For The Functioning Mind

Discover essential books for the functioning mind—curated reads to enhance cognition, critical thinking, and mental clarity. Elevate your intellect today.

The Demon-Haunted World Cover
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The Demon-Haunted World

by Carl Sagan

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the renowned astronomer and author of Cosmos comes a “powerful [and] stirring defense of informed rationality” (The Washington Post Book World) in a world where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace. LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER • “Glorious . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.”—Los Angeles Times How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience, New Age thinking, and fundamentalist zealotry and the testable hypotheses of science? Casting a wide net through history and culture, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. He examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies as witchcraft, faith healings, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today’s so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning, with stories of alien abduction, “channeling” past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.
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Cosmos

by Carl Sagan

Based on the television series cosmos.
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Pale Blue Dot

 

No summary available.
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Microcosmos

by Lynn Margulis

BACK IN PRINT WITH A REVISED PREFACE Microcosmos brings together the remarkable discoveries of microbiology of the past two decades and the pioneering research of Dr. Margulis to create a vivid new picture of the world that is crucial to our understanding of the future of the planet. Addressed to general readers, the book provides a beautifully written view of evolution as a process based on interdependency and thei nterconnectedness of all life on the planet.
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Shadows of forgotten ancestors

 

No summary available.
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Beyond Einstein Cover
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Beyond Einstein

 

No summary available.
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Hyperspace

by Michio Kaku

From the renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation comes the first book-length exploration of the most exciting development in modern physics: the theory of 10-dimensional space. "Among the best of its genre to appear in recent years...What a wonderful adventure it is, trying to think the unthinkable!" —The New York Times Book Review The theory of hyperspace, which Michio Kaku pioneered, may be the leading candidate for the Theory of Everything that Einstein spent the remaining years of his life searching for.
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The Illustrated Brief History of Time

 

No summary available.
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The Nature of Space and Time

by Stephen Hawking

Can the quantum theory of fields and Einstein's general theory of relativity be united in a single quantum theory of gravity? Can quantum and cosmos ever be combined? Two world-famous physicists debate the issue in this work, based on a series of lectures and a final debate held at the University of Cambridge. 75 line drawings.