The Usefulness Of Useless Knowledge

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The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

Author : Abraham Flexner
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691174768
Total Pages : 104 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge by : Abraham Flexner

Download or read book The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge written by Abraham Flexner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-21 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A short, provocative book about why "useless" science often leads to humanity's greatest technological breakthroughs A forty-year tightening of funding for scientific research has meant that resources are increasingly directed toward applied or practical outcomes, with the intent of creating products of immediate value. In such a scenario, it makes sense to focus on the most identifiable and urgent problems, right? Actually, it doesn't. In his classic essay "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge," Abraham Flexner, the founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the man who helped bring Albert Einstein to the United States, describes a great paradox of scientific research. The search for answers to deep questions, motivated solely by curiosity and without concern for applications, often leads not only to the greatest scientific discoveries but also to the most revolutionary technological breakthroughs. In short, no quantum mechanics, no computer chips. This brief book includes Flexner's timeless 1939 essay alongside a new companion essay by Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Institute's current director, in which he shows that Flexner's defense of the value of "the unobstructed pursuit of useless knowledge" may be even more relevant today than it was in the early twentieth century. Dijkgraaf describes how basic research has led to major transformations in the past century and explains why it is an essential precondition of innovation and the first step in social and cultural change. He makes the case that society can achieve deeper understanding and practical progress today and tomorrow only by truly valuing and substantially funding the curiosity-driven "pursuit of useless knowledge" in both the sciences and the humanities.

The Usefulness of the Useless

Author : Nuccio Ordine
Publisher : Paul Dry Books
ISBN 13 : 1589881168
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (898 download)

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Book Synopsis The Usefulness of the Useless by : Nuccio Ordine

Download or read book The Usefulness of the Useless written by Nuccio Ordine and published by Paul Dry Books. This book was released on 2017-02-21 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A little masterpiece of originality and clarity.”—George Steiner “A necessary book.”—Roberto Saviano “A wonderful little book that will delight you.”—François Busnel International Best Seller / Now in English for the First Time In this thought-provoking and extremely timely work, Nuccio Ordine convincingly argues for the utility of useless knowledge and against the contemporary fixation on utilitarianism—for the fundamental importance of the liberal arts and against the damage caused by their neglect. Inspired by the reflections of great philosophers and writers (e.g., Plato, Dante, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Borges, and Calvino), Ordine reveals how the obsession for material goods and the cult of utility ultimately wither the spirit, jeopardizing not only schools and universities, art, and creativity, but also our most fundamental values—human dignity, love, and truth. Also included is Abraham Flexner’s 1939 essay “The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge,” which originally prompted Ordine to write this book. Flexner—a founder and the first director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton—offers an impassioned defense of curiosity-driven research and learning.

Useless Knowledge

Author : David Samson
Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN 13 : 1466855940
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

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Book Synopsis Useless Knowledge by : David Samson

Download or read book Useless Knowledge written by David Samson and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can your tongue get you arrested? What dessert is as smart as the average adult? What's louder: A jet plane at take-off or a hippo having sex? In the form of a lively and eccentric course catalog, Useless Knowledge, the brainchild of the creator of the wildly successful Useless Knowledge website offers up loads of facts of little consequence for the hardcore trivia buff or the casual enthusiast. Inside, you'll find topics and entries like these: The Core Curriculum The Useless School of Animals The sound that a camel makes is called "nuzzing". The Useless School of Film Warren Beatty's first job in the theater was a rat-catcher...backstage. The Useless School of History Not that he was immature, but Napoleon concocted his battle strategies in a sandbox. The Useless School of Sports It takes 3,000 cows to supply a single season's worth of footballs to the NFL. There are also Useless Schools of Television, Biology, Science and Technology, Music, Geography, and Culinary Arts.

The Faculty of Useless Knowledge

Author : I︠U︡riı̆ Dombrovskiı̆
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 9781860460548
Total Pages : 548 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

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Book Synopsis The Faculty of Useless Knowledge by : I︠U︡riı̆ Dombrovskiı̆

Download or read book The Faculty of Useless Knowledge written by I︠U︡riı̆ Dombrovskiı̆ and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1996 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Totally Awesome Book of Useless Information

Author : Noel Botham
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399159258
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (991 download)

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Book Synopsis The Totally Awesome Book of Useless Information by : Noel Botham

Download or read book The Totally Awesome Book of Useless Information written by Noel Botham and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-06-05 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weird and amazing facts for curious minds of all kinds Looking for fascinating facts and trivia that readers of all ages can enjoy? The Totally Awesome Book of Useless Information is filled with the oddest and funniest tidbits about history, science, food, animals, and more. A great gift for kids of all ages, this book features: 200+ interesting facts and trivia Engaging illustrations and easy-to-read format Portable size, great for road trips and family vacations This compendium is perfect for trivia buffs, history lovers, and anyone who loves to learn new things. For example, did you know that the Pilgrims ate popcorn at the first Thanksgiving? Or that the peach was the first fruit eaten on the moon? Or that there are oysters that can climb trees? You'll find all this and more in this amazing collection of useless information.

The Book of Useless Information

Author : Noel Botham
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 9780399532696
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (326 download)

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Book Synopsis The Book of Useless Information by : Noel Botham

Download or read book The Book of Useless Information written by Noel Botham and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-06-27 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What you may so cavalierly call useless information could prove invaluable to someone else. Then again, maybe not. But to The Useless Information Society, any fact that passes its gasp-inducing, not-a-lot-of-people-know-that test merits inclusion in this fascinating but ultimately useless book... Did you know (or do you care)... • That fish scales are used to make lipstick? • Why organized crime accounts for ten percent of the United States’s annual income? • The name of the first CD pressed in the United States? • The last year that can be written upside-down or right side-up and appear the same? • The shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar®? • How much Elvis weighed at the time of his death? • What the suits in a deck of cards represent? • How many Quarter Pounders can be made from one cow? • How interesting useless information can be? The Book of Useless Information answers these teasers and is packed with facts and figures that will captivate you—and anyone who shares your joy in the pursuit of pointless knowledge.

The World's Greatest Book of Useless Information

Author : Noel Botham
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101061359
Total Pages : 129 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis The World's Greatest Book of Useless Information by : Noel Botham

Download or read book The World's Greatest Book of Useless Information written by Noel Botham and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-07-07 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the creators of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Useless Information-a collection of even greater insignificance. More useless than ever before! Impress know-it-all friends with this all-new hodgepodge of frivolous facts and silly statistics that no one really needs to know. But honestly, how cool is it to find out that... ? There is a place in Maryland called Monkey's Eyebrow ? Giving yellow flowers is a sign of bad luck in Russia ? One brow wrinkle is the result of 200,000 frowns ? Paper can be made from asparagus This is the book that will also tell you... ? The meaning of 'mageirocophobia' ? Where it is illegal to kill a butterfly ? Huckleberry Finn's remedy for warts ? What bodily fluid the Romans used as a hair treatment And much, much more!

The Book of Totally Useless Information

Author : Don Voorhees
Publisher : M J F Books
ISBN 13 : 9781567312669
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (126 download)

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Book Synopsis The Book of Totally Useless Information by : Don Voorhees

Download or read book The Book of Totally Useless Information written by Don Voorhees and published by M J F Books. This book was released on 1998-08 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides answers to such questions as "Was there ever a real Aunt Jemima?" "What is the difference between bourbon and Scotch?" "Why do trains have a caboose?" and "Why do we give names to hurricanes?"

The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

Author : Abraham Flexner
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400884624
Total Pages : 104 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge by : Abraham Flexner

Download or read book The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge written by Abraham Flexner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-06 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A short, provocative book about why "useless" science often leads to humanity's greatest technological breakthroughs A forty-year tightening of funding for scientific research has meant that resources are increasingly directed toward applied or practical outcomes, with the intent of creating products of immediate value. In such a scenario, it makes sense to focus on the most identifiable and urgent problems, right? Actually, it doesn't. In his classic essay "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge," Abraham Flexner, the founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the man who helped bring Albert Einstein to the United States, describes a great paradox of scientific research. The search for answers to deep questions, motivated solely by curiosity and without concern for applications, often leads not only to the greatest scientific discoveries but also to the most revolutionary technological breakthroughs. In short, no quantum mechanics, no computer chips. This brief book includes Flexner's timeless 1939 essay alongside a new companion essay by Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Institute's current director, in which he shows that Flexner's defense of the value of "the unobstructed pursuit of useless knowledge" may be even more relevant today than it was in the early twentieth century. Dijkgraaf describes how basic research has led to major transformations in the past century and explains why it is an essential precondition of innovation and the first step in social and cultural change. He makes the case that society can achieve deeper understanding and practical progress today and tomorrow only by truly valuing and substantially funding the curiosity-driven "pursuit of useless knowledge" in both the sciences and the humanities.

The Knowledge Illusion

Author : Steven Sloman
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399184341
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (991 download)

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Book Synopsis The Knowledge Illusion by : Steven Sloman

Download or read book The Knowledge Illusion written by Steven Sloman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Knowledge Illusion is filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom.” —Steven Pinker We all think we know more than we actually do. Humans have built hugely complex societies and technologies, but most of us don’t even know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? Cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach argue that we survive and thrive despite our mental shortcomings because we live in a rich community of knowledge. The key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: in our bodies, our environment, our possessions, and the community with which we interact—and usually we don’t even realize we’re doing it. The human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire, created democratic institutions, stood on the moon, and sequenced our genome. And yet each of us is error prone, sometimes irrational, and often ignorant. The fundamentally communal nature of intelligence and knowledge explains why we often assume we know more than we really do, why political opinions and false beliefs are so hard to change, and why individual-oriented approaches to education and management frequently fail. But our collaborative minds also enable us to do amazing things. The Knowledge Illusion contends that true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using the community around us.

How Not to Be Wrong

Author : Jordan Ellenberg
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143127535
Total Pages : 482 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis How Not to Be Wrong by : Jordan Ellenberg

Download or read book How Not to Be Wrong written by Jordan Ellenberg and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Witty, compelling, and just plain fun to read . . ." —Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American The Freakonomics of math—a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how terribly limiting this view is: Math isn’t confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do—the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It’s a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does “public opinion” really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer? How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician’s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman—minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia’s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can’t figure out about you, and the existence of God. Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. Math, as Ellenberg says, is “an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.” With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. How Not to Be Wrong will show you how.

Alcoholica Esoterica

Author : Ian Lendler
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 9780143035978
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (359 download)

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Book Synopsis Alcoholica Esoterica by : Ian Lendler

Download or read book Alcoholica Esoterica written by Ian Lendler and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005-09-27 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finally, there’s a book that’s almost as much fun as having a couple of drinks. Alcoholica Esoterica presents the history and culture of booze as told by a writer with a knack for distilling all the boring bits into the most interesting facts and hilarious tales. It’s almost like pulling up a stool next to the smartest and funniest guy in the bar. Divided into chapters covering the basic booze groups—including beer, wine, Champagne, whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and tequila—Alcoholica Esoterica charts the origin and rise of each alcohol’s particular charms and influence. Other sections chronicle “Great Moments in Hic-story,” “Great Country Drinking Songs,” “10 Odd Laws,” and “Mt. Lushmore, Parts I–V.” Additionally, famous quotes on the joys and sorrows of liquor offer useful shots of advice and intoxicating whimsy. Did you know... that the word bar is short for barrier? Yes, that’s right—to keep the customers from getting at all the booze. that Winston Churchill’s mother supposedly invented the Manhattan? that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock because the sailors on the Mayflower were running low on beer and were tired of sharing? that you have a higher chance of being killed by a flying Champagne cork than by a poisonous spider? that the Code of Hammurabi mandated that brewers of low-quality beer be drowned in it? that beer was so popular with medieval priests and monks that in the thirteenth century they stopped baptizing babies with holy water and started using beer?

The Incredible Book of Useless Information

Author : Don Voorhees
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399537465
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis The Incredible Book of Useless Information by : Don Voorhees

Download or read book The Incredible Book of Useless Information written by Don Voorhees and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 New York Times bestselling series continues to delight and astound with an all-new collection of surprisingly unnecessary facts and figures. Would it surprise you to learn… •it takes a sloth about a month to digest a meal? •more tourists visit France than any other nation in the world? •the United States still has debt from the Revolutionary War? Do you think you ever need to know… •what type of trees are most frequently struck by lightning? •how much a clerk was paid for penning the U.S. Constitution? •which celebrity uses the pseudonym Slappy White?

The Ultimate Book of Useless Information

Author : Noel Botham
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101051035
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ultimate Book of Useless Information by : Noel Botham

Download or read book The Ultimate Book of Useless Information written by Noel Botham and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-05-02 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bigger, better, and more useless than ever! In their groundbreakingly useless book, The Book of Useless Information, the members of the Useless Information Society proved that knowledge doesn't have to be useful to be entertaining. Now they present a new collection of their most fascinating, hilarious, and wholly trivial findings. The Ultimate Book of Useless Information includes such "did you knows" as: - Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite - The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing - And giraffes have no vocal cords

Knowing Otherwise

Author : Alexis Shotwell
Publisher : Penn State Press
ISBN 13 : 0271068051
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Knowing Otherwise by : Alexis Shotwell

Download or read book Knowing Otherwise written by Alexis Shotwell and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2015-09-10 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prejudice is often not a conscious attitude: because of ingrained habits in relating to the world, one may act in prejudiced ways toward others without explicitly understanding the meaning of one’s actions. Similarly, one may know how to do certain things, like ride a bicycle, without being able to articulate in words what that knowledge is. These are examples of what Alexis Shotwell discusses in Knowing Otherwise as phenomena of “implicit understanding.” Presenting a systematic analysis of this concept, she highlights how this kind of understanding may be used to ground positive political and social change, such as combating racism in its less overt and more deep-rooted forms. Shotwell begins by distinguishing four basic types of implicit understanding: nonpropositional, skill-based, or practical knowledge; embodied knowledge; potentially propositional knowledge; and affective knowledge. She then develops the notion of a racialized and gendered “common sense,” drawing on Gramsci and critical race theorists, and clarifies the idea of embodied knowledge by showing how it operates in the realm of aesthetics. She also examines the role that both negative affects, like shame, and positive affects, like sympathy, can play in moving us away from racism and toward political solidarity and social justice. Finally, Shotwell looks at the politicized experience of one’s body in feminist and transgender theories of liberation in order to elucidate the role of situated sensuous knowledge in bringing about social change and political transformation.

Fewer, Better Things

Author : Glenn Adamson
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1632869640
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (328 download)

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Book Synopsis Fewer, Better Things by : Glenn Adamson

Download or read book Fewer, Better Things written by Glenn Adamson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the former director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, a timely and passionate case for the role of the well-designed object in the digital age. Curator and scholar Glenn Adamson opens Fewer, Better Things by contrasting his beloved childhood teddy bear to the smartphones and digital tablets children have today. He laments that many children and adults are losing touch with the material objects that have nurtured human development for thousands of years. The objects are still here, but we seem to care less and know less about them. In his presentations to groups, he often asks an audience member what he or she knows about the chair the person is sitting in. Few people know much more than whether it's made of wood, plastic, or metal. If we know little about how things are made, it's hard to remain connected to the world around us. Fewer, Better Things explores the history of craft in its many forms, explaining how raw materials, tools, design, and technique come together to produce beauty and utility in handmade or manufactured items. Whether describing the implements used in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the use of woodworking tools, or the use of new fabrication technologies, Adamson writes expertly and lovingly about the aesthetics of objects, and the care and attention that goes into producing them. Reading this wise and elegant book is a truly transformative experience.

The Super Book of Useless Information

Author : Don Voorhees
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101545135
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis The Super Book of Useless Information by : Don Voorhees

Download or read book The Super Book of Useless Information written by Don Voorhees and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faster than a speeding bullet, more useless than ever before. The #1 New York Times bestselling series reaches new heights of irrelevance with this powerfully pointless, all-new collection of the things you never need to know. Do you actually care that... there are three feet of DNA in every cell? Saturn has 47 moons? March is National Frozen Foods Month? in 2010 a traffic jam in China lasted ten days? Would it improve your life to know... which movie star wanted to be a funeral director? which state has the most horses per square mile? which dictator was obsessed with Cheetos? what day of the year the most cars are stolen in the United States?