Some of the most popular materials on T&P were and remain book selections, however, in addition to recommendation lists, we regularly publish excerpts and chapters from new books - often even before they hit the shelves, so that you can evaluate whether it is worth buying a new thing on your bookshelf or not. In today's selection - the most popular excerpts - 2020 from our heading "Open Reading".
Signs you need to deal with stress urgently
Emily Nagoski and her sister Amelia address the topic of burnout in women in their new book. In an attempt to meet the standards of appearance and behavior, everywhere to be in time and be nice at the same time, women find themselves in a vicious circle of endless stress. In an excerpt from the sisters' book Burnout. A New Approach to Stress Relief”- information that will help determine the level of stress.
How to hone your thinking skills
Not every educational process requires a step-by-step approach. If you, for example, want to learn how to change tires on your car, you do not have to follow all the ideas outlined in the book How to Learn to Learn. Skills of deliberate assimilation of knowledge”, although this may turn out to be useful. But if the skill you want to master requires deep knowledge, then you must master it as best you can.
Haruki Murakami: "Speaking directly is the most correct strategy"
What does one of the most famous contemporary Japanese authors think about the value of literary prizes, what is most important for a writer, and what is the main role of the prize? An excerpt from the interview book "Writer as a Profession" by Haruki Murakami, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times, explains why the presence or absence of prizes has nothing to do with the works of the authors.
Face to Face with Misinformation: Anti-Vaccines
Truth and fiction, science and pseudoscience have mixed in books, on websites, in the speeches of politicians and in our heads. How do you know what to believe? The only way is to use critical thinking. The author of the book "I do not believe" John Grant, using examples of the most discussed, scandalous and significant controversies of our time, explains how to understand that they are trying to deceive you.
From cholera to coronavirus: how fatal diseases spread
As Sonya Shah wrote, the author of the book “Pandemic. The World History of Deadly Viruses, "the pathogen or pathogen that will cause the next global pandemic, is lurking somewhere near us. It is not yet known what kind of microbe it will be and where it will come from, but for simplicity, we can call it the "heir of cholera", because, most likely, it will follow the path beaten by it. We read which one it was (and see if the predictions came true).
How intellectuals became an endangered species: a trail of psychologism
The book by American sociophilosopher Steve Fuller, The Sociology of Intellectual Life: A Career of the Mind Inside and Outside the Academy, provides a brief overview of the challenges facing the very existence of intellectuals in the 21st century, as well as the historical and conceptual conditions that have allowed them to thrive in the past and prevent them from doing so. do today.
If the cat is playing, everything is fine with her.
Not a day goes by that the media does not write about the well-being of animals, because the public is increasingly asking questions. When an animal is in our care, then we are responsible for it, and it should be good. But how do we humans know when he feels good and when he feels bad, when the maintenance of an animal meets his natural needs, and when not? We read an excerpt from the book “Man in the Animal. Why do animals so often resemble us in their thinking, feelings and behavior”and we get answers to the questions of interest.
How genes and neurotransmitters make us happy and suffer
Life on Earth is an incomprehensible, omnipresent, orgy, teeming with millions of legs, twigs, thorns and teeth, in which we exist and from which we come. In his debut book, which was included in the long list of the Enlightener this year, evolutionary neuroscientist Nikolai Kukushkin recreates a picture of the world, from inanimate matter to the human mind, step by step, in order to find answers to eternal questions in the past of his species.
Brain Development in Brief: The Biology of Good and Evil
As the famous primatologist and neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky says, if you want to understand human behavior and the nature of a good or bad deed, you have to understand literally everything - both what happened a second before, and what happened millions of years ago. In an excerpt from his book - about the huge number of factors that influence our behavior, and how the stages of brain development make us "bad" or "good."
How to understand and curb your subconscious
Success in life is often defined in one word - "more": better results, faster career growth, increased income Work more. Do more. Achieve more. And as soon as possible. We spin like squirrels in a wheel, but the result is stress and emptiness. Now imagine that you can achieve your goals in another, much more effective way to slow down the pace. In an excerpt from Roger Sype's book "Mind in Control" - about how to stop grabbing at everything at once, taking control of your own subconscious.
Psychology tools: how do psychologists draw conclusions?
If you want to quickly learn the most important things about psychology, then no one can tell you better than Sandy Mann. How does the brain work and work? How does perception work and how does memory work? What are Freudian slips and why do phantom pains occur? Who and when conducted the most important psychological experiments that gave us new knowledge about human behavior? What are the most common mental disorders and how are they treated? Answers to these questions, as well as practical advice - in the book "Hacking Psychology: All Psychological Theories in One Book."
How to get rid of bad habits in two easy steps
Who said that change must take a lot of energy? If you, like many, have bought into such a myth and because of this many times dropped the case halfway through, we hasten to please you. It's not your fault, it's just a mistake in approach, not a personal flaw. We have published an excerpt from Dr. BJ Fogg's book "Nanohabits", whose experience will help you take the first steps to quitting bad habits in just two simple steps.
How to cope with stress caused by traumatic events
Immunity is a reliable defense of our body against any pathogens: infections, bacteria, viruses, even some mutations, and Hashimoto's disease (or ait) is the systematic killing of the thyroid gland by the immune system. 38% of the world's population suffers from the disease, and the author of the book When Immunity Works Against Us, Doctor of Medicine Isabella Wentz, also passed through it. However, a number of tips on how to live with this diagnosis and improve the condition of the body, which she gives in her work, will be useful to those who have not been diagnosed with aitis. Published an excerpt from the book on traumatic stress and how to deal with the body's reactions that it triggers.
The philosophical and cultural meaning of memes
A meme is not just a joke on the Internet, but a sociocultural phenomenon, a sign and a symbol with which modern people communicate. Much of the human mind is shaped by memes, asserts writer and philosopher Daniel Dennett, author of Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meaning of Life - and we introduce readers to a passage that reveals the philosophical meaning of memes.