Engelska

<p>If we are born to walk and run, why do most of us take it easy whenever possible? Does running ruin your knees? Should we do weights, cardio, or high-intensity training? Is sitting really the new smoking? Can you lose weight by walking? And how do we make sense of the conflicting, anxiety-inducing information about rest, physical activity, and exercise with which we are bombarded? In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise&mdash;to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, Lieberman recounts without jargon how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion. Exercised is entertaining and enlightening but also constructive. As our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases such as diabetes, Lieberman audaciously argues that to become more active we need to do more than medicalize and commodify exercise. Drawing on insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman suggests how we can make exercise more enjoyable, rather than shaming and blaming people for avoiding it. He also tackles the question of whether you can exercise too much, even as he explains why exercise can reduce our vulnerability to the diseases mostly likely to make us sick and kill us. </p>

<p>From the acclaimed author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space&ndash;an authoritative and accessible guide to the most alluring and challenging phenomena of contemporary science. Through her writing, astrophysicist Janna Levin has focused on making the science she studies not just comprehensible but also, and perhaps more important, intriguing to the nonscientist. In this book, she helps us to understand and find delight in the black hole&ndash;perhaps the most opaque theoretical construct ever imagined by physicists&ndash;illustrated with original artwork by American painter and photographer Lia Halloran. Levin takes us on an evocative exploration of black holes, provoking us to imagine the visceral experience of a black hole encounter. She reveals the influence of black holes as they populate the universe, sculpt galaxies, and even infuse the whole expanse of reality that we inhabit. Lively, engaging, and utterly unique, Black Hole Survival Guide is not just informative&ndash;it is, as well, a wonderful read from first to last.</p>

For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; and Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams set out to uncover the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain. She travels to fragrant cypress forests in Korea to meet the rangers who administer forest healing programs, to the green hills of Scotland and its ecotherapeutic approach to caring for the mentally ill, to a river trip in Idaho with Iraqi vets suffering from PTSD, to the West Virginia mountains where she discovers how being outside helps children with ADHD to show how time in nature is not a luxury but is in fact essential to our humanity. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas-and the answers they yield-are more urgent than ever.

Origins Of The Universe For Dummies [Bok / Pocket]

What A Wonderful World [Bok / Pocket]

<p>It is widely understood that Charles Darwin&apos;s theory of evolution completely revolutionized the study of biology. Yet, according to David Sloan Wilson, the Darwinian revolution won&apos;t be truly complete until it is applied more broadly--to everything associated with the words human, culture, and policy. In a series of engaging and insightful examples--from the breeding of hens to the timing of cataract surgeries to the organization of an automobile plant--Wilson shows how an evolutionary worldview provides a practical tool kit for understanding not only genetic evolution but also the fast-paced changes that are having an impact on our world and ourselves. What emerges is an incredibly empowering argument: If we can become wise managers of evolutionary processes, we can solve the problems of our age at all scales--from the efficacy of our groups to our well-being as individuals to our stewardship of the planet Earth</p>

Black holes are the best known and least understood objects in the universe. These enigmatic giants, which scientists have discovered are at the center of every galaxy, continue to astound and challenge us. In Einstein's Monsters, distinguished astronomer Chris Impey takes readers on a vivid tour of these cosmic wonders. He weaves a fascinating tale out of the fiendishly complex math of black holes and the colorful history of their discovery. Impey blends this history with a poignant account of the phenomena scientists have witnessed while observing black holes: stars swarming like bees around the center of our galaxy; black holes performing gravitational waltzes with visible stars; the cymbal clash of two back holes colliding, releasing ripples in space time. Clear, compelling, and profound, Einstein's Monsters reveals how our comprehension of black holes is intrinsically linked to how we make sense of the universe and our place within it.