Other books that might interest you

• 

  Luck

  David Flusfeder

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  ‘A joy’ Philippe Sands‘Glorious’ David Spiegelhalter 
  A fascinating, enchanting and personal look at the meaning of luck, and the way in which it has shaped our shared history and continues to inflect our day to day lives. 
  What does it mean to be lucky? How might we mitigate the effects of bad luck and maximise those of good? Is there actually such a thing as ‘luck’—some force that intervenes between desire and its consummation, that impedes or hastens it? 
  To answer these questions, David Flusfeder sets out on a search for the definition of luck. This quest will take him to Siberia, Versailles, the Old Testament desert; play roulette in Baden-Baden with Dostoevsky; visit a Cambridge fairground with Wittgenstein; meet the sixteenth-century poet Thomas Bastard, who challenged Fortune, and lost; find Nietzsche on the slopes of Vesuvius; learn about the pioneers of probability; the twentieth-century art investigators of chance and possibility; and the intensely personal story of his father’s good fortune in escaping war-time Poland. Starting at the British Library in London, and following the dictates of an online randomiser that decided the chapter order, Flusfeder follows in the footsteps of some victors of luck and those who were defeated by it, from ancient times to the modern day. 
  Luck asks fundamental questions about the world, ourselves, our place in it. In these questions, about our relationships to fortune, to risk, to opportunity, to chance, destiny and fate, we find ourselves deciding who we are and how we might choose to live. 
  ‘Thrilling, intelligent and wilfully unique … I loved it’ James Runcie, author of The Great Passion 
  ‘Ruminative … page-turning’ TLS 
  ‘Fascinating … An eminently enjoyable and engrossing page-turner’ The Jewish Chronicle 
  In LUCK, David Flusfeder delves into the psychology of fortune, intertwining it with elements of mathematics and theory. The book is a top pick for those interested in the social aspects of games, particularly poker, and the communication skills required to navigate them. 
  For fans of Brian Klaas (Fluke), Morgan Housel (Same as Ever), Annie Jacobsen (Surprise, Kill, Vanish), Bill Perkins (Die With Zero), and Cal Newport (Slow Productivity). 
  HarperCollins 2022

  Show book

• 

  I Bought A Female Robot Companion

  Don Cronk

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  When I mentioned to my friends my desire to own a female robot, I got the most peculiar responses from them. Firstly, their eyes would light up from the shock. Then they whinnied like a horse laughing. And would slowly back away from me regarding me suspiciously as they did so. 
  A man like me must be careful when he enters old age because people treat you like an imbecile who’s trying to relive his youth by having the audacity to let ideas wander around aimlessly in his head. To some people, old age is frowned upon as a disability. 
  When the day came for me to decide to purchase the robot online, people send my wife wouldn’t allow me to have such a toy. She gave me a lecture on how retired people should act and bringing a female robot into her house was not the act of a sane old fart. “I forbid you having such idle nonsense.” 
  I pressed down hard on the “order now” button and awaited the outcome…

  Show book

• 

  Soil is not a dirty word - A...

  Craig Castree

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  What you feed the soil, you 
  feed yourself! 
  In his riveting new book, Soil is Not A Dirty Word, Craig Castree shares 
  urgent insights into the symbiotic relationships between plants and the 
  microscopic worlds of bacteria and fungi that sustain them. This book will 
  transform the way you see the ground beneath your feet. 
  During his three-year dive down the rabbit hole to discover the shocking 
  truths hidden in soil, Castree discovered that our understanding of soil has 
  been fundamentally flawed for over 80 years. 
  While soil might not be the typical topic of conversation, it’s time it became 
  a priority. Modern agricultural practices promised increased productivity 
  but have instead led to diminishing returns. Our topsoil—the thin layer 
  that nourishes the planet—erodes at an alarming rate, and autoimmune 
  diseases rise as the soil microbiome becomes more disconnected from 
  plant and human microbiomes. 
  Soil is Not A Dirty Word goes beyond just sounding the alarm, it offers a 
  solution after solution to the problems most of us never knew we had with 
  soil. With a regenerative approach that revitalises the soil, reduces reliance 
  on chemical inputs, and restores its nutrient density, Castree’s strategies 
  promise to revolutionise edible gardening, farming, and growing food plants. 
  This isn’t just a manual for gardeners and farmers—this is a call to action for 
  anyone concerned about our planet’s future, our health, and the legacy we 
  leave for generations to come. 
  For more information or to order his other books go to; 
  www.craigcastree.com.au

  Show book

• 

  Big Data for Business -...

  Craig Dames

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Big Data has emerged as a cornerstone of modern business strategy, transforming how organizations operate, make decisions, and engage with customers. At its core, Big Data refers to extremely large and complex data sets that traditional data processing software cannot handle efficiently. It is not just the size of the data that matters, but also its variety, velocity, veracity, and value—commonly known as the five Vs of Big Data. These characteristics define the challenges and opportunities that Big Data presents for businesses. 
  The rise of digital technologies, from smartphones to sensors to cloud computing, has dramatically increased the volume of data generated daily. Businesses now have access to data from countless sources including social media platforms, customer transactions, website analytics, mobile apps, and IoT devices. This explosion of data offers unprecedented insight into customer behavior, market trends, and operational performance—if it is captured, managed, and analyzed effectively. 
  Understanding the significance of Big Data in business starts with its ability to enable data-driven decision making. Companies no longer need to rely solely on intuition or historical trends. Instead, they can use real-time analytics to predict outcomes, optimize strategies, and respond quickly to changes in the market. This shift toward data-centric thinking can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and create a competitive advantage.

  Show book

• 

  Infectious Disease - A Very...

  Marta Wayne, Benjamin Bolker

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Infectious disease is a moving target: new diseases emerge every year, old diseases evolve into new forms, and ecological and socioeconomic upheavals change the transmission pathways that spread disease. But where does disease come from? How is it transmitted from one person to another? And why are some individuals more susceptible than others? 
   
   
   
  In this Very Short Introduction, Marta Wayne and Benjamin Bolker address these questions through the lenses of ecology and evolution. Assessing the management of outbreaks of diseases such as influenza, HIV/AIDS, cholera, and COVID-19, they provide specific examples to illustrate why major diseases still threaten populations all over the world.

  Show book

• 

  Ultimate Flutter Handbook -...

  Lahiru Mahagamage

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Harness Flutter as a cross-platform framework to create applications for iOS and Android from a single, unified codebase
  
  DESCRIPTION
  Flutter Handbook is the key to becoming a proficient Flutter app developer, catering to all levels, from beginners to experts. This comprehensive guide takes you by the hand, providing step-by-step instructions on every aspect of Flutter app development.
  Starting from the basics, you'll learn how to install and run Flutter, as well as core concepts such as widgets, state management, and navigation. As you progress, the book delves deep into advanced topics, such as implementing CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) functions using Firebase Firestore.
  Flutter Handbook is more than just a tutorial book. It also provides invaluable tips, tricks, and small tasks at the end of each chapter to reinforce your understanding and equip you with real-world skills. By the end of this journey, you'll have the expertise to release your Flutter app to the Play Store or App Store with confidence.
  
  TABLE OF CONTENTS 
  1. Introduction to Flutter
  2. Getting Started
  3. Widgets Widgets Widgets!
  4. Stateful and Stateless Widgets
  5. Navigation and Routing
  6. Firebase Firestore with Flutter
  7. Futures, Awaits, and Async
  8. Persistence and Data Modeling
  9. Deploying

  Show book