Science & Nature Books

Book SynopsisThe International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) is currently implementing the greatest change ever in the world''s system of weights and measures -- it is redefining the kilogram, the final artefact standard, and reorganizing the system of international units. This book tells the inside story of what led to these changes, from the events surrounding the founding of the BIPM in 1875 -- a landmark in the history of international cooperation -- to the present. It traces not only the evolution of the science, but also the story of the key individuals and events. The BIPM was the first international scientific laboratory. Founded in 1875 by the Metre Convention, its original tasks were to conserve the new international standards of the metre and the kilogram, to carry out calibrations for Member States and undertake research to advance measurement science. The book is based on the substantial archive of the BIPM which, from the very beginning, recounts the many discussions and arguments first as to whether and how such an institute should be created and in due course, how over the next one hundred and thirty years it should develop. Despite many national and personal rivalries, the institute actually created was admirably suited to its declared tasks. In the years and decades that followed, the scientific work of the small group of men who made up its first staff was of a very high order. One of the early Directors received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1920 for his discovery of invar. The international governing Board of the institute, the International Committee of Weights and Measures, has guided the institute from one charged with the conservation of the prototype artefacts to one now at the centre of world metrology and preparing for the redefinition of the last remaining artifact, the kilogram, in terms of a fixed value for one of the fundamental constants of physics, the Planck constantTable of ContentsIntroduction ; Chapter 1: The origins of the Metre Convention 1851 to 1869 ; Why? ; The need for international agreement on measurement standards ; The great Exhibition of 1851 in London ; The 1855 Paris Universal Exhibition and Statistical Congress ; The Universal Exhibition Paris 1867; a time of political tension in Europe ; The unit of length for geodesy and the original definition of the metre ; The International Conferences on Geodesy, Berlin 1864 and 1867 ; Reactions from France: the Bureau des Longitudes ; Academy of Science of Saint Petersburg ; Reaction from the Academie des Sciences ; Chapter 2: The creation of the International Metre Commission 1869 ; Creation of the Metre Commission ; The members of the French Section of the Metre Commission ; The first meetings of the French Section ; What should be the origin of the new international metre? ; The first meeting of the Metre Commission, August 1870 ; Chapter 3: The International Metre Commission, meetings of 1872/73 ; The order of things from 1869 to 1875 ; The Committee for Preparatory Research April 1872 ; The International Metre Commission September October 1872 ; Chapter 4: The casting of 1874 and the first steps in the fabrication of the new metric standards ; Great Britain decides not to join ; The problem of melting and casting platinum ; Preparations for the Conservatoire casting ; The casting of 250 kilograms of platinum-iridium on 13 May 1874: the alloy of the Conservatoire ; Approval of the Permanent Committee ; First indications that the alloy of the Conservatoire was contaminated with iron and ruthenium ; To proceed regardless ; Chapter 5: The Diplomatic Conference of the Metre 1875 ; The first sessions of the Conference ; The Special Commission ; First drafts of the Convention ; Attempts at a compromise proposal ; The opinion of the French Government ; The first vote on the proposals ; The 12 and 15 April sessions of the Diplomatic Conference ; The signing of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 ; Chapter 6: The creation of the BIPM and the beginning of the construction of the new metric prototypes; problems with the French Section ; The first meeting of the International Committee for Weights and Measures ; The founding members of the International Committee ; Choosing the site for the International Bureau, the Pavillon de Breteuil ; Decisions on the main instruments for the new institute ; Progress between April 1875 and April 1876; design for laboratory building ; Difficult relations between the International Committee and the French Section ; First meeting of the International Committee at the Pavillon de Breteuil; the Committee refuses the 1874 alloy ; A new railway line and improved relations with the French Section ; Chapter 7: 1879 to 1889, the first decade of scientific work at the International Bureau ; Progress with metres and instruments ; Publications, official and scientific and the library ; Elections to the International Committee ; Construction of the new prototypes, the metres ; Construction of the new prototypes, the kilograms ; More on the metres ; Good relations with the French Section ; The measurement of temperature, the 1887 hydrogen scale ; A first unsuccessful step towards electrical standards at the BIPM ; Chapter 8: New Member States and the first General Conference on Weights and Measures, 1889 ; New States join including Great Britain ; Time to call a General Conference? ; Final acts of the French Section ; The first General Conference on Weights and Measures September 1889 ; The formal adoption of the new metric prototypes ; The distribution of national prototypes ; In the end, who was right about the alloy of the Conservatoire? ; Chapter 9: The development of the scientific work at the BIPM, the General Conferences of 1895 and 1901 ; More new scientific work ; Thermometry ; The density of water ; The length of the metre in terms of the wavelength of light ; Calibrations ; Staff health problems and building repairs ; Members of the International Committee ; The toise and the Imperial Standard Yard ; The second General Conference and the BIPM pension scheme and reserve fund ; The third General Conference: the BIPM too small and fragile? ; Chapter 10: The creation of the Grands Laboratoires ; Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR) ; National Physical Laboratory (NPL) ; The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) ; A French national standards laboratory? ; Chapter 11: The story of invar and the extension of the role of the International Bureau at the 6th General Conference 1921 ; The origins of the discovery of invar ; Thermal and mechanical properties of invar ; Samuel Stratton and Sir David Gill and proposals for changing the Convention ; Scientific staff of the Bureau ; The fifth General Conference and proposals for a new temperature scale ; Legal and practical metrology ; The International Bureau 1914 to 1918 ; The meeting of the International Committee in 1920 and the resignation of Foerster ; Plans to broaden the range of the Bureau's work ; The opening of the sixth General Conference 27 September 1921 ; Objections to the new role for the International Bureau ; Final conclusions of the Conference: a new Convention and broader role for the International Bureau ; Chapter 12: The 7th and 8th General Conferences 1927 and 1933, practical metrology and the Bureau during the Second World War ; The financial situation of the Bureau in the 1920s ; Results of the first verification of national prototypes of the metre presented to 7th General Conference ; What should be the standard temperature for the definition of the metre and for industrial length metrology? ; Quartz reference standards for length and proposals for a new definition of the metre ; Agreement for work on electrical standards at the International Bureau and the creation of the Consultative Committee for Electricity ; The International Temperature Scale of 1927 ; The beginning of electrical work at the International Bureau ; The move to absolute electrical units ; A Consultative Committee for Photometry and the CIE, new definition of the standard of light ; The International Committee takes an important decision related to practical metrology ; Other activities of The International Committee and international Bureau in the 1930s ; The International Bureau during the Second World War ; Scientific work during the War ; Chapter 13: The SI, absolute electrical units, the International Committee and the creation of the ionizing radiation section. ; The call for an International System of Units at the 9th General Conference 1948 ; The substitution of absolute electrical units for the 1908 International Units ; Objections on the part of the PTR ; A date for implementation of the absolute system and interruption caused by the war ; The need to act quickly ; Final decisions of the International Committee ; Final discussions on practical metrology ; New science, new prospects for units ; The International Committee after the war ; The International Bureau and its staff after the war, the Accord de Siege ; The creation of the Ionizing Radiation Section at the Bureau ; Chapter 14: The adoption of the SI, revising the Metre Convention, new definitions of the metre and second at the 11th General Conference 1960 ; The International System of Units SI ; Preparations to revise the Metre Convention ; Discussions at the 11th General Conference ; The change in definition of the Metre: arguments for and against ; Which radiation to choose? ; The new definition of the metre and the International Bureau ; Financial matters and problems of the Cold War ; The definition of the second ; The International Committee decides ; Problems with the new definition of the second ; The second redefined again in 1967 ; The development of the scientific work of the International Bureau up to 1975 ; The influence on the Bureau of national standards laboratories ; The influence of the Consultative Committees ; Laser wavelength standards at the Bureau ; Staff development at the Bureau ; Calibrations: an evolving activity at the Bureau ; The new journal, Metrologia ; Chapter 15: The mole, the speed of light and more about the Metre Convention ; The mole and chemistry ; The first attempt to bring chemistry into the affairs of the Bureau ; The 13th CGPM and its refusal to adopt the dotation ; The Centenary of the Metre Convention in 1975 ; Redefinition of the metre in terms of the speed of light ; New proposals to modify the Metre Convention ; The Direction and supervision of the International Bureau from 1975 to 2003 ; The financial situation of the BIPM from 1975 to 2003 ; The Pavillon du Mail, some difficulties with building permission ; Chapter 16: New science at the BIPM and the Recognition of National measurement Standards ; The BIPM staff in the last quarter of the 20th century ; Developments in photometry and radiometry and a new definition of the candela ; International Atomic Time and Coordinated Universal Time ; Other new science at the Bureau ; The new quantum electrical standards ; The BIPM mechanical workshop ; Chemistry at last comes to the CIPM and BIPM ; Traceability in laboratory medicine ; The International Organization for Legal Metrology ; The CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement for National Measurement Standards - early discussions ; First moves towards an MRA ; Regional metrology organizations ; Other pressures on national laboratories and looking to the BIPM ; First meeting of Directors of national metrology institutes and first draft of an MRA ; Quality systems and key comparison reference values ; Final agreement reached ; Chapter 17: The redefinition of the kilogram and the move towards the New SI ; The kilogram from 1889 to the present day ; Advances in science that at last make absolute units possible ; The watt balance ; Determine the mass of an atom by x-ray crystal density of silicon ; Comparing the results from the watt balance and the silicon crystal density experiments ; How and when to proceed to an actual redefinition of the kilogram ; What does it mean to fix the numerical value of a fundamental constant and how do we use it to define a unit? ; The arguments against a new definition ; Redefining the ampere, kelvin and mole ; How to formulate the new definitions ; The CIPM proposes an absolute system of units based on the fundamental constants of physics ; Epilogue: The new SI and the future role of the BIPM ; Appendix English text of the Metre Convention ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisImagine you are fluent in a magical language of prophecy, a language so powerful it can accurately describe things you cannot see or even imagine. Einstein''s Heroes takes you on a journey of discovery about just such a miraculous language--the language of mathematics--one of humanity''s most amazing accomplishments. Blending science, history, and biography, this remarkable book reveals the mysteries of mathematics, focusing on the life and work of three of Albert Einstein''s heroes: Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and especially James Clerk Maxwell, whose work directly inspired the theory of relativity. Robyn Arianrhod bridges the gap between science and literature, portraying mathematics as a language and arguing that a physical theory is a work of imagination involving the elegant and clever use of this language. The heart of the book illuminates how Maxwell, using the language of mathematics in a new and radical way, resolved the seemingly insoluble controversy between Faraday''s idTrade ReviewOpen-minded students will come away from reading Einstein's Heroes with a newfound appreciation of the role of scientific inquiry and insight in the larger human enterprise-and hopefully, will acquire a hankering to 'take to the field' themselves. * The Mathematical Association of America *Arianrhod's achievement is to so masterfully combine history, biography, and mathematics as to absorb and enlighten even the mathematically maladroit. * Booklist *Arianrhod is an infectiously enthusiastic writer, keen for her audience both to admire Einstein's heroes and to understand their contributions to fundamental mathematical physics. * Nature Physics *An intriguing blend of science, history, and biography.... Arianrhod's well-written, fascinating discussion of intertwined topics not usually presented in one book aimed at general readers is highly recommended. * Library Journal (starred review) *Offers readers an engaging intellectual exercise combining physics, language, mathematics, and biography. * Science News *A thrilling story.... Arianrhod is an easy author to like, and not simply for the clarity of her narrative. She brings out the human side of the scientists. She also is a student of imaginative prose: Her explication of a novel by the Australian David Malouf helps introduce ideas about mathematics, and she quotes the poet William Blake to crystallize a thought about Maxwell.... Scientists' quest for knowledge is exhilarating to Arianrhod, and she conveys that to the reader. * bloombergnews.com *On one level, Robyn Arianrhod's Einstein's Heroes is about the crowning achievement of classical physics * James Clerk Maxwell's understanding of electricity, magnetism, and light. But on another level, Arianrhod adeptly examines a much deeper idea: why is mathematics the language of nature and how do physicists tap the hidden power of numbers to understand the physical world? Einstein's Heroes does an admirable job of explaining the strange allure that mathematics holds over the scientists who so dramatically altered the way we look at the universe.Charles Seife, New York University, author of Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea *With exceptional skill, Arianrhod makes her subject clearly understood through metaphor, example, and story. She has given us a treasure - a combination of history, biography, and essay that clearly shows how and why the language of mathematics is essential to imagination in modern physics. Her unique book deserves high praise and should be read by anyone who enjoys science writing at its best. * Science and Spirit *

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Book SynopsisIt has long been thought that science is our best hope for realizing objective knowledge, but that, to deliver on this promise, it must be value free. Things are not so simple, however, as recent work in science studies makes clear. The contributors to this volume investigate where and how values are involved in science, and examine the implications of this involvement for ideals of objectivity.Trade ReviewHistorians of science whose work has led them to puzzle over their own and their historical actors' judgments of the relations between value and scientific fact will find much of value here. * Alan Richardson, Isis *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction Part I: Case Studies Chapter 2: John Dupré: Fact and Value Chapter 3: Michael Root: How Should Sociologists Study Social Problems? Chapter 4: Lynn Hankinson and Allison Wylie: Coming to Terms with the Value(s) of Science: Insights from Feminist Science Scholarship Chapter 5: Brad Wray: Evaluating Scientists Part II: Evidence and Values Chapter 6: Elliott Sober: Evidence and Value Freedom Chapter 7: Heather Douglas: Rejecting the Ideal of Value Free Science Chapter 8: John Roberts: Is Logical Empiricism Committed to the Ideal of Value Free Science? Chapter 9: Sherri Roush: Constructive Empiricism and the Role of Social Values in Science Chapter 10: Gerald Doppelt: The Value Ladenness of Scientific Knowledge Chapter 11: Harold Kincaid: Contextualist Morals and Science Index

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Book SynopsisContains the philosophical account of new computer methods for empirical scientific research, and how they require a different approach to scientific method. This work draws a parallel between the ways in which such computational methods have enhanced our abilities to mathematically model the world, and the familiar ways.Trade Review"... many of the issues raised here are important and deserving of the attention the author pays to them." --CHOICE"This book is an excellent philosophical appraisal of the roles played by computers in modern science...an excellent philosophical discussion of the role of computational models in physics."--Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

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Book SynopsisThis carefully documented exposé of the Intelligent Design (ID) movement contributed to the stunning victory in Federal court of eleven Dover, PA, parents who recognized ID''s threat to public education and religious freedom. Now in paperback, here is Forrest and Gross''s influential work documenting the continuity of intelligent design with traditional creationism. The new text updates ID initiatives in Kansas and Ohio and the movement''s shifting strategies in an attempt to remain viable after its legal undoing in federal court. Anyone who values science and the benefits of life in an enlightened society should know about the Wedge''s political, cultural, and religious ambitions. With a new foreword by Barry Lynn, this updated edition is an essential guide to ID''s continuing threat to public education and the separation of church and state. It is the book to turn to for an inside look at the claims and operations of the ID movement, the most recent manifestation of American creatioTrade Review"Science educators can benefit greatly by understanding creationists' motivations and strategies. These are thoroughly documented in Creationism's Trojan Horse"--SCIENCE"This is the definitive work on modern creationism, an exhaustively detailed and compelling exposure of the attempt--by the well-known process in nature called by biologists "aggressive mimicry"--to corrupt science in the service of sectarian religion. In the process, the book explores the larger and seemingly endless struggle between religion-based tribal values and science-based universal values."--Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor, Emeritus, Harvard University"Creationism's Trojan Horse documents the disturbing movement to sneak religious dogma back into science education, driven by the vague fear that Americans can't handle the truth. Educators, scientists, and politicians would do well to understand this movement and its tactics, and this book is a superb and timely analysis."--Steven Pinker, Johnston Professor, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate"Intelligent Design 'theory' (ID) has been well described as Creationism in a cheap Tuxedo. One if its luminaries, we are told, has 'angrily denied that ID is stealth creationism.' He is right. There's no stealth about it. It is Creationism. Unfortunately, ID 'theorists' have a streetwise political professionalism to outweigh the amateurishness of their science, and we therefore cannot ignore them. Barbara Forrest and Paul Gross meticulously document their pretensions, destroy their arguments, and expose their true motivation. An excellent and sadly necessary book."--Richard Dawkins. author of The Selfish Gene"Read an account of the history of Intelligent Design and of the Discovery Institute...You can find a gold mine in Creationism's Trojan Horse"--Phi Delta KappanTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION

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Book SynopsisUniversally recognized as bringing about a revolutionary transformation of the notions of space, time, and motion in physics, Einstein''s theory of gravitation, known as general relativity, was also a defining event for 20th century philosophy of science. During the decisive first ten years of the theory''s existence, two main tendencies dominated its philosophical reception. This book is an extended argument that the path actually taken, which became logical empiricist philosophy of science, greatly contributed to the current impasse over realism, whereas new possibilities are opened in revisiting and reviving the spirit of the more sophisticated tendency, a cluster of viewpoints broadly termed transcendental idealism, and furthering its articulation. It also emerges that Einstein, while paying lip service to the emerging philosophy of logical empiricism, ended up siding de facto with the latter tendency. Ryckman''s work speaks to several groups, among them philosophers of science anTrade Reviewa treasure of philosophical wisdom and historical information into which everyone who has not delivered his soul to metaphysical realism will do well to delve. * Roberto Torretti, Mind *

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Book SynopsisIn the last fifteen years a controversial new theory of the origins of biological complexity and the nature of the universe has been fomenting bitter debates in education and science policy across North America, Europe, and Australia. Backed by intellectuals at respectable universities, Intelligent Design Theory (ID) proposes an alternative to accepted accounts of evolutionary theory: that life is so complex, and that the universe is so fine-tuned for the appearance of life, that the only plausible explanation is the existence of an intelligent designer. For many ID theorists, the designer is taken to be the god of Christianity. Niall Shanks has written the first accessible introduction to, and critique of, this controversial new intellectual movement. Shanks locates the growth of ID in the last two decades of the twentieth century in the growing influence of the American religious right. But as he shows, its roots go back beyond Aquinas to Ancient Greece. After looking at the historTrade Review[A] cogent and well-argued alarum...Shanks deftly skewers the scientific pretensions of intelligent design creationists. * Science *

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Book SynopsisField naturalists have observed the activities of weasels for centuries. Their descriptions were often accurate but sometimes misinterpreted the animals'' behaviors and underlying explanations for those behaviors. Organized natural history became one of the roots of the science of ecology in the 1920s and by the 1960s scientists had begun to study the biology of weasels with all the critical, objective advantages of modern theory and equipment. Until the first edition of this book appeared in 1989 no one had attempted to explain these results to non-specialist naturalists. Now thoroughly revised, this book will continue to be the main one-stop reference for professionals. But both kinds of knowledge are brought together here-- observations for the traditional naturalist and rigorous measurements and interpretations for modern scientists, integrated into a single, readable account. This new edition provides a comprehensive summary of the extensive advances over the last 15 years in ouTrade Review...provides a wide range of information on evolution, ecology, morphology, behaviour and physiology on weasels and stoats...It includes many different recent studies, from Europe (mainly Britain), New Zealand and North America. This is one of the major books on mustelids. It is also nicely illustrated. * Ge'raldine Veron Mammalia *The emphasis of this new edition has moved from a British to a N. American flavour with much to say about the booming populations of mustelids in New Zealand; still an excellent natural history book for the British ecologist. British Ecological Society 2008This is some of the best current natural history writing. * Highland News *Table of Contents1. Weaselly distinguished, stoatally different ; 2. Hair trigger mouse traps with teeth ; 3. Molt and winter whitening ; 4. Body size ; 5. Food ; 6. Hunting behavior ; 7. The impact of predation by weasels on populations of natural prey ; 8. Adjustable living spaces ; 9. Reproduction ; 10. Populations: density and breeding success ; 11. Populations: survival and mortality ; 12. Human attitudes to weasels in their native environments ; 13. Stoats as introduced pests in New Zealand ; 14. Puzzles: sexual dimorphism, delayed implantation and co-existence among weasel species ; Conclusion

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Book SynopsisEvolutionary Behavioral Ecology is intended to be used a text for graduate students and a sourcebook for professional scientists seeking an understanding of the evolutionary and ecological processes shaping behavior across a wide array of organisms and a diverse set of behaviors. Chapters are written by an array of leading experts in the field, providing a core foundation, a history of conceptual developments, and fresh insight into the controversies and themes shaping the continuing development of the field. Essays on adaptation, selection, fitness, genetics, plasticity, and phylogeny as they pertain to behavior place the field in the broader context of ecology and evolution. These concepts, along with a diversity of theoretical approaches are applied to the evolution of behavior in a many contexts, from individual decision-making of solitary animals through to complex social interactions. Chapters integrate conceptual and theoretical approaches with recent empirical advances to undTrade Review"There is no denying that this volume will set behavioral ecology's research path for the near future. The book does an admirable job of highlighting new ideas and approaches that are shaping the future of behavioral ecology with discussions of powerful techniques as well as boundary-challenging ideas. The chapters in Evolutionary Behavioral Ecology are short, concise and to-the-point. The material is presented in an engaging and enthusiastic style - a quality that will certainly appeal to graduate students and other newcomers to the field. The presentation, format, and style are consistent and flow very well from one chapter to the next. Credit the editors with this achievement."--Integrative and Comparative Biology "Impressive. It's completeness, the fact that chapters are written by leading international experts in each field, and the inclusion of those equations necessary to explain topics in depth, all serve to widen the coverage of ideas and therefore the potential readership compared to other books in behavioral ecology. This will make the book an important, if not a standard source for students and professionals alike. This book would be a valuable addition to the personal bookshelf of a reader of TREE or to the shelves of any life science library."--Trends in Ecology and Evolution "[This book] allows a serious exploration of the many relevant and important aspects of behavioural ecology, with the evolutionary thread running through it. The reasonable paperback price puts this within grasp of most ecologists who want to understand the behavioural background of their work."--Bulletin of the British Ecological Society "As evidenced by the title alone, which emphasizes the role of evolutionary biology, the field of behavioral ecology has expanded greatly beyond studies of animal behavior over the last few decades. This book succeeds in highlighting not only many of the discipline's classic themes and newer developments, it also has a portion devoted partly to future directions. Just as Krebs and Davies's classic textbook spanned four editions and nearly 20 years, I would not be surprised if this volume did the same."--Dustin R. Rubenstein for The Quarterly Review of Biology Books Received -- Evolutionary Anthropology Evolutionary Behavioral Ecology should set the standard for the field for another decade or two. --BioScienceTable of ContentsCONTRIBUTORS; LITERATURE CITED

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Book SynopsisFor over thirty years Susan Wolf has been writing about moral and nonmoral values and the relation between them. This volume collects Wolf''s most important essays on the topics of morality, love, and meaning, ranging from her classic essay Moral Saints to her most recent The Importance of Love.Wolf''s essays warn us against the common tendency to classify values in terms of a dichotomy that contrasts the personal, self-interested, or egoistic with the impersonal, altruistic or moral. On Wolf''s view, this tendency ignores or distorts the significance of such values as love, beauty, and truth, and neglects the importance of meaningfulness as a dimension of the good life. These essays show us how a self-conscious recognition of the variety of values leads to new understandings of the point, the content, and the limits of morality and to new ways of thinking about happiness and well-being.Trade ReviewThe Variety of Values is a valuable contribution to contemporary ethics suitable for both professional philosophers and a more general readership. * Lucas Scripter, The Philosophical Quarterly *Table of Contents1. Introduction ; Part I: Moral and Nonmoral Values ; 2. Moral Saints ; 3. Morality and Partiality ; 4. Morality and the View From Here ; 5. Good-for-Nothings ; Part II: Meaning in Life ; 6. The Meanings of Lives ; 7. Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life ; 8. Meaning and Morality ; Part III: Love ; 9. One Thought Too Many: Love, Morality, and the Ordering of Commitment ; 10. Loving Attention: Lessons in Love from The Philadelphia Story ; 11. The Importance of Love ; Part IV: The Concept of Duty ; 12. Above and Below the Line of Duty ; 13. The Role of Rules ; 14. Moral Obligations and Social Commands

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Book SynopsisThis book narrates the story of human biological and cultural evolution, from the earliest beginnings of our zoological family Hominidae, through the emergence of Homo sapiens, to the Agricultural Revolution. It concludes with a brief overview of the subsequent diversification of cultural and technological traditions in all the areas our species inhabits. A particular focus is on the pattern of events/innovations in human biological and cultural evolution, which have tended not to proceed in lockstep. Prior to the emergence of Homo sapiens innovations of this kind were generally sporadic, and rare; since that event their frequency has been steadily increasing. Tattersall draws on his own research to demonstrate that the history of humankind has not been one of a singleminded struggle from primitiveness to perfection, but has rather been one of trial and error, of evolutionary experimentation that as often ended in failure as in success. In the process he thoroughly examines both the fTrade ReviewThe book is clearly written and does provide a handy, and accessible introduction to what can be a rather complicated story. * The Glasgow Naturalist *Ultimately how good is this book? Pleasingly, the answer is that it is very good. It takes a complex subject and produces a gripping read while covering the major themes of human evolution with a refreshing confidence. * Simon Underdown, Times Higher Education Supplement *Table of Contents1. Evolutionary Processes ; 2. Ancient Bones and Ancient Stones ; 3. On Their Own Two Feet ; 4. Emergence of the Genus Homo ; 5. Getting Brainier ; 6. Modern Human Origins ; 7. Settled Life ; Index

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Book SynopsisStudies of mind, thought and reason have tended to marginalize the role of bodily form, real-world action, and environmental backdrop. In recent years, both in philosophy and cognitive science, this tendency has been identified and, increasingly, resisted. The result is a plethora of work on what has become known as embodied, situated, distributed, and even ''extended'' cognition. Work in this new, loosely knit field depicts thought and reason as in some way inextricably tied to the details of our gross bodily form, our habits of action and intervention, and the enabling web of social, cultural, and technological scaffolding in which we live, move, learn, and think. But exactly what kind of link is at issue? And what difference might such a link or links make to our best philosophical, psychological, and computational models of thought and reason? These are among the large unsolved problems in this increasingly popular field. Drawing upon recent work in psychology, linguistics, neurosTrade Reviewan important book for all cognitive-science theorists of all stripes... Supersizing the Mind will set the terms for many of the coming debates * Evan Thompson, Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsForward: By David Chalmers / Acknowledgements / Introduction: BRAINBOUND versus EXTENDED / I: From Embodiment to Cognitive Extension - 1. The Active Body: 1.1 A Walk on the Wild Side; 1.2 Inhabited Interaction; 1.3 Active Sensing; 1.4 Distributed Functional Decomposition; 1.5 Sensing for Coupling; 1.6 Information Self-Structuring; 1.7 Perception, Qualia, and Sensorimotor Expectations; 1.8 Time and Mind; 1.9 Dynamics and (Soft) Computation.; 1.10 Out from the Bedrock; 2. The Negotiable Body: 2.1 Where the Rubber Meets the Road; 2.2 What's in an Interface?; 2.3 New Systemic Wholes; 2.4 Substitutes; 2.5 Incorporation Vs Use; 2.6 Towards Cognitive Extension; 2.7 Three Grades of Embodiment; 3. Material Symbols: 3.1 Language as Scaffolding; 3.2 Augmenting Reality; 3.3 Sculpting Attention; 3.4 Hybrid Thoughts?;3.5 From Translation to Coordination; 3.6 Second-order Cognitive Dynamics; 3.7 Self-made Minds.;4. World, Incorporated: 4.1 Cognitive Niche Construction: A Primer; 4.2 Cognition in the Globe: A Cameo; 4.3 Thinking Space; 4.4 Epistemic Engineers; 4.5 Exploitative Representation and Wide Computation; 4.6 Tetris: The Update; 4.7 The Swirl of Organization; 4.8 Extending the Mind; 4.9 BRAINBOUND versus EXTENDED: The Case So Far.; II. Boundary Disputes - 5. Mind Re-bound?: 5.1 EXTENDED Anxiety; 5.2 Pencil Me In; 5.3 The Odd Coupling; 5.4 Cognitive Candidacy; 5.5 The Mark of the Cognitive?; 5.6 Kinds and Minds; 5.7 Perception and Development; 5.8 Deception and Contested Space; 5.9 Folk Intuition and Cognitive Extension; 5.10 Asymmetry and Lopsideness; 5.11 Similarity vs Complementarity; 5.12 Hippo-World; 6. The Cure for Cognitive Hiccups (HEMC, HEC, HEMC): 6.1 Rupert's Challenge; 6.2 HEC versus HEMC; 6.3 Parity and Cognitive Kinds (Again); 6.4 The Persisting Core; 6.5 Cognitive Impartiality; 6.6 A Brain Teaser; 6.7 Thoughtful Gestures; 6.8 Material Carriers; 6.9 Loops as Mechanisms; 6.10 Anarchic Self-Stimulation; 6.11Autonomous Coupling; 6.12 Why the HEC?; 6.13 The Cure; 7. Rediscovering the Brain: 7.1 Matter into Mind; 7.2.Honey, I Shrunk the Representations; 7.3 Change Spotting: The Sequel; 7.4 Thinking about Thinking: The Brain's Eye View.: 7.5 Born-Again Cartesians?; 7.6 Surrogate Situations; 7.7 Plug Points; 7.8 Brain Control; 7.9 Asymmetry Arguments; 7.10 Extended in a Vat; 7.11 The (Situated) Cognizer's Innards; III: The Limits of Embodiment - 8. Painting, Planning, and Perceiving: 8.1 Enacting Perceptual Experience; 8.2 The Painter and the Perceiver; 8.3 Three Virtues of the Strong Sensorimotor Model; 8.4 A Vice: Sensorimotor (Hyper) Sensitivity; 8.5 What Reaching Teaches; 8.6 (Tweaked)Tele-Assistance; 8.7 Sensorimotor Summarizing; 8.8 Virtual Content, Again; 8.9 Beyond the Sensorimotor Frontier; 9. Disentangling Embodiment: 9.1 Three Threads; 9.2 The Separability Thesis; 9.3 Beyond Flesh-eating Functionalism. ; 9.4 Ada, Adder, and Odder; 9.5 A Tension Revealed; 9.6 What Bodies Are; 9.7 Participant Machinery and Morphological Computation; 9.8 Quantifying Embodiment; 9.9 The Heideggerian Theatre / 10. Conclusions: Mindsized Bites / Appendix: The Extended Mind (Andy Clark and David Chalmers)

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Book SynopsisThe visual world of animals is highly diverse and often very different from the world that we humans take for granted. This book provides an extensive review of the latest behavioral and neurobiological research on animal vision, highlighting fascinating species similarities and differences in visual processing. It contains 26 chapters written by world-leading experts about a variety of species including: honeybees, spiders, fish, birds, and primates. The chapters are divided into six sections: Perceptual grouping and segmentation, Object perception and object recognition, Motion perception, Visual attention, Different dimensions of visual perception, and Evolution of the visual system. An exhaustive work in range and depth, How Animals See the World will be a valuable resource for advanced students and researchers in areas of cognitive psychology, perception and cognitive neuroscience, as well as researchers in the visual sciences.Trade ReviewThe book is fascinating reading for the specialist in perception and the cognitive neuroscientist. * J. A. Mather, CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Part I. Perceptual grouping and segmentation ; Chapter1: What birds see and what they don't ; William Hodos ; Part II. Luminance, contrast, and spatial and temporal resolution ; Chapter 2: Color vision in fish and other vertebrates ; Christa Neumeyer ; Chapter 3: Grouping and early visual processing in avian vision ; Robert Cook and Carl Erick Hagmann ; Chapter 4: Figure-ground segregation and object-based attention in birds ; Olga Lazareva and Edward Wasserman ; Chapter 5: Neurobiological foundations of figure-ground segregation in primates ; Hans Super ; Chapter 6: Illusory perception in animals: Observations and interpretations ; Edward Wasserman ; Chapter 7: Amodal completion and illusory perception in birds and primates ; Kazuo Fujita, Noriyuki Nakamura, Ayumi Sakai, Sota Watanabe, & Tomokazu Ushitani ; Chapter 8: Neurobiology of perception of illusory contours in animals ; Andreas Nieder ; Part III. Object perception and object recognition ; Chapter 9: How jumping spiders see the world ; Duane P Harland, Daiqin Li and Robert R Jackson ; Chapter 10: Visual discrimination by the honeybee (Apis mellifera) ; Adrian Horridge ; Chapter 11: Recognition by components: A birds' eye view ; Edward A. Wasserman and Irving Biederman ; Chapter 12: Birds' perception of depth and objects in pictures ; Marcia L. Spetch and Ronald G. Weisman ; Chapter 13: The recognition of rotated objects in animals ; Jessie J. Peissig and Tamara Goode ; Chapter 14: Neural mechanisms of object recognition in non-human primates ; Rufin Vogels ; Part IV. Motion perception ; Chapter 15: Avian visual processing of motion and objects ; Robert G. Cook and Matthew S. Murphy ; Chapter 16: Neural mechanisms underlying visual motion detection in birds ; Douglas R.W. Wylie and Andrew N. Iwaniuk ; Chapter 17: Primate motion perception ; Bart Krekelberg ; Part V. Visual attention ; Chapter 18: Primate visual attention: How studies of monkeys have shaped theories of selective visual processing ; Pierre Pouget, Jason Arita and Geoffrey F. Woodman ; Chapter 19: Selective and divided attention in pigeons ; Tom Zentall ; Chapter 20: Visual cognition in baboons: Attention to the global and local stimulus properties ; Joel Fagot ; Part VI. Different dimensions of visual perception ; Chapter 21: Circadian visual system of mammals ; awrence P. Morin ; Part VII. Evolution of visual system ; Chapter 22: Evolution of the brain in vertebrates: Overview ; Ann B. Butler ; Chapter 23: Evolution of the vertebrate eye ; James K Bowmaker ; Chapter 24: The avian visual system: Overview ; Toru Shimizu and Shigeru Watanabe ; Chapter 25: Development of the visual system in birds and mammals ; Hans-Joachim Bischof ; Chapter 26: Brain asymmetry in vertebrates ; Onur Gunturkun ; Postscript: Shaun Vecera ; Index

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Book SynopsisWhat is temperature, and how can we measure it correctly? These may seem like simple questions, but the most renowned scientists struggled with them throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In Inventing Temperature, Chang examines how scientists first created thermometers; how they measured temperature beyond the reach of standard thermometers; and how they managed to assess the reliability and accuracy of these instruments without a circular reliance on the instruments themselves. In a discussion that brings together the history of science with the philosophy of science, Chang presents the simple yet challenging epistemic and technical questions about these instruments, and the complex web of abstract philosophical issues surrounding them. Chang''s book shows that many items of knowledge that we take for granted now are in fact spectacular achievements, obtained only after a great deal of innovative thinking, painstaking experiments, bold conjectures, and controversy. Lurking behind these achievements are some very important philosophical questions about how and when people accept the authority of science.Trade Reviewthe most important book on this subject since Bridgman's classic work of 1927... Chang's book should become mandatory reading for anyone who wants to pursue the problem of measurement further. * Donald Gillies, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science *Table of Contents1. Keeping the Fixed Points Fixed ; 2. Spirit, Air, and Quicksilver ; 3. To Go Beyond ; 4. Theory, Measurement, and Absolute Temperature ; 5. Measurement, Justification, and Scientific Progress

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Table of ContentsForeword by Martha Swope ; Preface ; 1. Introduction ; 2. Balance ; 3. Motions Without Turns ; 4. Pirouettes ; 5. Turns in the Air ; 6. The Pas de Deux ; 7. The Mechanics of Partnered Turns ; 8. The Mechanics of Lifts ; 9. The Effects of Body Size ; 10. A Step into the Future ; Appendix A - Linear Mechanics and Newton's Laws ; Appendix B - Rotational Mechanics ; Appendix C - Anatomical Data for Dancers ; Appendix D - Rotational Inertia for Some Body Configurations ; Appendix E - Acceleration Away from Balance ; Appendix F - Off-Balance Pirouettes ; Appendix G - Arabesque Turn Analysis ; Appendix H - Quantitative Analysis of the Grande Pirouette ; Appendix I - Quantitative Analysis of the Fouette Turn ; Appendix J - Quantitative Analysis of the Supported Fouette Turn ; Appendix K - Lean, Don't Slip ; Appendix L - Biomechanical Forces in a Dancer's Body ; Glossary ; Index

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Book SynopsisThis is the only field guide to provide comprehensive coverage of the mammals of Central America and southeast Mexico. The fully revised second edition includes 21 new species, as well as updated illustrations and distribution maps. Each species account provides measurements, descriptions, and comparisons with similar species, and is accompanied by a range map showing where the species can be found in the region.The 49 full-color animal plates contain similar species portrayed to scale on the same plate, with tracks and feet shown on the facing-page. 4 new full-color maps provide visual views of parks and protected areas, biomes, elevations and habitat loss, as well as a political map of the region. The book also features a detailed introduction with sections on how and where to find mammals and a listing of the most endangered species in the region.Trade Review"This book is the very best news for anyone who is going to Central America and southeast Mexico to view or work with mammals. As a field biologist I cannot imagine a more important part of my field equipment than a really good field guide. Well, Fiona Reid's book is not just a `really good' field guid, it's excellent. . . .Invaluable. . . .I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the mammals of Central America. The coverage is simply outstanding!" --Bat Research News "This field guide is a major contribution to Central American mammalogy, field biology, and conservation as well as an essential field reference for that part of the world...Highly recommended."--Donald S. Heintzelman, Wildlife Activist "The book is generously illustrated with 48 full-colour plates and numerous line drawings. The colour plates illustrate about 85% of the 349 species in the region. All large mammals are illustrated in colour, and different forms are included when a species varies with sex, age or geographic location. Particularly impressive are the portrayals of small mammals such as bats, rodents, and marsupials, most of which were painted directly from life by the author. Designed for use both by amateur naturalists and professional biologists, this guide provides accounts for all mammals native to the land and surrounding waters of Central America and Southeast Mexico (east of the Isthmus of Tehuantapec)."--Ethology Ecology & Evolution "This book is an outstanding addition to the field guide genre for several reasons. First and foremost is that the author is an artist/naturalist who has personally captured and drawn or painted many of the small mammals described and illustrated in this book. Many of Reid's color plates sparkle with life because of her personal familiarity with dozens of species of bats and rodents. The illustrations are so realistic that one almost expects to see the ears of bats twitch and the vibrissae of rodents to wiggle! This book is worth purchasing for the 48 color plates alone. Other outstanding aspects include excellent advice about how and where to find shy, mostly nocturnal tropical mammals . . and a 17-page bibliography that provides references to much of the literature on the ecology and behavior of neotropical mammals. . . . In summary, this book makes a fascinating and diverse fauna very accessible to both amateur and professional naturalists."--The Quarterly Review of Biology Recommended on Birdkeeper's Bookcase http://sites.google.com/site/birdbookersbookcase/ "This field guide has been revised to include 21 new species of mammals (9 of which are bats). 4 new color regional maps have been added. The 49 color plates were painted by Reid. Anyone with an interest in Neotropical mammals will want this book!"--The Birdbooker ReportTable of ContentsIntroduction ; How to Find Mammals ; Studying Mammals ; The Need for Further Research ? ; Where to Find Mammals ?? ; Conservation of Mammals in Central America ?? ; American Opossums (Order Didelphimorphia, Family Didelphidae)? ? ; Anteaters andSloths(Order Pilosa) ? ; Anteaters (Families Myrmecophagidae and Cyclopedidae)? ? ; Sloths (Families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae)? ; Armadillos (Order Cingulata, Family Dasypodidae) ?? ; Shrews (Order Soricomorpha, Family Soricidae)? ; Bats (Order Chiroptera)? ? ; Sac-winged Bats (Family Emballonuridae)? ; Fishing or Bulldog Bats (Family Noctilionidae) ? ; Leaf-chinned Bats (Family Mormoopidae)? ; Leaf-nosed Bats (Family Phyllostomidae)? ; Funnel-eared Bats (Family Natalidae)? ; Thumbless Bats (Family Furipteridae)? ; Disk-winged Bats (Family Thyropteridae)? ; Plain-nosed Bats (Family Vespertilionidae)? ; Free-tailed Bats (Family Molossidae)? ? ; Monkeys (Order Primates)? ? ; Tamarins, Capuchins and Squirrel Monkeys (Family Cebidae) ? ; Night Monkeys (Family Aotidae) ; Spider and Howler Monkeys (Family Atelidae) ?? ; Rodents (Order Rodentia)? ? ; Squirrels (Family Sciuridae)? ; Pocket Gophers (Family Geomyidae)? ? ; Kangaroo Rats and Pocket Mice (Family Heteromyidae)? ? ; Rats and Mice (Family Cricetidae) ?? ; New World Porcupines (Family Erethizontidae)? ; Capybaras (Family Caviidae)? ? ; Agoutis and Acouchis (Family Dasyproctidae) ? ; Pacas (Family Cuniculidae)? ? ; Spiny Rats and Tree Rats (Family Echimyidae)? ? ; Rabbits and Hares (Order Lagomorpha, Family Leporidae)? ? ; Carnivores (Order Carnivora)? ; Dogs and Foxes (Family Canidae)? ? ; Raccoons and Allies (Family Procyonidae) ; Weasels and Allies (Family Mustelidae) ?? ; Skunks (Family Mephitidae) ; Cats (Family Felidae) ; Manatees and Dugongs (Order Sirenia, Family Trichechidae) ?? ; Odd-Toed Ungulates (Order Perissodactyla) ? ; Tapirs (Family Tapiridae)? ? ; Even-Toed Ungulates (Order Artiodactyla)? ; Peccaries (Family Tayassuidae)? ; Deer (Family Cervidae)? ? ; Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises (Order Cetacea)? ; Ocean Dolphins (Family Delphinidae)? ? ; Sperm Whale (Family Physeteridae)? ; Pygmy and Dwarf Sperm Whales (Family Kogiidae) ; Beaked Whales (Family Ziphiidae) ; Rorqual Whales (Family Balaenopteridae)?

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Book SynopsisIf science has the equivalent of a Bloomsbury group, it is the five men born at the turn of the 20th century in the same neighborhood in Budapest: Theodore von Karman, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller. Through immigration from Hungary to Germany to the United States, they remained friends and continued to work together and influence each other throughout their lives. As a result, their work was integral to some of the most important scientific and political developments of the 20th century. They were an extraordinary group of talents: Wigner won a Nobel Prize in theoretical physics without ever having taken a formal college-level physics course, Szilard was the first to see that a chain reaction based on neutrons was possible but left physics to try to restrict nuclear arms, von Neumann could solve problems in his head for which most people needed computers, von Karman became the first director of NASA''s Jet Propulsion Lab, and Teller was the father of tTrade Review"What a story! Five brilliant Jewish-Hungarian kids burst out of the great secondary schools of Hungary, learn their physics in Germany, and give their all to America in WWII István Hargittai, a Jewish Hungarian like his heroes, tells the remarkable story of five immigrants of vastly different politics, without whom American science (and the world) would not be the same."--Roald Hoffman, Nobel Laureate, Ithaca, New York "István Hargittai traces the turbulent lives of five uniquely creative scientists who survived, succeeded, and changed the world."--Arno Penzias, Nobel laureate, San Francisco "This is an important story that needs to be told, and Hargittai tells it well."--Nature "Hargittai's book is subtle and thoughtful."--Physics Today Charlie Munger of WESCO Financial Corporation recommended this book at the 2007 WESCO Annual Meeting: "It is a hell of a book about five Hungarian physicists driven to the U.S. by Hitler, who contributed much to science here. I can't recommend it enough."--Charlie Munger "fascinating and informative"--Chemical HeritageTable of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Arrival and Departure ; 2. Turning Points in Germany ; 3. Second Transition: to the United States ; 4. To protect and defend: World War II ; 5. To Deter: Cold War ; 6. Being Martian ; Epilogue ; Greatness in Science ; Had They Lived ; Conclusion ; Appendix: Quotable Martians ; Notes ; Select Bibliography ; Annotated Name Index ; Subject Index

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