides

The Insides PDF Author: Jeremy P. Bushnell
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612195474
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
“With The Insides, Jeremy P. Bushnell doesn’t so much mash genres together as slice them apart to find the filets. It’s a literary urban fantasy with sharp things to say about the way we live now, darkened by a touch of Scandinavian thriller: rich and urgent and weird, a novel that defies categorization but demands to be consumed.” —Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore “The Insides begins with all the freewheeling magic and humor of The Weirdness, then ups the ante with danger, suspense, and rich emotional resonance. If you love fierce, witchy leading ladies, facing down evil, and traveling to strange realms that will explain your life before they haunt you forever, this is the book for you.” —Alyssa Harad, author of Coming to My Senses Ollie Krueger’s days as a punk kid practicing street magic are are mostly behind her. Now she’s a butcher at Carnage, a high-end restaurant offering deconstructed takes on meat. On busy nights Ollie and her partner, Guychardson, race to see who can produce the most finished cuts. Ollie’s the better butcher, but somehow Guychardson always wins ... and Ollie thinks maybe it’s because the mysterious knife he uses is magic. Before she knows it, Ollie’s interest in the knife has thrown her square in the path of a dangerous ex-marine called “Pig” and his hired psychic, Maja, who are on the hunt for the knife too—who want it so badly, in fact, that they might kill for it. Now, magic is back in Ollie’s life and she’s being chased through New York City, with the fabric of space-time tattering around her and weird inter-dimensional worms squirming their way into her kitchen. And before it's all over she’s going to need to face up to the Possible Consequences of some bad decisions, to look at the uncomfortable truths that she stuffed away long ago, deep down ... inside . . .

Where Does The Weirdness Go?

Where Does The Weirdness Go? PDF Author: David Lindley
Publisher:
ISBN: 0786725877
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Few revolutions in science have been more far-reaching--but less understood--than the quantum revolution in physics. Everyday experience cannot prepare us for the sub-atomic world, where quantum effects become all-important. Here, particles can look like waves, and vice versa; electrons seem to lose their identity and instead take on a shifting, unpredictable appearance that depends on how they are being observed; and a single photon may sometimes behave as if it could be in two places at once. In the world of quantum mechanics, uncertainty and ambiguity become not just unavoidable, but essential ingredients of science--a development so disturbing that to Einstein "it was as if God were playing dice with the universe." And there is no one better able to explain the quantum revolution as it approaches the century mark than David Lindley. He brings the quantum revolution full circle, showing how the familiar and trustworthy reality of the world around us is actually a consequence of the ineffable uncertainty of the subatomic quantum world--the world we can't see.