Shoot for the Moon : Even If You Miss You'll Land Among the Stars

Book Description

A book to empower anybody--student, co-worker, relative, friend, partner, child--to trust and believe in themselves. The door of opportunity will not open unless you do some pushing.

"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads."
Erica Jong

Customer Reviews:

Strives to uncover facts beneath layers of propaganda.......2004-04-06

The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology by Thomas R. Degregori (Professor of Economics, University of Houston, Texas), is a 256-page, scholarly volume whose reasoning and language is accessible enough to make it appropriate for any non-specialist general reader concerned about the environmental degradation and human overpopulation problems that are significantly effecting planet Earth. The intent of The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is not to flatly denounce conservation efforts, but rather to closely scrutinize them (including the myths surrounding them), and to take a cold, hard look at whether such things as "ecotourism" are truly beneficial to the ecologies or the people who live in them. From revealing how some African game wardens are empowered to legally shoot to kill anyone suspected of poaching; to debunking the myth of the "untamed West" which ignored the profound impact Native American cultures and settlements had on the land, The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is a thoughtful and thought-provoking extended essay that strives to uncover facts beneath layers of propaganda on all sides of thorny environmental and technology issues. No academic library's Environmental Studies collection can be considered comprehensive without the inclusion of Professor Degregori's The Environment, Our Natural Resources And Modern Technology.

The Illogic of the Leftist Agenda Exposed.......2004-01-19

The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology is a holistic expose of the hypocrisy of the major planks of the stereotypical leftist agenda: namely the three mentioned in the title.

Dr. DeGregori contrasts "green consumerism" with another plank of the leftist agenda: income disparity, and shows, through a variety of examples, what the results of such national policies would be: increased prices and scarcity for all. In short, the green movement is for guilt-ridden rich folk, and not for the masses.

Addressing natural resources, DeGregori shows that the best way to preserve them would be to allow free trade and property rights. I particularly enjoyed the applications to developing economies around the world, although I found it painful to learn of the way in which developed economic powers (U.S. and Britain in particular) egotistically deprive indigenous cultures of even the chance to utilize their natural resources to increase their income (thereby increasing education, access to life-saving consumer products, and increasing general standards of living). Cases from India, Africa, and Southeast Asia are used to vividly illustrate the consequences of leftist, socialist moves to keep indigenous cultures in developing countries at a stunted level of economic and cultural development.

DeGregori's examination of modern technology is superb, as well. He exposes the fanatacism of anti-technology individuals-e.g. those who decry "cold pasteurization" as harmful, even though empirical evidence shows that there has not been a single incident of an individual consumer becoming ill as a result. His evaluation of techno-phobes' concerns is invaluable, and reaches beyond contemporary quibbles to address the fundamental philosophy driving their zeal. He addresses some of the most important issues of today, such as debates surrounding genetically modified food vs. organic and those regarding the use of DDT and fertilizers.

DeGregori also addresses the demand for technological improvements by cultures in developing countries, and the benefits to be gained: increased income, increased competitiveness in the global economy, increased life-expectancies, and decreased environmental degredation.

I was surprised to find that such a scholarly book was such an easy read; the information was logically presented, and easily digestible. DeGregori's information is heavily footnoted, but since the footnotes aren't the crux of the book, you can simply read around them. If you are looking for more information, the footnotes may well prove invaluable, as DeGregori cites pro and con sources to many of his arguments.

This book was required for a university course that I am taking from DeGregori. In person, and not just on books, DeGregori is a professor with a firm grasp on the latest economic information from developing and developed economies around the world. Degregori encourages you to look on the positive side of things-all the progress we've made, and potential solutions to some of the problems.

The antidote to cultural delusions!.......2002-10-25

Little more than a year after he published the opus Agriculture and Modern Technology: a Defense,* Thomas R. DeGregori has returned with another work of similar scope and perhaps even greater depth: The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology.** The book examines in detail many preconceptions and cultural myths about the environment, natural resources and technology, and shows that many are so badly distorted that they contribute to the commission of countless wrongs.

DeGregori's deft handling of these preconceptions and cultural myths invites a comparison to Dawkins' work with memes, or Campbell's syncretistic work with folklore, but as an economist of strikingly pragmatic bent, DeGregori prefers to deal with historical fact.

Those who cherish any illusions about the environment, natural resources or technology will find this a painful book to read. In chapter 1, we learn that "green consumerism" is still consumerism, barely green, and sometimes outright dangerous. In chapter 2, we learn how wildlife conservation efforts in Africa have destroyed cultures, forcing natives from their lands and depriving them of traditional foods. These natives are then denied access to modern technologies, with a view to ensure that they somehow remain "authentic" after such irreversible intrusions, enduring an enforced primitivism at the hands of their conquerors.

The theme repeats itself in chapter 5, where the notion of the American Indian as the "original ecologist" is exposed as the typical aftermath of subjugation. Primitive peoples in their wild, "natural" state (notions of what is "natural" are scathingly debunked as well) are viewed as savages, akin to animals and therefore not landowners, justifying their subjugation and the theft of their land. Once subjugated, nostalgia usurps memory and they are viewed as having lived "sustainably" in a pristine pre-technological utopia and an elaborate parody of their past is concocted to mesh with other mythical views we wish to entertain in the present. If these peoples rebel by refusing to act as expected, they are once again referred to as savages and often treated accordingly.

Much of the book deals with skewed notions of what is "natural," and they are mainly exposed in chapter 6. There, we learn that life "in harmony with the environment" for most of human history has had little in common with its idyllic portrayals, being instead nasty, brutish and short. As it turns out, the only thing able to protect us from the uncaring ravages of nature is, and always has been, technology.

"Here [in this book] the focus is on the consumption practices that reflect the phobias and beliefs that deny and/or reject the technological and scientific transformations that have given us longer, healthier lives," DeGregori states in his introduction. The book achieves this ambition, and a good deal more.
--------------------
* Iowa State University Press, Ames, 2001. 268 pp., [money]. Reviewed in AgBiotech Reporter, July 2001.
** Iowa State Press, Ames, 2002. 224 pp., [money]

An Old-Fashion Institutionalist's Plea for Progress.......2002-10-23

This is a book that will challenge much conventional wisdom about the impact of modern technology on our environment. No matter how much you think you know about the topic, you will learn something new by reading it.

The author, an economist of the old-fashion institutionalist school (unlike the current institutionalist crowd, he believes in material progress) begins the book with a simple question: If modern science and technology are killing us, why are we so healthy and living so long? In short, his answer is that human beings have evolved into problem-solving (i.e. technological) creatures, and that no one should deny that this is a good thing in light of the available historical record.

The topics discussed in the book go much beyond what its title suggests and range from the living conditions of early Pacific Islanders to the Nazis' love of all things natural - with the exception, of course, of other human beings who didn't fit their idea of the master race. Indeed, the book is as much a study of the cultural divide between technological optimists and pessimists as it is a study of the impact of technology on humans and the environment.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Journal of Agricultural Economics, published by American Agricultural Economics Association on May 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1396 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: DeGregori, Thomas R. The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology.(Book Review)
Author: Scott R. Templeton
Publication: American Journal of Agricultural Economics (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2004
Publisher: American Agricultural Economics Association
Volume: 86 Issue: 2 Page: 558(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Product Description

Long considered one of the most provocative and demanding major works on human sociobiology, Genes, Mind, and Culture introduces the concept of gene-culture coevolution. It has been out of print for several years, and in this volume Lumsden and Wilson provide a much needed facsimile edition of their original work, together with a major review of progress in the discipline during the ensuing quarter century. They argue compellingly that human nature is neither arbitrary nor predetermined, and identify mechanisms that energize the upward translation from genes to culture. The authors also assess the properties of genetic evolution of mind within emergent cultural patterns. Lumsden and Wilson explore the rich and sophisticated data of developmental psychology and cognitive science in a fashion that, for the first time, aligns these disciplines with human sociobiology. The authors also draw on population genetics, cultural anthropology, and mathematical physics to set human sociobiology on a predictive base, and so trace the main steps that lead from the genes through human consciousness to culture.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant ideas, flawed analysis.......1999-03-08

It is difficult to decide whether to praise this book for its (at the time) innovative and novel approach to gene-culture coevolution or criticize it for its endless slurry of ad hoc models with groundless or unspecified assumptions. One can do both. The idea they present, that there is a positive feedback mechanism between biological and cultural evolution, is by far the best working hypothesis for why human society "took off" after millenea of paleolithic stasis. The theory central to the book is that genetic constraints shape culture, which in turn becomes the cultural environment in which an individual's Darwinian fitness is determined, forming a positive feedback between cultural and evolutionary change. This posits a specific mechanism for the role of genetic change in cultural evolution, going far beyond the intellectually vacuous "resolution" of the nature-nurture debate by those who say "it's both." However, none of the models they present can be regarded as anything but mathematical playthings, in few cases are any of the variables or parameters quantities that can actually be measured or therefore tested. Often, it is not entirely clear what the dependent variables in the system correspond to in nature. Worse still, some of the models are completely ad hoc: first positing a dynamical behavior, then presenting an apparently arbitrary dynamical system which exhibits the property as "proof" of the theory. In essence, an uneven work, but one which I think will be at the foundation for further work in the area, at least as a basis for concepts and theory (provided the specifics are taken with a large grain of salt).

Book Description

Although the basic evolutionary patterns of nitrogen metabolism and excretion have been outlined for decades, there has been a resurgence of research activity in the past 15 years. Research in nitrogen metabolism has been stimulated in the area of acid-base balance. The molecular revolution has had an impact on the field as well, and recent studies on nitrogen metabolism and excretion now almost routinely use the tools of molecular biology. Of special interest are recent studies of evolutionary relationships between proteins of nitrogen metabolism. Nitrogen Metabolism and Excretion updates the reader on progress being made in this subject, offering an exciting integration of traditional topics and discussions on the most recent issues which have not yet appeared in other textbooks or references. The book features chapters on the latest developments in nitrogen metabolism and excretion from 28 prominent researchers from all over the world. Each chapter is detailed and specific, filled with useful concepts and techniques. The scope of the book is broad and diverse, covering groups from invertebrates to mammals, and subjects from nitrogen in oceanic buoyancy regulation to molecular mechanisms of nitric oxide synthesis. The text provides a phylogenetic view of various animal groups and presents much new information intended to break down phylogenetic stereotypes. The general areas of development, maternal-fetal interactions, protein turnover, carbamoyl phosphate synthesis, nitric oxide, and nitrates and nitrites are also covered in depth. This volume is the first in a new series that brings about a modern synthesis of areas of animal physiology. Nitrogen Metabolism and Excretion benefits both established researchers interested in nitrogen and advanced undergraduate and graduate students who want to investigate the most current and exciting questions being studied and debated.

Nutritional and Acid-Base Aspects of Amino Acid Metabolism: 7th International Ammoniagenesis Workshop, Galway, May 20-23, 1996 (Contributions to Nephrology)

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Nutritional and Acid-Base Aspects of Amino Acid Metabolism: 7th International Ammoniagenesis Workshop, Galway, May 20-23, 1996 (Contributions to Nephrology)

Manufacturer: S. Karger Publishers (USA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Detoxication of end products of nitrogen metabolism in some parasitic worms of cattle

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Detoxication of end products of nitrogen metabolism in some parasitic worms of cattle
Branko Kurelec
Manufacturer: Institute of Biology, University of Zagreb
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007AG81I

Fish tolerance to dissolved nitrogen (New Mexico State University. Engineering Experiment Station. Technical report)

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Fish tolerance to dissolved nitrogen (New Mexico State University. Engineering Experiment Station. Technical report)
Richard E Speece
Manufacturer: Engineering Experiment Station, New Mexico State University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Growth and development with special reference to domestic animals (Research bulletin / University of Missouri, Agricultural Experiment Station)

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Growth and development with special reference to domestic animals (Research bulletin / University of Missouri, Agricultural Experiment Station)
Ural Stephan Ashworth
Manufacturer: University of Missouri, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008A2DHK

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Growth and development with special reference to domestic animals (Research bulletin / University of Missouri, Agricultural Experiment Station)
Samuel Brody
Manufacturer: University of Missouri, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008A2DGG

A study of the diet and metabolism of Eskimos undertaken in 1908 on an expedition to Greenland (Meddelelser om Grønland)

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A study of the diet and metabolism of Eskimos undertaken in 1908 on an expedition to Greenland (Meddelelser om Grønland)
August Krogh
Manufacturer: [s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

This third volume in the bestselling Dutch Soccer School Drills series focuses on individual skill development, conditioning, and match situation training. These drills will improve your players in every facet of their games and make your practice sessions both stimulating and effective.

Each drill features a clear diagram and description, an objective, coaching points, and possible variations.

Book Description

Drawing from his extensive knowledge of and experimentation with brain biochemistry, the inventor of the sensory isolation tank outlines the parallels between computers and the human brain and offers methods for stepping out of the mind-body, leading readers on a profound journey of self-discovery. Lilly's work was adapted into two feature films, The Day of the Dolphin and Altered States.

Customer Reviews:

I am not clear about the authorship of this book..........2007-01-25

I have an interest in the work of John Lilly, and I purchased this book as further reading after reading his book "The Scientist". This book is interesting and well written.

However, the authorship of this book is unclear. It says it is written by John Lilly, but inside, it says "translated" or "channeled" by Beverly Potter. Also, it carries an original copywrite and a "derivative" copywrite (2004).

I believe it is a rewrite of his essay "Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments." But I am unclear as to how much is original and how much is contributed by others.

An invaluable manual on how to manipulate the psyche to achieve personal transformation.......2006-12-01

This book provides a groundbreaking view of the functioning of the human mind and how a person can redirect its operations to more favorable patterns. This work is central to any program of personal growth and development.

Some profound ideas.......2005-08-30

Warning: not for the intellectual dullard! This can be a challenging work at times. Lilly uses technical terms which may be new to the reader. BUT, for those willing to take time to understand what Lilly is writing, the reward is equal to the effort.

It is good to see this work back in print, although I prefer the layout/design of the old , out of print, paperback edition (the publisher of this new edition, Ronin, has a habit of designing most of their books in an irritating manner, as if assuming the reader is too "stoned" to read small print). Also, this edition has been edited and I prefer the original but I am sure that many will find this new edition more "reader friendly". These objections aside, Ronin has done a service in providing this work.

The contents: Lilly presents an interesting model of neurology, human bio-computer, and posits an interesting statement near the beggining of this book, "We may be nothing but our programs". Not that Lilly is a mechanist, as he had recorded greater experiences of quantum-esque with greater clarity than most "mystics".

I would especially recommend this book to those interested in LSD, transpersonal psychology, neurology, and "human potential". Therapists might find much useful information here. I read this as an undergraduate and it's effects are still experienced at times.

Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments

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An owner's operating manual for the brain and central nervous system

Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments
John C. Md Lilly
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 051752757X
Release Date: 1987-05-27

Customer Reviews:

An owner's operating manual for the brain and central nervous system.......2006-04-27

The book explores parallels between computers and the human brain. It is Lilly's attempt to write an owner's operating manual on how to use the brain and central nervous system.

Lilly's list of scientific achievements requires a full page in Who's Who in America. He pioneered the original neuroscientific work in electrical brain stimulation, mapping out the pleasure and pain pathways in the brain. He conducted the first research on inter-species communication with dolphins and whales. He invented the isolation tank and conducted significant research on sensory deprivation. Lilly died in 2001.

Programming and Metaprogramming in- The Human Biocomputer

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Programming and Metaprogramming in- The Human Biocomputer

Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0015308731

Product Description

The last whole earth catalog review of The Human Biocomputer...

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Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer
Lilly John C
Manufacturer: Julian Press Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LDVDSO

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Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments

Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GYB8G0

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Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments
John C. Lilly
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SY4FYA

Turbo Success: How to Reprogram the Human Biocomputer

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Turbo Success: How to Reprogram the Human Biocomputer
Ron Holland G Ron Holland
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B000L42WKQ

The Human Biocomputer: Programming and Metaprogramming

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The Human Biocomputer: Programming and Metaprogramming
John C. Lilly
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000PCBA84

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Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer
John Lilly
Manufacturer: Ronin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VC63O4

Average customer rating:

a classic
A Guide to the Programing of the Human Mind

Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer
John C. Lilly
Manufacturer: Crown Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 999019601X

Customer Reviews:

a classic.......2001-10-05

an engaging, erudite work on how to use one's brain to the best of one's ability. Philosopher/scientists like Lilly combined such rationality with a real sense of the poet's heart. A rare combination that makes for truly inspired writing.

I highly recommend this book.

A Guide to the Programing of the Human Mind.......1998-09-29

This is a both a period book of historical significance and a book that set the stage of the "New Age" flood of hip books. John Lilly began as a seriously respected main stream scientist. His book "The Mind of the Dolphin" began his journey into alternate spheres of realities. After spending many hours in sensory deprevation tanks both with and without the addition of LSD he began to present writings such as this to detail his inner exploation in a manner similar to Tim Leary and Richard Alpert aka Babba Ram Das. Now many years after having read this book I would like to have a chance to re-read it, especially in light of the advances made in main stream Neuro-Psychiatry. What was thought to be "fringe science" may make more sense in light of our recent advances. This book is more coherent than his later work, "Center of the Cyclone". As a knowlegeable armchair psychopharmocologist and a professional psychotherapist I can say this book needs to be re-evaluated.

Customer Reviews:

Hieratic should be this SIMPLE.......2003-01-12

I always wondered why hieratic was considered so hard by Egyptologists when it was, after all, the way all Egyptian scribes wrote! Prof. Gosline has finally solved the mystery of how to decode the system of this ancient writing. It is like finding a new Rosetta Stone!

Fantastic Introduction to Egyptian Handwriting.......2002-12-05

Look no further than this book for an explination of how ancient Egyptians wrote!

Introductory Late Egyptian (Hieratic Paloegraphy 1).......2000-07-09

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the others in the series. It makes a big step in de-mystifying hieratic.

The First Sensible Paleography for Egyptian Hieratic.......1999-11-30

Sheldon Gosline has again come up with an amazing breakthrough in Egyptology. This time he has developed a new hieratic font, based on his stroke sequence studies. He has gone a step further still and organized all hieratic signs into a logical reference work, that is easy to use, logical and can be expanded upon. This will prove to be a valuable reference tool for Egyptologists, for many years to come.

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