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Science
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Why we remember
We talk about memory as a record of the past, but here's a surprising twist: we aren't supposed to remember everything. In fact, we're designed to forget. Over the course of twenty-five years, Charan Ranganath has studied the seemingly selective and unreliable nature of human memory to find that our brains haven't evolved to keep a comprehensive record of events, but to extract the information needed to guide our futures. Using fascinating case studies and testimonies, 'Why We Remember' unveils the principles behind what and why we forget and shines new light on the silent, pervasive influence of memory on how we learn, heal and make decisions.
£10.99
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Wise animals
A brilliantly original exploration of humanity's intimate relationship with technology, from the emergence of our species to the emergence of AI and beyond.
£10.99
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Space oddities
An eye-opening and accessible account of the latest as-yet-inexplicable phenomena of the universe - oddities that could transform our understanding of the fundamental nature of reality.
£10.99
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The meteorites
From your window you can see the stars and distant planets: light years away, it's easy to think that our existences and theirs will never intersect. Yet meteorites - mysterious, irregular rocks of sometimes immense value - connect us with the vastness of the universe. They may have brought the first life to our planet, and today they still reveal extraordinary scientific insights. Helen Gordon reveals the fascinating stories of fallen meteorites and the lives they've touched - from collectors to kings, scientists to farmers. She meets amateur astronomers and gem dealers, goes meteorite hunting across rooftops and learns what objects moving through space can tell us about the fragility of life on Earth.
£20.00
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Sapiens Volume 3
Sometimes history seems like a laundry list of malevolent monarchs, pompous presidents and dastardly dictators. But are they really the ones in the driving seat? This volume takes us on an immersive and hilarious ride through the human past to discover the forces that change our world, bring us together, and - just as often - tear us apart. Grab a front-row seat to the greatest show on earth and explore the rise of money, religion and empire. Join our fabulous host Heroda Tush, as she wonders: which historical superhero will display the power to make civilisations rise and fall?
£22.00
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The art of stargazing
This is an insider's guide to the night sky in which space scientist and The Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock shares her expertise and unique insights into the marvellous world of stars. Take a tour of the 88 constellations and explore the science, history, culture and romanticism behind these celestial bodies.
£16.99
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The coming wave
We are about to cross a critical threshold in the history of our species. Everything is about to change. Soon we will live surrounded by AIs. They will carry out complex tasks - operating businesses, producing unlimited digital content, running core government services and maintaining infrastructure. This will be a world of DNA printers and quantum computers, engineered pathogens and autonomous weapons, robot assistants and abundant energy. It represents nothing less than a step change in human capability. We are not prepared. As cofounder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind, Mustafa Suleyman has been at the centre of this revolution, one poised to become the single greatest accelerant of progress in history. The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies.
£10.99
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Around the world in 80 games
'BRILLIANTLY CLEAR AND CAPTIVATING PROSE' STEPHEN FRYA WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR 2023An award-winning mathematician explores the maths behind the games we love and why we love to play them.
£10.99
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Yawns freeze your brain
Ideal gift and stocking filler for boys and men from bestselling author.
£10.99
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A book of noises
Sound shapes our world in invisible but profound ways, and here Caspar Henderson brings his characteristic curiosity, knowledge and sense of wonder to the subject to take us on an exhilarating journey through the heard universe. 'A Book of Noises' gathers together sounds from the cosmos, the natural world, the human world, and the invented world, and contains quiet pockets of silence. From the vast sound of sand in the desert to the tuneful warble of a songbird, to the meditative resonance of a temple bell and the improvisational melodies of jazz, this is a celebration of all things auricular.
£10.99
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The Collins stargazer's bible
Combining practical stargazing information and advice, the insights of internationally renowned astronomers and the history, technological advances and art revering the night sky, Collins Stargazer's Bible is a stunning celebration of the remarkable sky above.
£30.00
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Becoming Earth
A revolutionary account of Earth as a living organism - a finely-tuned planetary network made up of all living and non-living things - which provides an unusual degree of hope for its future.
£22.00
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Dust
Four-and-a-half billion years ago, Planet Earth was formed from a vast spinning nebula of cosmic dust, the detritus left over from the birth of the sun. Within the next 100 years, human life on swathes of the Earth's surface will end in a haze of heat, drought, and, again, dust. Dust is a legacy of 20th-century progress and a profound threat to life in the 21st century. And yet dust is something we hardly ever consider - it is so small and so mundane as to be beyond the threshold of thought. This book sparks curiosity and corrects that oversight.
£12.99
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The secret lives of numbers
From building rockets to the handheld technology that governs our day-to-day lives, we are all in debt to the mathematical geniuses of the past. But the history of mathematics is warped; it looks like a sixteenth-century map that enlarges Europe at the expense of Africa, Asia and the Americas. This book introduces readers to a new group of mathematical boundary-smashers, those who have been erased by history because of their race, gender or nationality. Kitagawa and Revell bring to vivid life the stories and struggles of mathematicians from every continent: from the brilliant Arabic scholars of the ninth century 'House of Wisdom'; to the pioneering African-American mathematicians of the twentieth century; the first female mathematics professor (from Russia); and the 'lady computers' around the world who revolutionised our knowledge of the night sky.
£12.99
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In a flight of starlings
Celebrated physicist Giorgio Parisi guides us through his unorthodox yet exhilarating work, starting with investigating the principles of physics by observing the flight of flocks of birds. Studying the movements of these communities, he has realized, proves an illuminating way into understanding complex systems of all kinds-collections of everything from atoms and planets to other animals, such as ourselves. Along the way, he reflects on the lessons he has taken from a life in pursuit of scientific truth: the importance of serendipity to the discovery of new ideas, the surprising kinship between physics and other disciplines, and the value of science to a thriving society. In so doing, he removes the practice of science from the confines of the laboratory and brings it into the real world.
£10.99
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White holes
Let us journey, with beloved physicist Carlo Rovelli, into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble - on and on - down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we'll see geometry fold, we'll feel the equations draw tight around us. Eventually, we'll pass it: the remains of a star, deep and dense and falling further far. And then - the bottom. Where time and space end, and the white hole is born. With lightness and magic, here Rovelli traces the ongoing adventure of his own cutting-edge research, of the uncertainty and joy of going where we've not yet been. Guiding us to the edge of theory and experiment, he invites us to go beyond, to experience the fever and the disquiet of science. Here is the extraordinary life of a white hole.
£9.99
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Dark matter
The microbiome is the missing link in modern medicine: a vast genetic universe of bacteria, yeasts, viruses and parasites that live inside us, influencing every aspect of our health, even the way we think and feel. In this mindblowing book, scientist and surgeon James Kinross explains how the organisms that live within us have helped us evolve, shaped our biology and defined the success of our species. But just as we have discovered this delicate and complex ecosystem within us, it is being irrevocably destroyed through the globalisation of our diets and lifestyles, our addiction to antibiotics, and the destruction of our environment.
£12.99
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Mapmatics
A gripping exploration of how cartography shapes our world and the impact of maps on our everyday lives.
£22.00
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Space
From author and astronaut Tim Peake, this is the captivating story of humans in space. Only 628 people in human history have left Earth. In this book, astronaut Tim Peake traces the lives of these remarkable men and women who have forged the way, from Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, from Valentina Tereshkova to Peggy Whitson. Full of exclusive new stories, and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, the book conveys what space exploration is really like: the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the newfound perspective, the years of training, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry.
£12.99
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Brave new words
Whether we like it or not, the AI revolution is coming to education. In 'Brave New Words', Salman Khan, the visionary behind Khan Academy, explores how artificial intelligence and GPT technology will transform learning, offering a roadmap for teachers, parents, and students to navigate this exciting (and sometimes intimidating) new world. An insider in the world of education technology, Khan explains the ins and outs of these cutting-edge tools and how they will forever change the way we learn and teach. Rather than approaching the ChatGPT revolution with white-knuckled fear, Khan wants parents and teachers to embrace AI and adapt to it (while acknowledging its imperfections and limitations), so that every student can complement the work they're already doing in profoundly new and creative ways, to personalize learning, adapt assessments, and support success in the classroom.
£25.00
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The experience machine
For as long as we've studied the mind, we've believed that information flowing from our senses determines what our mind perceives. But as our understanding of neuroscience and psychology has advanced in the last few decades, a provocative and hugely powerful new view has flipped this assumption on its head. The brain is not a passive receiver, but an ever-active predictor. At the forefront of this cognitive revolution is philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark, who has synthesised his ground-breaking work on the predictive brain to explore its fascinating mechanics and implications. Among the most stunning of these is the realisation that experience itself, because it is guided by prior expectation, is a kind of controlled hallucination. This even applies to our bodies, as the way we experience pain and medical symptoms is shaped by our expectations.
£12.99
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Quantum supremacy
The runaway success of the microchip processor may be nearing its end, with profound implications for our economy, society and way of life, even leaving Silicon Valley as a new Rust Belt, its technology obsolete. Step forward the quantum computer, which harnesses the power and complexity of the atomic realm, and may be useful in solving humanity's greatest challenges from climate change, to global starvation, to incurable diseases. Told with Kaku's signature clarity and enthusiasm, 'Quantum Supremacy' is the story of this exciting frontier and the race to claim humanity's future.
£12.99
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Wasteland
A deep dive into the global waste industry by award-winning journalist Oliver Franklin-Wallis.
£10.99
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Allergic
Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Billions of people worldwide have some form of allergy; millions have one severe enough to seriously endanger their health. And over the past decade, the number of people diagnosed with allergy has been steadily increasing, an ever-growing medical burden on individuals, families, and our health care system. Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail, herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a bee sting, set out to understand why.
£12.99
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