The World Beyond Your Head

The World Beyond Your Head PDF Author: Matthew B. Crawford
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374708444
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In his bestselling book Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew B. Crawford explored the ethical and practical importance of manual competence, as expressed through mastery of our physical environment. In his brilliant follow-up, The World Beyond Your Head, Crawford investigates the challenge of mastering one's own mind. We often complain about our fractured mental lives and feel beset by outside forces that destroy our focus and disrupt our peace of mind. Any defense against this, Crawford argues, requires that we reckon with the way attention sculpts the self. Crawford investigates the intense focus of ice hockey players and short-order chefs, the quasi-autistic behavior of gambling addicts, the familiar hassles of daily life, and the deep, slow craft of building pipe organs. He shows that our current crisis of attention is only superficially the result of digital technology, and becomes more comprehensible when understood as the coming to fruition of certain assumptions at the root of Western culture that are profoundly at odds with human nature. The World Beyond Your Head makes sense of an astonishing array of common experience, from the frustrations of airport security to the rise of the hipster. With implications for the way we raise our children, the design of public spaces, and democracy itself, this is a book of urgent relevance to contemporary life.

The World Beyond Your Head

The World Beyond Your Head PDF Author: Matthew B. Crawford
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374708444
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Get Book Here

Book Description
In his bestselling book Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew B. Crawford explored the ethical and practical importance of manual competence, as expressed through mastery of our physical environment. In his brilliant follow-up, The World Beyond Your Head, Crawford investigates the challenge of mastering one's own mind. We often complain about our fractured mental lives and feel beset by outside forces that destroy our focus and disrupt our peace of mind. Any defense against this, Crawford argues, requires that we reckon with the way attention sculpts the self. Crawford investigates the intense focus of ice hockey players and short-order chefs, the quasi-autistic behavior of gambling addicts, the familiar hassles of daily life, and the deep, slow craft of building pipe organs. He shows that our current crisis of attention is only superficially the result of digital technology, and becomes more comprehensible when understood as the coming to fruition of certain assumptions at the root of Western culture that are profoundly at odds with human nature. The World Beyond Your Head makes sense of an astonishing array of common experience, from the frustrations of airport security to the rise of the hipster. With implications for the way we raise our children, the design of public spaces, and democracy itself, this is a book of urgent relevance to contemporary life.

The World Beyond Your Head

The World Beyond Your Head PDF Author: Matthew Crawford
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241959454
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
From Matthew Crawford, 'one of the most influential thinkers of our time' (Sunday Times), comes The World Beyond Your Head - a hugely ambitious manifesto on flourishing in the modern world. In this brilliant follow-up to The Case for Working with Your Hands, Crawford investigates the challenge of mastering one's own mind. With ever-increasing demands on our attention, how do we focus on what's really important in our lives? Exploring the intense focus of ice-hockey players, the zoned-out behaviour of gambling addicts, and the inherited craft of building pipe organs, Crawford argues that our current crisis of attention is the result of long-held assumptions in Western culture and that in order to flourish, we need to establish meaningful connections with the world, the people around us and the historical moment we live in. Praise for The Case for Working With Your Hands: 'The best book I have read for ages . . . a profound exploration of modern education, work and capitalism' Telegraph 'Full of interesting stories and thought-provoking aperçus enlivened with humour . . . Important, memorable and enjoyable' The Times 'Masterly' Economist Matthew Crawford is a philosopher and mechanic. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago and served as a postdoctoral fellow on its Committee on Social Thought. Currently a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he also runs Shockoe Moto, a motorcycle repair shop.

Why We Drive

Why We Drive PDF Author: Matthew B. Crawford
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062741985
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
A brilliant and defiant celebration of driving as a unique pathway of human freedom, by "one of the most influential thinkers of our time" (Sunday Times) "Why We Drive weaves philosophers, thinkers, and scientific research with shade-tree mechanics and racers to defend our right to independence, making the case that freedom of motion is essential to who we are as a species. ... We hope you'll read it." —Road & Track Once we were drivers, the open road alive with autonomy, adventure, danger, trust, and speed. Today we are as likely to be in the back seat of an Uber as behind the wheel ourselves. Tech giants are hurling us toward a shiny, happy “self-driving” future, selling utopia but equally keen to advertise to a captive audience strapped into another expensive device. Are we destined, then, to become passengers, not drivers? Why We Drive reveals that much more may be at stake than we might think. Ten years ago, in the New York Times-bestselling Shop Class as Soulcraft, philosopher-mechanic Matthew B. Crawford—a University of Chicago PhD who owned his own motorcycle shop—made a revolutionary case for manual labor, one that ran headlong against the pretentions of white-collar office work. Now, using driving as a window through which to view the broader changes wrought by technology on all aspects of contemporary life, Crawford investigates the driver’s seat as one of the few remaining domains of skill, exploration, play—and freedom. Blending philosophy and hands-on storytelling, Crawford grounds the narrative in his own experience in the garage and behind the wheel, recounting his decade-long restoration of a vintage Volkswagen as well as his journeys to thriving automotive subcultures across the country. Crawford leads us on an irreverent but deeply considered inquiry into the power of faceless bureaucracies, the importance of questioning mindless rules, and the battle for democratic self-determination against the surveillance capitalists. A meditation on the competence of ordinary people, Why We Drive explores the genius of our everyday practices on the road, the rewards of “folk engineering,” and the existential value of occasionally being scared shitless. Witty and ingenious throughout, Why We Drive is a rebellious and daring celebration of the irrepressible human spirit.

Shop Class as Soulcraft

Shop Class as Soulcraft PDF Author: Matthew B. Crawford
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781594202230
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
A philosopher/mechanic's wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working with one's hands “This is a deep exploration of craftsmanship by someone with real, hands-on knowledge. The book is also quirky, surprising, and sometimes quite moving.” —Richard Sennett, author of The Craftsman Called “the sleeper hit of the publishing season” by The Boston Globe, Shop Class as Soulcraft became an instant bestseller, attracting readers with its radical (and timely) reappraisal of the merits of skilled manual labor. On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a “knowledge worker,” based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing. Using his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford presents a wonderfully articulated call for self-reliance and a moving reflection on how we can live concretely in an ever more abstract world.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains PDF Author: Nicholas Carr
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393079368
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction: “Nicholas Carr has written a Silent Spring for the literary mind.”—Michael Agger, Slate “Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question, in a celebrated Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration of the Internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences yet published. As he describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by “tools of the mind”—from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer—Carr interweaves a fascinating account of recent discoveries in neuroscience by such pioneers as Michael Merzenich and Eric Kandel. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways. Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic—a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption—and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection. Part intellectual history, part popular science, and part cultural criticism, The Shallows sparkles with memorable vignettes—Friedrich Nietzsche wrestling with a typewriter, Sigmund Freud dissecting the brains of sea creatures, Nathaniel Hawthorne contemplating the thunderous approach of a steam locomotive—even as it plumbs profound questions about the state of our modern psyche. This is a book that will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.

Flip

Flip PDF Author: Peter Sheahan
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061847135
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
What do the superstars of modern business have in common? An ability to "flip"—to think counterintuitively and then act boldly, with no regard for "business as usual" conventions. one of the youngest and fastest-rising stars on the international consulting and speaking circuit, Peter Sheahan reveals how the world's most effective organizations and individuals distinguish themselves from the competition instead of running with the pack. Sheahan explores six major flips Action Creates Clarity—to move forward you must act in spite of ambiguity. Fast, Good, Cheap: Pick Three, Then Add Something Extra—the new standard in every industry. To develop competitive advantage, you must Absolutely, Positively Sweat the Small Stuff. Satisfy customers' needs for engagement and contact—it's not "just business"—Business Is Personal. To win mass-market success, be courageous, Find It on the Fringe, and separate yourself from the competitive herd. To Get Control, Give It Up—empower others to create, dream, and believe for you. Stick to what you learned in business school at your peril. Today's small-world economy calls for a new way of doing business. It calls for Flip.

The Untethered Soul

The Untethered Soul PDF Author: Michael A. Singer
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
ISBN: 1608820491
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
#1 New York Times bestseller What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions. Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. You’ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization. Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being. The Untethered Soul has already touched the lives of more than a million readers, and is available in a special hardcover gift edition with ribbon bookmark—the perfect gift for yourself, a loved one, or anyone who wants a keepsake edition of this remarkable book. Visit www.untetheredsoul.com for more information.

The Case for Working with Your Hands

The Case for Working with Your Hands PDF Author: Matthew Crawford
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141954884
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Why do some jobs offer fulfilment while others leave us frustrated? Why do we so often think of our working selves as separate from our 'true' selves? Over the course of the twentieth century, we have separated mental work from manual labour, replacing the workshop with either the office cubicle or the factory line. In this inspiring and persuasive book, Matthew Crawford explores the dangers of this false distinction and presents instead the case for working with your hands. He brings to life the immense psychological and intellectual satisfactions of making and fixing things, explores the moral benefits of a technical education and, at a time when jobs are increasingly being outsourced over the internet, argues that the skilled manual trades may be one of the few sure paths to a good living. Drawing on the work of our greatest thinkers, from Aristotle to Heidegger, from Karl Marx to Iris Murdoch, as well as on his own experiences as an electrician and motorcycle mechanic, Crawford delivers a radical, timely and extremely enjoyable re-evaluation of our attitudes to work.

Riddles of Existence: A Guided Tour of Metaphysics

Riddles of Existence: A Guided Tour of Metaphysics PDF Author: Earl Conee
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN: 0191622680
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
The questions of metaphysics are among the deepest and most puzzling. What is time? Am I free in my actions? What makes me the same person I was as a child? Why is there something rather than nothing? Riddles of Existence makes metaphysics genuinely accessible, even fun. Its lively, informal style brings the riddles to life and shows how stimulating they can be to think about. No philosophical background is required to enjoy this book: anyone wanting to think about life's most profound questions will find Riddles of Existence provocative and entertaining.

The World Beyond the Walls

The World Beyond the Walls PDF Author: Jean Gill
Publisher: The 13th Sign
ISBN: 1393817246
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Block Nature out and she’ll force a way in. The climax to an award-winning series. Royal Dragonfly Award Winner. 2020 Kindle Book Award Fantasy Finalist. Mage Kermon struggles to stay loyal to Mielitta, the Queen of the Warrior Bees, in the ongoing war between the oppressive Citadel and the vibrant Forest. His secret dual role in the Citadel is threatened when his students trespass into the mysterious world beyond the walls and, in the back-stabbing climate of Citadel politics, he’s the sacrifice everyone is prepared to make. Little do those around him know that the future of both Forest and Citadel depends on his survival. Mielitta has always relied on Kermon in her fight to restore harmony with Nature and now he needs her help. But to save him and the lives of his two young rebels, the bee-shifter must face the evil that lurks in the Citadel walls. Her natural forces tested beyond human endurance, she discovers that evil can wear a friend’s face and that to keep one promise, Kermon must break another. This gripping conclusion to the acclaimed Natural Forces trilogy takes the reader on a wild flight into the unexpected as Mielitta learns why she was born. Can she fulfil her destiny? ‘Jean Gill's Natural Forces series offer a rich, strange, and alluring adventure that buzzes with intrigue and nature.’ The Booklife Prize ‘Fabulous world-building and spellbinding intrigue,’ Karen Inglis