Emotional: how feelings shape our thinking (2022)
We’ve all been told that thinking rationally is the key to success. But at the cutting edge of science, researchers are discovering that feeling is every bit as important as thinking.
You make hundreds of decisions every day, from what to eat for breakfast to how you should invest, and not one of those decisions would be possible without emotion. It has long been said that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behavior. But as Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of Subliminal, tells us, extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking.
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Stephen Hawking – A Memoir of Friendship and Physics (2020)
One of the most influential physicists of our time, Stephen Hawking touched the lives of millions. Recalling his nearly two decades as Hawking’s collaborator and friend, Leonard Mlodinow brings this complex man into focus in a unique and deeply personal portrayal. We meet Hawking the genius, who pours his mind into uncovering the mysteries of the universe—ultimately formulating a path-breaking theory of black holes, which reignited the discipline of cosmology and paved the way for physicists to investigate the origins of the universe in completely new ways. We meet Hawking the colleague, a man whose illness left him able to communicate at only six words per minute, and yet would expend the effort to punctuate his conversations with humor. And we meet Hawking the friend, who can convey volumes with a frown, smile, or simply a raised eyebrow. Read more about Stephen Hawking – A Memoir of Friendship and Physics..
Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change
From the best-selling author of Subliminal and The Drunkard’s Walk comes a groundbreaking look at the psychology and neuroscience of change, and at how tapping into elastic thinking will help us thrive in the modern world. Drawing on cutting-edge research, Leonard Mlodinow takes us on an illuminating journey through the mechanics of our minds as we navigate the rapidly changing landscapes around us. Out of the exploratory instincts that allowed our ancestors to prosper hundreds of thousands of years ago, humans developed a cognitive style that Mlodinow terms elastic thinking, a unique set of talents that include neophilia (an affinity for novelty), schizotypy (a tendency toward unusual perception), imagination and idea generation, and divergent and integrative thinking. Read more about Elastic..
The Upright Thinkers: The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos
How did a near-extinct species, eking out a meager existence with stone axes, become the dominant power on earth, able to harness a knowledge of nature ranging from tiny atoms to the vast structures of the universe? Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a passionate and inspiring tour through the exciting history of human progress and the key events in the development of science. In the process, he presents a fascinating new look at the unique characteristics of our species and our society that helped propel us from stone tools to written language and through the birth of chemistry, biology, and modern physics to today’s technological world. Read more about The Upright Thinkers ..
Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER This delightfully accessible yet intellectually rigorous book transcends traditional boundaries between neuroscience, psychology and philosophy, to tackle the riddle of the unconscious mind. Freud bashing is a popular intellectual pastime these days but Mlodinow shows that by emphasizing the unconscious he was on the right track: we are completely unaware of the vast majority of events going on inside our brains. Subliminal presents compelling evidence gleaned from a variety of sources to show that much of our behavior is governed not so much by our conscious mind – which is prone to claim credit – but by a cauldron of motives, drives and unconscious propensities of which we are largely oblivious. Read more about Subliminal ..
War of the Worldviews: Science Vs. Spirituality
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Nothing is more mysterious than another person’s worldview. Each of us has one. We each believe that our worldview captures reality, and many conflicts in life can be traced to instances in which two worldviews clash. This book is about a clash of worldviews, but no blows were exchanged. The book came about when two bestselling authors first met, in a televised Caltech debate on “the future of God.” One was articulate advocate for spirituality, the other a prominent physicist. War of the Worldviews is the product of that serendipitous encounter and the contentious—but respectful—battle of worldviews that grew along with their friendship. Read more about War of the Worldviews ..
The Grand Design
Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? Over twenty years ago Stephen Hawking wrote A Brief History of Time, to try to explain where the universe came from, and where it is going. But that book left some important questions unanswered. Why is there a universe--why is there something rather than nothing? Why do we exist? Why are the laws of nature what they are? Did the universe need a designer and creator? In this startling and lavishly illustrated book, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most recent scientific thinking about these and other abiding mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by brilliance and simplicity. Read more about The Grand Design ..
The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this irreverent and illuminating book, Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, chance, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback. As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious causes, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance. With the born storyteller’s command of narrative and imaginative approach, Leonard Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how everything from wine ratings and corporate success to school grades and political polls are less reliable than we believe. Read more about The Drunkards Walk ..
A Briefer History of Time
Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS The science classic made more accessible • More concise • Illustrated Stephen Hawking’s worldwide bestseller A Brief History of Time remains a landmark volume in scientific writing. But for readers who have asked for a more accessible formulation of its key concepts—the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, and the history and future of the universe—A Briefer History of Time is the answer. Although “briefer,” this book is much more than a mere explanation of Hawking’s earlier work. A Briefer History of Time both clarifies and expands on the great subjects of the original, and records the latest developments in the field—from string theory to the search for a unified theory of all the forces of physics. Read more about A Briefer History of Time ..
Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life
Some of the brightest minds in science have passed through the halls of the California Institute of Technology. In the early 1980s, Leonard Mlodinow joined their ranks to begin a postdoctoral fellowship. Afraid he was not smart enough to be there, despite his groundbreaking Ph.D. thesis, he took his insecurities to Richard Feynman, Caltech’s intimidating resident genius and iconoclast. So began a pivotal year in a young man’s life. Though a series of fascinating exchanges, Mlodinow and Feynman delve into the nature of science, creativity, love mathematics, happiness, God, art, pleasures and ambition, producing a moving portrait of a friendship and an affecting account of Feynman’s final creative years. Read more about Feynman's Rainbow ..
Euclid's Window : The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace
With his book, Elements, the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid opened a window through which the nature of our universe has been revealed. In the centuries since, genius and geometry have helped us to gaze beyond our horizons, and have inspired us to ask profound questions. What can you prove about space? How can you know where you are? Can space be curved? How many dimensions are there? How does geometry explain the order and unity of the cosmos? These are the questions behind the five revolutions in the history of geometry that are explored in this fascinating book. Read more about Euclid's Window ..
The Last Dinosaur
Leonard Mlodinow , Costello M , Josh Nash Age Level: 7 and up | Series: Einstein Elementary Chapter Book Math to the rescue!--in an exciting new adventure series (a la Magic Treehouse) where kids come up with creative math solutions to get themselves out of jeopardy! Steffi, Kenny, and Jose stumble on a quantum space-time dislocator--disguised as a port-a-john--which transports them to the time of the dinosaurs, just a few hours before a meteor will hit the earth--the meteor that rendered the dinos extinct! Graphing and other mathematical skills help the kids escape--just in time!