The WEIRDest People in the World

The WEIRDest People in the World
Author: Joseph Henrich
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0374710457

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2021-05-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593135210

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Martian, a lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this “propulsive” (Entertainment Weekly), cinematic thriller full of suspense, humor, and fascinating science—in development as a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling. HUGO AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST BOOKS: Bill Gates, GatesNotes, New York Public Library, Parade, Newsweek, Polygon, Shelf Awareness, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal • “An epic story of redemption, discovery and cool speculative sci-fi.”—USA Today “If you loved The Martian, you’ll go crazy for Weir’s latest.”—The Washington Post Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. Or does he? An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

The Martian

The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2014-02-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0804139032

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Labyrinth and Piano Key Weirs

Labyrinth and Piano Key Weirs
Author: Sébastien Erpicum
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2011-05-10
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0203804066

Labyrinth spillways are almost as old as dam engineering. In spite of the fact that they appear as a very good technical-economical compromise, only 0.1% of large dams are equipped with such weirs. The main reason for this is that traditional labyrinth weirs usually cannot be installed on top of concrete gravity dams as they require a large foundat

Artemis

Artemis
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2018-07-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0553448145

The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon. Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich. Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time. So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down. The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself. Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city. Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal. That’ll have to do. Propelled by its heroine’s wisecracking voice, set in a city that’s at once stunningly imagined and intimately familiar, and brimming over with clever problem-solving and heist-y fun, Artemis is another irresistible brew of science, suspense, and humor from #1 bestselling author Andy Weir.

The Weir Family, 1820-1920

The Weir Family, 1820-1920
Author: Marian Wardle
Publisher: UPNE
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2011
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1611680212

The first major study to examine the artistic output of Robert Walter Weir and his two sons, John Ferguson Weir and Julian Alden Weir

Labyrinth and Piano Key Weirs II

Labyrinth and Piano Key Weirs II
Author: Sébastien Erpicum
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2013-10-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 113800085X

Dam engineering is currently experiencing a strong revival of labyrinth oriented weirs. Labyrinth weirs, with a repetitive constructional character and an increased specific discharge capacity, are a very good technical-economical compromise. The concept of Piano Key Weir (PKW), with alveoli developed in overhangs from a reduced support area, enables the installation of non-linear crests at the top of concrete dams. As a result it eliminates the main drawback of classical labyrinth weirs, and enables their use to rehabilitate numerous existing dams. Since the first implementation of piano key weirs by Electricité de France on Goulours dam (France) in 2006, at least eight PKWs have been built in France, Vietnam and Switzerland. Their operation over a few years has already provided the first prototype data. Other projects are under study, construction or planning in varied countries. On another hand, research programs are under progress all over the world. Following a first edition in 2011, Labyrinth and Piano Key Weirs II – PKW 2013 collects up-to-date contributions from people with various backgrounds, from engineers and researchers to academics. Summarizing the last developments on labyrinth oriented weirs, the book constitutes the state-of-the-art in research and application of piano key weir solutions, and will be invaluable to professionals and scientists interested in Dams Engineering.

A Woven World

A Woven World
Author: Alison Hawthorne Deming
Publisher: Catapult
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2021-08-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1640094830

Part memoir, part cultural history, A Woven World celebrates the fading crafts, industries, and artisans that have defined communities for generations. The desire to create is the cornerstone of civilization. But as we move into a world where machine manufacturing has nearly usurped craft, Alison Hawthorne Deming resists the erasure of our shared history of handiwork with this appeal for embracing continuity and belonging in a time of destabilizing change. Sensing a need to preserve the crafts and stories of our founding communities, and inspired by an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute featuring Yves St. Laurent’s “sardine” dress, Deming turned to the industries of her ancestors, both the dressmakers and designers in Manhattan in the nineteenth century and the fishermen on Grand Manan Island, a community of 2,500 residents, where the dignity of work and the bounty of the sea ruled for hundreds of years. Reweaving the fabric of those lives, A Woven World gives presence on the page to the people, places, and practices, uncovering and preserving a record of the ingenuity and dignity that comes with such work. In this way the lament becomes a song of praise and a testament to the beauty and fragility of human making.