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Mind Over Matter: Conversations with the Cosmos
US $12.75
ApproximatelyRM 53.92
Condition:
“Unmarked text. Index. 319p. Short essays in four sections, loosely ordered around the subjectivity ”... Read moreabout condition
Very Good
A book that has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket included for hard covers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Very minimal wear and tear.
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Shipping:
US $7.50 (approx RM 31.72) USPS Media MailTM.
Located in: Berkeley, California, United States
Delivery:
Estimated between Wed, 10 Sep and Fri, 12 Sep to 94104
Returns:
30 days return. Seller pays for return shipping.
Coverage:
Read item description or contact seller for details. See all detailsSee all details on coverage
(Not eligible for eBay purchase protection programmes)
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:267352759710
Item specifics
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller Notes
- Country/Region of Manufacture
- United States
- Subject
- Science & Technology
- ISBN
- 9780156029568
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
HarperCollins
ISBN-10
0156029561
ISBN-13
9780156029568
eBay Product ID (ePID)
4427509
Product Key Features
Book Title
Mind over Matter : Conversations with the Cosmos
Number of Pages
336 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2004
Topic
Physics / Astrophysics, Cosmology, Physics / General, Essays
Genre
Science
Format
Trade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
0.8 in
Item Weight
10.1 Oz
Item Length
8 in
Item Width
5.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
21
Reviews
Cole (The Universe and the Teacup) gathers 92 short essays that first appeared primarily in her Los Angeles Times science column. The book's four sections are loosely ordered around the subjectivity of inquiry, the physical world, science in practice and the politics of science. Cole's technique is to set her stage with a scientific factoid or news blip and then ruminate on the unexpected insights, inversions or ironies she finds there. Her themes include uncertainty, the limitations of measure, fragility, illusion, humility before nature, complacency. A solar eclipse "exposes our fragility" and dispels illusion "like turning up the houselights during a movie." The millennium, indeed the notion of time itself, is an artificial concept, and "it's a fine line," the author writes, "between discovering something and making it up." Ever the navel gazer, Cole seeks the wondrous in the stuff we mistake for just ordinary. Her piece on clouds ("wind made visible") segues inevitably to dying stars ("a cosmic-scale cloudburst") and atoms (a nucleus "engulfed by a cloud of electrons"); her piece on wind leads her to the hurricanes on Jupiter and the complicated "weather" of galaxies. Her science is also a foil for left-of-center political commentary on Enron, daisy cutter bombs, the Kansas Board of Education's vote on Darwin and the American justice system, to name a handful of her targets. These light vignettes are doubtless welcome respite for readers of the L.A. Times, but this collection may be too much of a good thing. Readers are advised to take it in measured doses. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. , PRAISE FOR MIND OVER MATTER "An absolute delight . . . Belongs on the bedside bookshelf of every science enthusiast and should also be a treat for any reader curious about the universe."-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Ruminations on every scientific subject under the sun, and plenty beyond it . . . In pithy, three-page bursts, [Cole] tackles particle physics, geometry,Alfred Nobel, and about a thousand other topics, all with graceful, accessible prose."-THE BOSTON GLOBE, Having wound up her "Mind over Matter" science column for the Los Angeles Times, journalist Cole here corrals about 90 of her serial musings. More personal than her books, which, like The Hole in the Universe (2001), "translate" physics and mathematics for a mass readership, Cole's columns take inspiration from her conversations, sightings in nature, or reactions to items of science news or entertainment. An element of apology frequently surfaces here, for Cole is apparently responding to opinion from a segment of physicists who are either disdainful or jealous of successful popularizers such as the late Carl Sagan or her, for that matter. Her concrete defense, of course, is her skillful writing, built on sparking curiosity about her topics. These she broadly sorts into those about detection of impinging cosmic information; what the information communicates about what is out there; and the experience of doing science. Whether conceiving a column idea while at the theater, the lab, or the Canadian Rockies, Cole knows how to wrap it into a wonder-prompting package. Gilbert Taylor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved , PRAISE FOR MIND OVER MATTER "An absolute delight . . . Belongs on the bedside bookshelf of every science enthusiast and should also be a treat for any reader curious about the universe."--SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Ruminations on every scientific subject under the sun, and plenty beyond it . . . In pithy, three-page bursts, [Cole] tackles particle physics, geometry,Alfred Nobel, and about a thousand other topics, all with graceful, accessible prose."--THE BOSTON GLOBE, PRAISE FOR THE UNIVERSE AND THE TEACUP "Cole's beguiling and lucid book provides fresh insights into the crucial role that mathematics plays in science. . . . With lighthearted wit, she makes clear how numbers alone can explain so much but never all."-- San Francisco Chronicle "Even the most confirmed mathophobe should find it an easy read, and possibly even a fascinating one."-- The Boston Globe, PRAISE FOR THE UNIVERSE AND THE TEACUP "Cole's beguiling and lucid book provides fresh insights into the crucial role that mathematics plays in science. . . . With lighthearted wit, she makes clear how numbers alone can explain so much but never all."--San Francisco Chronicle "Even the most confirmed mathophobe should find it an easy read, and possibly even a fascinating one."--The Boston Globe --
Dewey Decimal
500
Table Of Content
Contents introduction and acknowledgments Part i: the i of the beholder The Emperor and Enron 3 Normalization 6 Blindsighted 9 Uncertainty 12 Murmurs 15 Eclipse 18 Humility 21 Inside Out 24 Weird Science 27 Love and Bosons 30 Seeing 34 Moving Mountains 37 Uncommon Sense 41 Seeing Stars 44 Calibration 47 Word Problems 50 Naming Names 53 Context 56 Purpose 59 Soul Food 62 Lies 66 Part ii: stuff Surprises 71 Roots 74 Stuff 77 Surfaces 80 Wind 83 Clouds 86 Patterns 89 Recycling 92 Simplicity 96 Complexity 100 Dazzle 103 Energy 106 The Real World 109 Magnetism 112 Sand Castles 116 Resistance 119 Happenstance 122 Ghosts 125 Symmetry 128 Imperfection 132 Numbers 135 Symbols 138 Geometry 141 Coincidence 145 Change 148 Constants 151 Holes 154 Time 157 Part iii: doing it Play 163 Failure 166 Answers 169 Questions 172 Nuisance Value 175 Boundaries 178 Toy Models 181 Mind and Matter 184 Pomp and Circumstance 189 Happy Birthday, Walter 192 An Outrageous Legacy 195 Beethoven and Quantum Mechanics 198 Alan and Lucretius 201 The Sun Painter 204 Invention and Discovery 208 Red 211 Objectivity 214 Wherever You Go, There You Are 220 Metaphor 223 Literal Truth 227 Far-Out 230 Connected 233 Dubious Discoveries 236 Déjà Vu 239 Credit 242 Claims 245 Fail Safe 248 Part iv: "political" science The Physics of Peace 253 Default Lines 257 (In)security 260 Feedback 263 Neutrality 266 Dreamers 269 Natural Law 273 Popular Science 276 The Science of Art 279 Small Potatos (sic) 282 The Geometry of Fairness 285 Faster 288 Unnatural 291 Apocalypse Soon 294 Transparency 297 Oops 300 index 303
Synopsis
The universe comes down to earth in K. C. Cole's Mind Over Matter, a fresh and witty exploration of physics, cosmology, mathematics, astronomy, and more. Like no other science writer, Cole demystifies scientific concepts and humanizes the people who study them. Beginning with a discussion of how "the mind creates reality as well as muddles it," she then peeks into the stories behind science's great minds and into their playful side, and concludes by illuminating the relationship between science and society. Cole's remarkable work brings science to the reader's doorstep, revealing the universe to be elegant, intriguing, and relevant to politics, art, and every dimension of human life., Join bestselling author K. C. Cole on the trip of a lifetime, as she invites you to understand the nature of nature, the universals in the universe, and the messy playfulness of great science. In witty and fresh short takes, she explores some of the world's most intriguing scientific subjects -- from particle physics to cosmology to mathematics and astronomy -- and introduces a few of science's great minds. With her inimitable style and flair, K. C. Cole brings science to the reader's doorstep, revealing the universe to be elegant, intriguing, and, above all, relevant to our everyday lives. Book jacket.
LC Classification Number
Q162
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- d***n (783)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseTypically bungling performance from Evri (Hermes): the package was said to be ‘out for delivery’ on 2 September, but it did not arrive until 8 September, after I had expended much effort in trying to find out what had happened to it. In contrast, top marks for the seller: accurate description, excellent packaging, prompt transport from USA (until Evri got its hands on the package), and good-natured support when I explained the problems I was having with the notoriously inefficient delivery firm.
- eBay automated Feedback- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthOrder completed successfully – tracked and on time
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Seller feedback (2,095)
- d***n (783)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseTypically bungling performance from Evri (Hermes): the package was said to be ‘out for delivery’ on 2 September, but it did not arrive until 8 September, after I had expended much effort in trying to find out what had happened to it. In contrast, top marks for the seller: accurate description, excellent packaging, prompt transport from USA (until Evri got its hands on the package), and good-natured support when I explained the problems I was having with the notoriously inefficient delivery firm.
- eBay automated Feedback- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthOrder completed successfully – tracked and on time
- eBay automated Feedback- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthOrder completed successfully – tracked and on time