Science Meeting

In each of the essays in Science Friction, Shermer explores the very personal barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially when scientists push against the unknown. What do we know, and what do we not know? How does science respond to controversy, attack, and uncertainty? When does theory become accepted fact?

In the Czar’s Suite of Kiev’s five-star Persian Palace, police discover a body jammed impossibly deep in a narrow ventilation duct. Security cameras reveal that no one else entered the supersecure room. An ocean away, Interpol rookie Delta Devlin witnesses an attempted assassination, but the bullet meant for the Ukrainian prime minister hits her father instead, lodging next to his heart. Investigations reveal that ex-KGB operator Yuri Korshunov smuggled a 3D-printed plastic gun into the UN Building.

She just rescued a British World War II pilot from a crashed plane. But what's he doing in modern day Bucks County? Rookie cop Marti Coldwater gets more than she bargained for when she witnesses a plane crash and the only passenger is an amnesic young airman who thinks it's 1944. Soon, murderous men in suits and a sinister Nordic assassin are pursuing them. Their mission? Capture the stranger and kill anyone who's seen him. On the run with her newfound companion, Marti is thrown into a web of highly classified government programs, astonishing alien secrets, and a clandestine plot ...

Physical objects and substances are the "real thing". They are the physical things that are at issue in the case, such as defective parts, pieces of fabric, preserved specimens, and contaminated substances. They can be highly effective exhibits, so the establishing the foundation and preparing to defend against objections needs to be done carefully. Avoid common mistakes in laying an adequate foundation and prepare to defend against objections.

On a hot summer’s day in Boston, US Marine turned Homicide Detective Reid Halsey finds himself in the middle of a deadly shootout with a murder suspect. When Lucas Soul, a seemingly innocent victim, rises from the dead moments after a fatal gunshot wound to the head, Reid comes to the shocking realization that the world he believes in may very well be a carefully fabricated lie masking an unearthly reality.

The more scientists research life and the components that create life, the more information and theories exist; but no matter what the theories or modality are, somewhere in the midst of them is the reality that our thoughts and emotions are at the helm of our lives. As the saying goes, life is 10 percent about what happens to you and 90 percent about what you do with it. And the power in that 90 percent resides within our thoughts and perceptions. Learn the secrets of Quantum Psychology.

An anthology of writings by Alice Bradley Sheldon, who wrote under the pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr., spans her entire writing career and includes previously uncollected stories as well as letters and essays.

By “assembling” some of the most fascinating figures in world history, Meeting of Minds provided a groundbreaking opportunity for audiences to be exposed to ideas by way of a medium not normally known for its intellectual vigor. Portrayed by actors, panelists engaged in discussions conducted like any other talk show but featured prominent influencers from bygone generations—not just philosophers and politicians, but poets, playwrights, and presidents. From activists and artists to international leaders, these conversations are witty, thought-provoking, and entertaining.

Space Girl Green was the least confident member of her legendary Space Girl Unit right out of the academy. Of course the universe charged her with saving not just her father’s home world, but a whole pocket universe. Space Girl HQ gave her a flying saucer with a melodious personality, powerful rayguns and told her to go change the galaxy. Perhaps it was a bad idea to visit the destroyed world of Gamalon right off the bat, because a pair of mysterious scientists gave her an epic quest, putting Gamalon’s destiny in her untried hands.

There is no mistaking that inequality in the workplace is still prevalent in the form of salary inequity and unequal representation in leadership and board positions. Too often conversations about inequality can lead to men and women believing they are alike. Women and men are not the same, biologically or psychologically, and these differences lead to significant dissimilarities in how each approaches leadership situations.

Born a witch, I went into forensics so that I could use my talents to close cases. This worked great in the morgue, but I’ve just been transferred to active duty at the 9th Precinct, and doing magic in front of normals is strictly forbidden. It’s the sort of thing the Arcane Council will kill you for. Unfortunately, bodies are turning up fast, and with each passing day, I have to face the deadly truth. There is a serial killer working the streets of New York, and I don’t think he’s human.

Homelessness is a complex and growing problem in America. It cannot be “solved,” but it can be managed, and some approaches work better than others. At a time when cities its size have thousands of unsheltered homeless on their streets at night, Colorado Springs has less than 400. Meeting Homelessness with Hope explores why this is so.

A small reptile scurries across a rock under the hot sun. It's a lizard! Learn more about these desert animals.

Hidden under the sea, Ora's gold collection is her best treasure. Ora will do almost anything to get more gold. But does that include fighting a big, scary giant?

In these edgy, unexpected tales, a body-hopping mercenary avenges his pet elephant, and an orphan falls in love with a sentient starship. Fighters ally to power a reality-bending engine, and a swamp-dwelling introvert tries to save the world - from her plague-casting former wife.

Propelled by the belief that government has slipped out of the hands of ordinary citizens, a surging wave of populism is destabilizing democracies around the world. As John Matsusaka reveals in Let the People Rule, this belief is based in fact. Over the past century, while democratic governments have become more efficient, they have also become more disconnected from the people they purport to represent. The solution Matsusaka advances is familiar but surprisingly underused: direct democracy, in the form of referendums.

Dream Breach: First Contact (The Dream Breach Series, Book 0) 🔹 What if your dreams weren’t just dreams? What if they were the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of existence? Dr. Sandra Chen believes in facts, data, and logic. But when her sister Emily vanishes after working on a classified consciousness experiment, Sandra is forced to confront a terrifying possibility—what if reality isn’t what we think? At Greenstone Medical Center, coma patients exhibit impossible brainwave patterns—as if their minds are communicating across dimensions. As Sandra investigates, she ...

In Animal Spirits, the distinguished historian Jackson Lears explores an alternative American cultural history by tracking the thinkers who championed the individual's spontaneous energies and the idea of a living universe against the strictures of conventional religion, business, and politics. From Puritan times to today, Lears traces ideas and fads such as hypnosis and faith healing from the pulpit and stock exchange to the streets and the betting table. We meet the great prophets of American vitality who spoke of the "god within-rendering us diseaseless incarnations of the great I Am."

Ora wants to win the Strong Monster Contest. The first place winner gets a statue of gold! Ora works. She trains. She cannot think of anything else. Maybe Ora needs to learn that gold isn't everything.

The impact of science and technology on human behavior has reached the breaking point. In just the past 100 years, the explosion of new technology has dramatically improved our lives. But the existential risks keep multiplying. If we don't take a different approach, we have no hope of surviving, despite the Panglossian promises of our new technological wizards.