DEVASTATING NATURAL DISASTERS HAVE PROFOUNDLY SHAPED HUMAN HISTORY, leaving us with a respect for the mighty power of the earth — and a humbling view of our future. Paleontologist and geologist Donald R. Prothero tells the harrowing human stories behind these catastrophic events.
Skeptic: Examining Extraordinary Claims and Promoting Science
Results for the keyword:
lectures-at-caltech
Past Lecture at Caltech
Catastrophes! Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes,
and Other Earth-Shattering Disasters
Past Lecture at Caltech
Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet
In this lectures, based on his book Here on Earth, Tim Flannery presents a captivating and dramatic narrative about the origins of life and the history of our planet.
Past Lecture at Caltech
Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality
WHAT IS MORALITY AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? Neurophilosopher Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain: Moral values are rooted in family values displayed by all mammals — the caring for offspring. The evolved structure, processes, and chemistry of the brain incline humans to strive not only for self-preservation but for the well-being of allied selves — first offspring, then mates, kin, and so on, in wider and wider “caring” circles.
Past Lecture at Caltech
Quantum Man: Richard Feynman’s Life in Science
In this gripping new scientific biography, theoretical physicist and best-selling author (The Physics of Star Trek), Lawrence Krauss, offers a unique scientific biography of an immensely colorful persona: revered Nobel Prize-winning physicist and curious character Richard Feynman, arguably the greatest physicist of the second half of the 20th century.
Past Lecture at Caltech
Strange New Worlds:
The Search for Alien Planets and
Life Beyond Our Solar System
SOON ASTRONOMERS EXPECT TO FIND ALIEN EARTHS by the dozens in orbit around distant suns. Before the decade is out, telltale signs that they harbor life may be found. If they succeed, the ramifications for all areas of human thought and endeavor — from religion and philosophy to art and biology — are breathtaking.
Past Lecture at Caltech
The Physics of the Future:
How Science Will Shape Human Destiny
and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
PHYSICIST MICHIO KAKU TAKES US ON A JOURNEY into the future to reveal the revolutionary developments in medicine, computers, quantum physics, and space travel that will forever change our way of life and alter the course of civilization.
Past Lecture at Caltech
Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It
IN THIS EYE-OPENING, MYTH-SHATTERING EXAMINATION of what makes us fat, acclaimed science writer Gary Taubes argues that our diet’s overemphasis on certain kinds of carbohydrates — not fats and not simply excess calories — has led directly to the obesity epidemic we face today.
Past Lecture at Caltech
Why Everyone Else is a Hypocrite:
Evolution and the Modular Mind
WE’RE ALL HYPOCRITES. Why? Evolutionary psychologist Robert Kurzban shows us that the key to understanding our behavioral inconsistencies lies in understanding the mind’s design.
Past Lecture at Caltech
A Special Dual Event
How Old is the Universe? and The Shape of Inner Space
In this special dual lecture event, Venderbilt University astronomer David Weintraub explains how old the universe is and how we know in an enthusiastic way. Following that lecture, Dr. Shing-Tung Yau tells the story of “Calabi-Yau manifolds,” — one of the smallest things you can possibly imagine — six-dimensional geometric spaces that may be more than a trillion times smaller than an electron. They might also be one of the defining features of our universe!
Past Lecture at Caltech
From Particles to People:
The Laws of Nature and the Meaning of Life
HUMAN BEINGS DO NOT STAND OUTSIDE NATURE; we are a part of it. Ultimately we are made of particles, evolving and interacting according to the laws of physics. And we know what those laws are — the progress of modern science has reached a point where the laws underlying everyday life are completely understood. This is a lecture you won’ want to miss!
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The Believing Brain
(now in paperback)
Get the autographed paperback
In this, his magnum opus, Dr. Michael Shermer presents his comprehensive theory on how beliefs are born, formed, nourished, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. Sam Harris calls The Believing Brain “a wonderfully lucid, accessible, and wide-ranging account of the boundary between justified and unjustified belief.” Leonard Mlodinow calls it “a tour de force integrating neuroscience and the social sciences.”
FREE PDF Download
Top 10 Myths About Evolution (and how we know it really happened)
This concise pamphlet provides answers to common objections to evolution, such as: If humans came from apes, why aren’t apes evolving into humans?; Only an intelligent designer could have made something as complex as an eye; The second law of thermo-dynamics proves that evolution is impossible; Evolution can’t account for morality; and more…
FREE PDF Download
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine
Harriet Hall, MD (aka the SkepDoc), shares her wit and wisdom about alternative medicine including: chiropractic, the placebo effect, homeopathy, acupuncture, and the questionable benefits of organic food, detoxification, and ‘natural’ remedies.
FREE PDF Download
Learn to be a Psychic in 10
Easy Lessons
Psychic readings and fortunetelling are an ancient art — a combination of acting and psychological manipulation. While some psychics are known to cheat and acquire information ahead of time, these ten tips focus on what is known as “cold reading” — reading someone “cold” without any prior knowledge about them.