Other books that might interest you

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  Truth is the invention of a liar...

  Heinz von Foerster, Bernhard...

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  "This book is so rich with insights, sparkling dialogue, and wisdom that one would love to distribute it like a leaflet around town."
  
  Südwestrundfunk (German radio station)
  "The intellectual dance that the two dare to dance is intelligent, light, humorous, and enchanting."
  
  Süddeutsche Zeitung (German daily)
  "I recommend this book not only to the cybernetics and systems community, but to anyone."
  
  Ranulph Glanville, Cybernetics and Human Knowing
  "Easy and enjoyable to read, without loss of scientific and philosophical depth and rigor. … The reader will find the book difficult to put down."
  
  Bernd R. Hornung, Journal of Sociocybernetics
  Conversations for skeptics
  
  How real is reality? Are our images of the world mere inventions or do they correspond to an external reality? Is it possible to know the truth?
  
  These are some of the questions that are discussed in this book by physicist and philosopher Heinz von Foerster and media studies scholar Bernhard Poerksen. Together they explore the limits of our cognitive capacities; they debate the apparent objectivity of our sensual perception and the consequences of "truth terrorism"; and they talk about the relationship between knowledge and ethics, sight and insight.
  The authors:
  Heinz von Foerster (1911–2002) completed his studies of physics in Vienna and worked at different research labs before emigrating to the United States in 1949. In 1957, at the University of Illinois, he established the Biological Computer Lab (BCL) – the cradle of the epistemology that would later cause a stir under the label of "constructivism." The focus was on analyzing the logical and methodological problems that in evitably arise when one seeks to know knowledge. He is the author of numerous books, including Understanding Understanding: Essays on Cybernetics and Cognition.
  Bernhard Poerksen is professor of media studies at the University of Tübingen with a particular research interest in the new media age. His books about systemic thinking have been translated into many languages. In 2008 he was voted "Professor of the Year" in honor of his teaching. His most recent book publications in English include From Being to Doing: The Origins of the Biology of Cognition (with Humberto Maturana), The Unleashed Scandal: The End of Control in the Digital Age (with Hanne Detel), and Digital Fever: Taming the Big Business of Disinformation.

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  Nature Fix The: Book Summary &...

  Briefly Summaries

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  This is a concise summary and analysis of The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams.
   
  It is not the original book and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Florence Williams.
   
  Ideal those seeking a quick and insightful overview.
  
   
  The Nature Fix explores the science behind the restorative powers of nature, highlighting how spending time outdoors can improve mental health, boost creativity, and enhance well-being. Through engaging storytelling and research, the book examines the physical and psychological benefits of connecting with nature, offering insights into how nature's influence can combat stress, anxiety, and the challenges of modern life.

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  A Woman in the Polar Night

  Christian Ritter, Sara Wheeler

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  This rediscovered classic memoir tells the incredible tale of a woman defying society's expectations to find freedom and peace in the adventure of a lifetime. 
   
   
   
  In 1934, the painter Christiane Ritter leaves her comfortable life in Austria and travels to the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen, to spend a year there with her husband. She thinks it will be a relaxing trip, a chance to "read thick books in the remote quiet and, not least, sleep to my heart's content," but when Christiane arrives she is shocked to realize that they are to live in a tiny ramshackle hut on the shores of a lonely fjord, hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement, battling the elements every day, just to survive. 
   
   
   
  At first, Christiane is horrified by the freezing cold, the bleak landscape the lack of equipment and supplies . . . But as time passes, after encounters with bears and seals, long treks over the ice and months on end of perpetual night, she finds herself falling in love with the Arctic's harsh, otherworldly beauty, gaining a great sense of inner peace and a new appreciation for the sanctity of life.

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  Ain't No Place for a Hero:...

  Kaitlin Tremblay

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  A deep dive into the groundbreaking and bestselling video game series The critically acclaimed first-person shooter franchise Borderlands knows it’s ridiculous. It’s a badge of pride. After all, Borderlands 2 was promoted with the tagline “87 bazillion guns just got bazillionder.” These space-western games encourage you to shoot a lot of enemies and monsters, loot their corpses, and have a few chuckles while chasing down those bazillion guns.  
   
  As Kaitlin Tremblay explores in Ain’t No Place for a Hero, the Borderlands video game series satirizes its own genre, exposing and addressing the ways first-person shooter video games have tended to exclude women, queer people, and people of colour, as well as contribute to a hostile playing environment. Tremblay also digs in to the way the Borderlands game franchise ― which has sold more than 26 million copies ― disrupts traditional notions of heroism, creating nuanced and compelling storytelling that highlights the strengths and possibilities of this relatively new narrative medium.  
   
  The latest entry in the acclaimed Pop Classics series, Ain’t No Place for a Hero is a fascinating read for Borderlands devotees as well as the uninitiated.

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  Navigating the Complexities of...

  MD FAAN Louis R. Caplan

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  Navigating the Complexities of Stroke provides a practical guide for the lay public and medical professionals. Dr. Louis R. Caplan, one of the world's leading experts, guides listeners through the subject in a straightforward and accessible manner. He turns to the mechanics of the stroke itself, discussing the complexities of the two major kinds and the resulting damage. Caplan offers information and advice that listeners will find useful: the medical conditions and other factors that create risk, stroke symptoms, abnormalities that doctors look for, tests available to evaluate strokes, complications and disabilities that can result, and the paths of treatment and rehabilitation. He offers real-life cases of victims and their families that demonstrate successful recovery, but also reveal the sometimes troubling impact of strokes on survivors and their families, who can suffer frustration and demoralization that the medical profession often overlooks in its biological focus. Caplan also examines strokes in children and young adults, who are often neglected in literature that is largely aimed at seniors. 
   
   
   
  Navigating the Complexities of Stroke empowers victims, families, and general medical providers. It puts in listeners' hands the knowledge necessary to avoid strokes, address them quickly, and recover, so they won't lose heart when it is needed most.

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  Cosmic Shadows - Where Light...

  Dirk Fallon

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  This bundle of 3 books unearths the secrets of a universe filled with eerie beauty and haunting silence. In Celestial Ghosts, we explore the faded footprints of stars that once blazed with brilliance—now reduced to nebulae, pulsars, and haunting remnants drifting in space. These ghostly traces whisper the stories of cosmic cycles and stellar endings. 
  In Stars and the Shadow Realm, we travel into the in-between—the borderlands where light dims and the shadow realm emerges. Black holes, dense star clusters, and interstellar dust clouds hide wonders we’re only beginning to detect. This section uncovers how even darkness can reveal profound cosmic truths when seen through infrared eyes and gravity’s pull. 
  Finally, Starlight and Shadows brings balance to the cosmos, revealing how light and dark constantly dance. From lunar eclipses to dark matter halos, the contrasts between brilliance and blackness shape the very structure of galaxies.

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