Falling Felines And Fundamental Physics

Download Falling Felines And Fundamental Physics full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Falling Felines And Fundamental Physics ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics

Author : Gregory J. Gbur
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300231296
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics by : Gregory J. Gbur

Download or read book Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics written by Gregory J. Gbur and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-22 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do cats land on their feet? Discover how this question stumped brilliant minds and how its answer helped solve other seemingly impossible puzzles The question of how falling cats land on their feet has long intrigued humans. In this playful and eye-opening history, physicist and cat parent Gregory Gbur explores how attempts to understand the cat-righting reflex have provided crucial insights into puzzles in mathematics, geophysics, neuroscience, and human space exploration. The result is an engaging tumble through physics, physiology, photography, and robotics to uncover, through scientific debate, the secret of the acrobatic performance known as cat-turning, the cat flip, and the cat twist. Readers learn the solution but also discover that the finer details still inspire heated arguments. As with other cat behavior, the more we investigate, the more surprises we discover.

Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics

Author : Gregory J. Gbur
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300249071
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics by : Gregory J. Gbur

Download or read book Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics written by Gregory J. Gbur and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-22 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do cats land on their feet? A “lively, entertaining” look at how the question stumped brilliant minds for centuries—and what was learned along the way (Ars Technica). The question of how falling cats land on their feet has long intrigued humans. In this playful and eye-opening history, physicist and cat parent Gregory Gbur explores how attempts to understand the cat-righting reflex have provided crucial insights into puzzles in mathematics, geophysics, neuroscience, and human space exploration. The result is an engaging tumble through physics, physiology, photography, and robotics to uncover, through scientific debate, the secret of the acrobatic performance known as cat-turning, the cat flip, and the cat twist. You’ll learn the solution—but also discover that the finer details still inspire heated arguments. As with other cat behavior, the more we investigate, the more surprises we discover. “[An] extremely well-written popular science book.” —James Kakalios, author of The Physics of Superheroes “Engrossing.” —Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime

How Energy Considerations Have Shaped Our Fundamental Modern Theories of Physics

Author : E. B. Manoukian
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031511999
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (315 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis How Energy Considerations Have Shaped Our Fundamental Modern Theories of Physics by : E. B. Manoukian

Download or read book How Energy Considerations Have Shaped Our Fundamental Modern Theories of Physics written by E. B. Manoukian and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Physics and Dance

Author : Emily Coates
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300195834
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Physics and Dance by : Emily Coates

Download or read book Physics and Dance written by Emily Coates and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A fascinating exploration of our reality through the eyes of a physicist and a dancer--and an engaging introduction to both disciplines. From stepping out of our beds each morning to admiring the stars at night, we live in a world of motion, energy, space, and time. How do we understand the phenomena that shape our experience? How do we make sense of our physical realities? Two guides--a former member of New York City Ballet, Emily Coates, and a CERN particle physicist, Sarah Demers--show us how their respective disciplines can help us to understand both the quotidian and the deepest questions about the universe. Requiring no previous knowledge of dance or physics, this introduction covers the fundamentals while revealing how a dialogue between art and science can enrich our appreciation of both. Readers will come away with a broad cultural knowledge of Newtonian to quantum mechanics and classical to contemporary dance. Including problem sets and choreographic exercises to solidify understanding, this book will be of interest to anyone curious about physics or dance."--Jacket.

The Upper Berth

Author : F. Marion Crawford
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN 13 : 3734031745
Total Pages : 54 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (34 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Upper Berth by : F. Marion Crawford

Download or read book The Upper Berth written by F. Marion Crawford and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reproduction of the original: The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford

How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls

Author : David Hu
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691169861
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls by : David Hu

Download or read book How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls written by David Hu and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discovering the secrets of animal movement and what they can teach us Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes readers on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious. In turn, the latest discoveries about animal mechanics are inspiring scientists to invent robots and devices that move with similar elegance and efficiency. Hu follows scientists as they investigate a multitude of animal movements, from the undulations of sandfish and the way that dogs shake off water in fractions of a second to the seemingly crash-resistant characteristics of insect flight. Not limiting his exploration to individual organisms, Hu describes the ways animals enact swarm intelligence, such as when army ants cooperate and link their bodies to create bridges that span ravines. He also looks at what scientists learn from nature’s unexpected feats—such as snakes that fly, mosquitoes that survive rainstorms, and dead fish that swim upstream. As researchers better understand such issues as energy, flexibility, and water repellency in animal movement, they are applying this knowledge to the development of cutting-edge technology. Integrating biology, engineering, physics, and robotics, How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls demystifies the remarkable mechanics behind animal locomotion.

How to Find a Higgs Boson—and Other Big Mysteries in the World of the Very Small

Author : Ivo van Vulpen
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300252463
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis How to Find a Higgs Boson—and Other Big Mysteries in the World of the Very Small by : Ivo van Vulpen

Download or read book How to Find a Higgs Boson—and Other Big Mysteries in the World of the Very Small written by Ivo van Vulpen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-18 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of particle physics, the hunt for the most elusive particle, and the fundamental questions the search has inspired How did physicists combine talent and technology to discover the Higgs boson, the last piece in our inventory of the subatomic world? How did the Higgs change our understanding of the universe? And now, nearly a decade after its detection, what comes next? Answering these questions, Ivo van Vulpen—a CERN particle physicist and member of the team behind the detection—invites us on a journey to the frontiers of our knowledge. Enjoy van Vulpen’s accessible explanation of the history of particle physics and of concepts like quantum mechanics and relativity—and ponder his inquiries regarding the search for new particles (to explain dark matter), a new force (to combine the existing fundamental forces), and new phenomena (undiscovered dimensions of space). This is a lively account of work at the world’s highest-energy particle accelerator, with inspiring personal reflections on humanity’s discoveries deeper and deeper into the world of the very small.

Existential Physics

Author : Sabine Hossenfelder
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1984879456
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (848 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Existential Physics by : Sabine Hossenfelder

Download or read book Existential Physics written by Sabine Hossenfelder and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “An informed and entertaining guide to what science can and cannot tell us.” —The Wall Street Journal “Stimulating . . . encourage[s] readers to push past well-trod assumptions […] and have fun doing so.” —Science Magazine From renowned physicist and creator of the YouTube series “Science without the Gobbledygook,” a book that takes a no-nonsense approach to life’s biggest questions, and wrestles with what physics really says about the human condition Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely. According to Sabine Hossenfelder, it is not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy have become the go-to explanations of alternative healers, or that people believe their deceased grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics. Science and religion have the same roots, and they still tackle some of the same questions: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? How much can we know? The area of science that is closest to answering these questions is physics. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate. In this lively, thought-provoking book, Hossenfelder takes on the biggest questions in physics: Does the past still exist? Do particles think? Was the universe made for us? Has physics ruled out free will? Will we ever have a theory of everything? She lays out how far physicists are on the way to answering these questions, where the current limits are, and what questions might well remain unanswerable forever. Her book offers a no-nonsense yet entertaining take on some of the toughest riddles in existence, and will give the reader a solid grasp on what we know—and what we don’t know.

The Science of Spin

Author : Roland Ennos
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982196556
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Science of Spin by : Roland Ennos

Download or read book The Science of Spin written by Roland Ennos and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-07-09 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What exactly made the earth round? How do boomerangs turn around mid-air? And why do cats always land on their feet? “A basic scientific concept receives long overdue attention” (Kirkus Reviews) in this “fascinating” (Wall Street Journal) new book from the masterful author of The Age of Wood. From the solar system to spinning tops, hurricanes to hula hoops, power plants to pendulums, one mysterious force shapes almost every aspect of our lives: spin. Despite its ubiquity, rotational force continues to baffle and surprise, and few people realize how it makes our planet habitable or how it has been tamed by engineers to make our lives more comfortable. Charting the development of engineering and technology from the earliest prehistoric drills to the gas turbine, critically acclaimed author and scientist Roland Ennos presents a riveting account of human ingenuity and the seemingly infinite ways spin affects our daily lives. He also shows how this new approach not only helps us better understand the world but also ourselves. After all, even our own bodies are complex systems of rotating joints and levers. Artfully moving between astrophysics and anthropology, The Science of Spin shows how, whether natural or engineered, spin is really what makes the world go round.

The Way of the Worm

Author : Ramsey Campbell
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1787585697
Total Pages : 185 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (875 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Way of the Worm by : Ramsey Campbell

Download or read book The Way of the Worm written by Ramsey Campbell and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third and final novel in Ramsey Campbell's triumphant Lovecraftian trilogy, The Three Births of Daoloth, where time travel, monstrous evil and the alien apocalypse combine to create a stunning conclusion for streaming TV lovers and suspense readers alike. "With The Way of the Worm, Campbell’s cosmic trilogy comes to a triumphant conclusion." — S.T. Joshi Book 3 in the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy. The present day, or something very like it. Dominic Sheldrake has retired from lecturing and lives on his own. His son Toby is married with a small daughter. The occultist Noble family are more active than ever. Their cult now openly operates as the Church of the Eternal Three, and has spread worldwide. The local branch occupies the top floors of Starview Tower, a Liverpool waterfront skyscraper. To Dominic’s dismay, Toby and his wife Claudine are deeply involved in it, and he suspects they are involving their small daughter Macy too. Dominic lets his son persuade him to attend a meeting of the church, where he encounters all three generations of the Nobles. Although Christian Noble is almost a century old, he’s more vigorous than ever – inhumanly so. The family takes turns to preach an apocalyptic sermon that hints at dark secrets masked by the Bible and at the future that lies in wait. In a bid to investigate further Dominic undergoes the rite the church offers its members, which confers the ability to travel psychically through time. Before he’s able to flee back to the present he has a vision of the monstrous fate that’s in store for the world. Dominic discovers a secret he’s sure the Nobles won’t want to be made public. Although he has retired from the police, Jim helps him establish the truth, and Roberta publishes it on her online blog. It’s the subject of a court case, the results of which seem to defeat the Nobles, only for them to return in a dreadfully transformed shape. Now Dominic and his friends are at their mercy, and is there anywhere in the world to hide? Even if they manage somehow to deal with the Nobles, there may be no escaping or preventing the alien apocalypse that all the events of the trilogy have been bringing ever closer... FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress.

Genre in a Changing World

Author : Charles Bazerman
Publisher : Parlor Press LLC
ISBN 13 : 1643170015
Total Pages : 486 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (431 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Genre in a Changing World by : Charles Bazerman

Download or read book Genre in a Changing World written by Charles Bazerman and published by Parlor Press LLC. This book was released on 2009-09-16 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genre studies and genre approaches to literacy instruction continue to develop in many regions and from a widening variety of approaches. Genre has provided a key to understanding the varying literacy cultures of regions, disciplines, professions, and educational settings. GENRE IN A CHANGING WORLD provides a wide-ranging sampler of the remarkable variety of current work. The twenty-four chapters in this volume, reflecting the work of scholars in Europe, Australasia, and North and South America, were selected from the over 400 presentations at SIGET IV (the Fourth International Symposium on Genre Studies) held on the campus of UNISUL in Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil in August 2007—the largest gathering on genre to that date. The chapters also represent a wide variety of approaches, including rhetoric, Systemic Functional Linguistics, media and critical cultural studies, sociology, phenomenology, enunciation theory, the Geneva school of educational sequences, cognitive psychology, relevance theory, sociocultural psychology, activity theory, Gestalt psychology, and schema theory. Sections are devoted to theoretical issues, studies of genres in the professions, studies of genre and media, teaching and learning genre, and writing across the curriculum. The broad selection of material in this volume displays the full range of contemporary genre studies and sets the ground for a next generation of work.

Asteroids

Author : Martin Elvis
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300258380
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Asteroids by : Martin Elvis

Download or read book Asteroids written by Martin Elvis and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique, wide-ranging examination of asteroid exploration and our future in space Human travel into space is an enormously expensive and unforgiving endeavor. So why go? In this accessible and authoritative book, astrophysicist Martin Elvis argues that the answer is asteroid exploration, for the strong motives of love, fear, and greed. Elvis’s personal motivation is one of scientific love—asteroid investigations may teach us about the composition of the solar system and the origins of life. A more compelling reason may be fear—of a dinosaur killer–sized asteroid hitting our planet. Finally, Elvis maintains, we should consider greed: asteroids likely hold vast riches, such as large platinum deposits, and mining them could provide both a new industry and a funding source for bolder space exploration. Elvis explains how each motive can be satisfied, and how they help one another. From the origins of life, to “space billiards,” and space sports, Elvis looks at how asteroids may be used in the not-so-distant future.

Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy

Author : Gabriella Coleman
Publisher : Verso Books
ISBN 13 : 1781685843
Total Pages : 495 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (816 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy by : Gabriella Coleman

Download or read book Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy written by Gabriella Coleman and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2014-11-04 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ultimate book on the worldwide movement of hackers, pranksters, and activists collectively known as Anonymous—by the writer the Huffington Post says “knows all of Anonymous’ deepest, darkest secrets” “A work of anthropology that sometimes echoes a John le Carré novel.” —Wired Half a dozen years ago, anthropologist Gabriella Coleman set out to study the rise of this global phenomenon just as some of its members were turning to political protest and dangerous disruption (before Anonymous shot to fame as a key player in the battles over WikiLeaks, the Arab Spring, and Occupy Wall Street). She ended up becoming so closely connected to Anonymous that the tricky story of her inside–outside status as Anon confidante, interpreter, and erstwhile mouthpiece forms one of the themes of this witty and entirely engrossing book. The narrative brims with details unearthed from within a notoriously mysterious subculture, whose semi-legendary tricksters—such as Topiary, tflow, Anachaos, and Sabu—emerge as complex, diverse, politically and culturally sophisticated people. Propelled by years of chats and encounters with a multitude of hackers, including imprisoned activist Jeremy Hammond and the double agent who helped put him away, Hector Monsegur, Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy is filled with insights into the meaning of digital activism and little understood facets of culture in the Internet age, including the history of “trolling,” the ethics and metaphysics of hacking, and the origins and manifold meanings of “the lulz.”

AC/DC

Author : Tom McNichol
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118047028
Total Pages : 187 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (18 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis AC/DC by : Tom McNichol

Download or read book AC/DC written by Tom McNichol and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-06 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: AC/DC tells the little-known story of how Thomas Edison wrongly bet in the fierce war between supporters of alternating current and direct current. The savagery of this electrical battle can hardly be imagined today. The showdown between AC and DC began as a rather straightforward conflict between technical standards, a battle of competing methods to deliver essentially the same product, electricity. But the skirmish soon metastasized into something bigger and darker. In the AC/DC battle, the worst aspects of human nature somehow got caught up in the wires; a silent, deadly flow of arrogance, vanity, and cruelty. Following the path of least resistance, the war of currents soon settled around that most primal of human emotions: fear. AC/DC serves as an object lesson in bad business strategy and poor decision making. Edison's inability to see his mistake was a key factor in his loss of control over the ?operating system? for his future inventions?not to mention the company he founded, General Electric.

Six Impossible Things

Author : John Gribbin
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262043238
Total Pages : 104 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Six Impossible Things by : John Gribbin

Download or read book Six Impossible Things written by John Gribbin and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An elegant and accessible” investigation of quantum mechanics for non-specialists—“highly recommended” for students of the sciences, sci-fi fans, and anyone interested in the strange world of quantum physics (Forbes) Rules of the quantum world seem to say that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time and a particle can be in two places at once. And that particle is also a wave; everything in the quantum world can described in terms of waves—or entirely in terms of particles. These interpretations were all established by the end of the 1920s, by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and others. But no one has yet come up with a common sense explanation of what is going on. In this concise and engaging book, astrophysicist John Gribbin offers an overview of six of the leading interpretations of quantum mechanics. Gribbin calls his account “agnostic,” explaining that none of these interpretations is any better—or any worse—than any of the others. Gribbin presents the Copenhagen Interpretation, promoted by Niels Bohr and named by Heisenberg; the Pilot-Wave Interpretation, developed by Louis de Broglie; the Many Worlds Interpretation (termed “excess baggage” by Gribbin); the Decoherence Interpretation (“incoherent”); the Ensemble “Non-Interpretation”; and the Timeless Transactional Interpretation (which theorized waves going both forward and backward in time). All of these interpretations are crazy, Gribbin warns, and some are more crazy than others—but in the quantum world, being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.

The Foundations of Ethology

Author : K. Lorenz
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3709136717
Total Pages : 507 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Foundations of Ethology by : K. Lorenz

Download or read book The Foundations of Ethology written by K. Lorenz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a contribution to the history of ethology-not a definitive history, but the personal view of a major figure in that story. It is all the more welcome because such a grand theme as ethology calls for a range of perspectives. One reason is the overarching scope of the subject. Two great questions about life that constitute much of biology are "How does it work (structure and function)?" and "How did it get that way (evolu tion and ontogeny)?" Ethology addresses the antecedent of "it. " Of what are we trying to explain the mechanism and development? Surely behav ior, in all its wealth of detail, variation, causation, and control, is the main achievement of animal evolution, the essential consequence of animal structure and function, the raison d' etre of all the rest. Ethology thus spans between and overlaps with the ever-widening circles of ecol ogy over the eons and the ever-narrowing focus of physiology of the neurons. Another reason why the history of ethology needs perspectives is the recency of its acceptance. For such an obviously major aspect of animal biology, it is curious how short a time-less than three decades-has seen the excitement of an active field and a substantial fraternity of work ers, the addition of professors and courses to departments and curricula in biology (still far from universal}, and the normal complement of spe cial journals, symposia, and sessions at congresses.

The Spell of the Sensuous

Author : David Abram
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0307830551
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (78 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Spell of the Sensuous by : David Abram

Download or read book The Spell of the Sensuous written by David Abram and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-10-17 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the International Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction Animal tracks, word magic, the speech of stones, the power of letters, and the taste of the wind all figure prominently in this intellectual tour de force that returns us to our senses and to the sensuous terrain that sustains us. This major work of ecological philosophy startles the senses out of habitual ways of perception. For a thousand generations, human beings viewed themselves as part of the wider community of nature, and they carried on active relationships not only with other people with other animals, plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds, and weather patters) that we have only lately come to think of as "inanimate." How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient reciprocity with the natural world? What will it take for us to recover a sustaining relation with the breathing earth? In The Spell of the Sensuous David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand of magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with a passion, a precision, and an intellectual daring that recall such writers as Loren Eisleley, Annie Dillard, and Barry Lopez.